THE OOLOGIST 



TS9> 



WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO GO? 



A letter received January 9th from 

 H. Arden Edwards, of Los Angeles, 

 California, a well known member of 

 the Oologist family contains the state- 

 ment among other things: 



"I am leaving for a two or three 

 years trip in the South Seas." 



Mr. Edwards goes on a collecting 

 and pleasure trip. He has promised 

 to write occasionally, and if he does 

 we will be glad to divide such experi- 

 ences as he may acquaint us with, 

 with our readers. 



R. M. Barnes. 



FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS 

 OF GOOCHLAND COUNTY. VA. 



In the Oologist of April, 1922 (Vol. 

 39, pages 62-64) appeared an article by 

 me on birds observed in June, 1921 on 

 and in the vicinity of the plantation of 

 Dr. L. K. Leake, at East Leake, Gooch- 

 land County, Virginia. Again I was 

 fortunate enough to be the guest of 

 Dr. and Mrs. Leake from October 24 

 to November 7, 1922, and naturally 

 did not overlook the opportunity to in- 

 vestigate the fall birds of that locality. 

 Although frosts occurred nearly every 

 night, the weather was mild through- 

 out my visit and almost without excep- 

 tion the sun shone in full vigor 

 throughout each day. It was so mild 

 and dry that when the hunting season 

 opened on November 1, I heard uni- 

 versal complaint from the sportsmen 

 at our house, but on the other hand, 

 a Katydid which I heard at midday on 

 November 3 evidently appreciated the 

 opportunity to prolong its 1922 career. 



In the former article I spoke of 50 

 species seen; in this 54 are listed, 30 

 of which are new; thus totaling 80 

 species seen on the two visits. In ad- 

 dition, reference is made to two others 



reported to me — Wilson's Snipe and 

 Ruffed Grouse. 



Aside from the James River which 

 bounds Goochland County on the 

 south, the county is poorly supplied 

 with surface water and so the water 

 birds are few in species and individ- 

 uals. The woods, however, are exten- 

 sive, rich in varieties of trees and 

 underbrush. Old fields cover wide 

 areas, but here and there more or less 

 extensive agriculture is being conduct- 

 ed, so that the avifauna of the region 

 exhibits at least an average number 

 of species of land birds. Being fond of 

 persimmons I was pleased to find 

 heavily laden trees scattered all over 

 the region, in the woods, on the main 

 roads, and standing in isolation in old 

 fields. 



Dr. Leake killed a Woodcock on No- 

 vember 2 and I flushed one a few days 

 before on the edge of a small swamp 

 at one end of the plantation. Andrew, 

 the doctor's young son, told me that 

 he had killed a Wilson's Snipe at this 

 swamp last year. The moon was shin- 

 ing brightly at 9:30 p. m. on Novem- 

 ber 2, when I heard a Killdeer in the 

 pasture adjoining the Leake planta- 

 tion. 



Bob-whites were abundant on and 

 in the vicinity of the plantation, but 

 due perhaps to the excessively dry 

 and rather mild weather I did not see 

 or hear one notwithstanding the dogs 

 accompanied me on nearly every walk 

 until the hunters brought in a few on 

 November 1. Thereafter "partridges" 

 were on the table almost every meal 

 until I left, but I was told that on ac- 

 count of the drought they were rang- 

 ing almost wholly in the thick brush 

 and semi-swampy section and, there- 

 fore, were hard to find and difficult 

 to shoot. Mr. David Leake saw a 

 single Ruffed Grouse on November 1 

 and Dr. Leake told me that he sees 

 one or two every season, but that they 

 do not increase. On November 1 



