May, 1884.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



61 



specific characters: In the Wood Thrash the head and 

 upper parts are a bright rnfiis or reddish-brown and the 

 rump and tail are olivaceous. In the Hermit the reverse 

 obtains— the head and upper parts being olivaceous and the 

 tail coverts and tail a reddish-brown. In the other two spe- 

 cies there are no contrasting colors— in the Olive-back the 

 whole upper parts being olivaceous, and in Wilson's red- 

 dish-brown. Other discriminating marks are thus noted by 

 Burroughs : ' ; The Wood Thrush has very clear, distinct 

 oval spots on a white ground and very generally dispersed; 

 in the Hermit the spots are more circumscribed and on a 

 ground of yellowish-white. In Wilson's Thrush or "Veery 

 the spots are still fewer and smaller, and at a little distance 

 the breast presents the appearance of a uniform dull white." 

 Of the above the Wood Thrush is the only Summer resident 

 here. The others go farther north to breed. 



The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is, in body, even smaller than 

 the Kinglets but has a longer tail ; but for the last feature 

 it would rank next to the Humming-bird in diminutiveness. 

 Its blue-gray dress and long, black tail will sufficiently 

 identify it. The one I shot (which was a male, being 

 marked by a black line across the forehead,) was evidently 

 nest-building, having a bit of wild cotton in its mouth when 

 taking it up. 



The Yellow-rumped Warbler is but a passenger through 

 this State to the more northern districts where it breeds. 

 This is a beantiful bird, and one so peculiarly marked that 

 a reasonably close view could not fail of recognition. The 

 upper parts are bluish-ash, or slate color, streaked with 

 black, and the crown, sides of breast and rump are marked 

 with rich yellow. There is a Western representative of this 

 species known as Audubon's Warbler that mainly differs 

 from it in having a (fifth) patch of yellow on the throat, 

 where in this species it is white. 



The Yellow-throated Yireo I shot out of the highest 

 branches of one of the tallest trees. This is no mean song- 

 ster. The one I secured repeatedly, as I observed it, war- 

 bled out some very loud but very sweet notes, which I rep- 

 resented on a slip of paper at the time as follows : 



and then reversed : 



hi, 



and so on with other interesting modulations. The Vireos 

 are an interesting family of small birds, both on account of 

 their beautiful pensile nests, and their rich and varied song. 

 The other leading species are the Red-eyed, the White-eyed 

 and the Warbling Vireos. The one now before me is much 

 the handsomest, with its rich yellow throat and breast. 

 Olive-green is the prevailing color above in all of the family, 

 hence the name of " Greenlets" which is sometimes given 

 them. ^ 



Brief Notes. 



A Rare Birb. — While collecting in Williamsport, Md., 

 the past winter, I was fortunate enough to secure a fine 

 partial Albino Cedar Bird. A description of the bird may 

 be of interest to some of the readers of the O. and O. Back, 

 white streaked with blackish brown ; head and breast, a 

 mixture of reddish brown and white ; throat, white ; breast, 

 light reddish brown, running into yellow on the abdomen ; 

 wings, white with a blackish bar running diagonal- 

 ly across and having the wax tips ; tail, white with the 

 usual yellow tips ; feet and bill, several shades lighter than 

 those of a normally colored specimen. These colors and 

 mixtures combined to form one of the most beautiful birds 



that I ever had the pleasure to look upon.— J. .K Whiting, 

 Dorchester, Mass. 



The Screech Owl.— Noticing the item in April O. and 

 O. by R. J. Tozer, " Woodpecker and Owl" and his query : 

 " Do Screech Owls often attack a bird as large as the Red- 

 headed Woodpecker ? " reminds me of a little circum- 

 stance occurring to one of my neighbors— he is a reliable 

 and very observing man, especially of birds. He found 

 one of his hens under the roosting place one morning dead, 

 killed by a mink he thought, but was unable to make any 

 discoveries pointing to the detection of the depredator. The 

 following night, just at dusk, his attention was attracted by 

 a great commotion among his fowls in the roost. Hasten- 

 ing there he found one of the hens on the floor apparently 

 in a death struggle. He perceived something attached to 

 her neck which he supposed to be a weazel, the light being 

 too indistinct to distinguish. In desperation he seized the 

 thing in his hands and found it to be a small Screech Owl 

 with its claws firmly fixed in the neck of the hen just back of 

 the head, so firmly that he had considerable difficulty iu disen- 

 gaging them. In a moment the owl lay beside the dead 

 hen, and the contrast was so remarkable that scales were 

 brought into requisition and weights determined. The hen 

 was a great fat five pounder— but the owl was a poor little 

 attenuated starveling and only weighed four ounces. 



If any one imagines a Screech Owl destitute of muscle 

 let him try a " grip " with one— I think once will suffice for 

 the most skeptical— I have had experience. I once observed 

 a Golden-winged Woodpecker making an excavation in a 

 decayed oak near me— watched its completion— assisted 

 the entrance a little with my knife and secured the eggs. 

 Passing the spot the succeeding spring I put my hand in the 

 nest, and finding a lot of feathers, I was about to remove 

 them when something with points like a needle and power 

 like a vice closed on one of my fingers, the two points 

 seemed to go from opposite sides of that finger till they 

 met in the middle with a power and rapidity too great to 

 describe. I let go of that fellow quicker than he was wil- 

 ling to let go of me, and haven't cared to try another grip 

 with an owl since. — J. Y. Clark, Old Saybrook^ Conn. 



In answer to the query by R. J. Tozer in April O. and O. 

 would say that I have repeatedly found portions of Flickers 

 in the holes frequented by Screech Owls and presumed it 

 to be their work. Is it not for this reason that the Pigeon 

 Woodpecker often chooses a tree that has two holes leading 

 into the cavity ? I have more than once discovered a 

 Flicker in a hole and had him escape by going out through 

 another. A Screech Owl once ate the heads off three 

 Quails (dead ones) devouring all, even to the bills, which I 

 found by dissection. I also found the remains of a Jay in 

 a cavity in a tree. The Screech Owl is a powerful little owl 

 and doubtless can make it uncomfortable for larger birds 

 than Flickers and Red-heads. — F. T. Jencks. 



Notes from Taftsville, Vt.— April 16th found me in 

 the woods for one half hour. Seated upon a stump to 

 watch the Blue Snowbirds, (Junco hyemalis,) which were 

 very numerous, I heard what at first I mistook for the song 

 of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, {Regulus calendula), but 

 soon the little songster came within ten feet of me, when 

 with much pleasure I saw it was the Golden-crowned King- 

 let, (Regulus satrapa,) this being the first time I have posi- 

 tively identified its song, which, though lacking the power, 

 resembles the beautiful song of the Ruby-crowned. A flock 

 of about thirty White-winged Crossbills, (Loxia leucoptera), 

 settled upon the ground near me, but were soon startled by 

 the drumming of a Ruffed Grouse. A Brown Creeper, 

 (Certhia familiaris ritfa,) was eagerly searching the trunk 

 of a large tree near me, Pine and American Goldfinches, 

 {Chrysomitris pin/us, and Astragalinus tristis)— the latter 



