Notes from Field and Study 



219 



suspected Bicknell's of having adopted the 

 graceless modern practice of deliberately 

 limiting output to enhance value! 



It is difficult, if not impossible, to trans- 

 late into words which shall be universally 

 satisfactory the song of any bird. To us, 

 however, the tender cadence of Bicknell's 

 seemed to indicate. Oh, sweet, dear Vere de 

 Vere, each note vibrating and liquid. The 

 shorter forms were. Oh, dear Vere de Vere, 

 or simply, Vere de Vere. There is little 

 range of tone. 



Many other birds rare or interesting 

 added pleasure to our stay near Mansfield, 

 but these five, the Veery, the Wood Thrush, 

 the Hermit, the Olive-back, and Bicknell's 

 — especially Bicknell's — were the crowning 

 joy of our visit to much-favored Stowe. — 

 Helen G. Whittle, Peterboro, N. H. 



American Egret in Vermont 



On the afternoon of Aug. 28, 1918, when 

 passing a pond five miles east of St. Johns- 

 bury, Vt., I saw two large birds on the 

 bank near the road. One of them was a 

 Great Blue Heron, the other an American 

 Egret. 



Having seen an Egret in Waterbury, 

 Conn., on July 31 and August 2, I was 

 especially interested. We watched him for 

 fifteen minutes, and, when he flew, the 

 yellow bill and black legs made identifica- 

 tion positive. We saw also a large flock of 

 over forty Wild Ducks and also Sandpipers 

 of different species. We learned in St. 

 Johnsbury that the owner of the pond 

 allowed no shooting, and were told that on 

 another nearby pond there had been two 

 "White Heron" — all summer, these doubt- 

 less being Egrets. — Emily Field Kellogg, 

 Waterbury, Conn. 



An Early Egg of Virginia Rail 

 on Long Island 



On the morning of April 13, 19 19, a Vir- 

 ginia Rail was found caught in a steel trap 

 set for muskrats in a marsh used annually 

 as a nesting-site by this Rail. On the 

 ground near the bird was an egg that it 

 had dropped. On the preceding day appa- 



rently no Rails were in the marsh. They 

 evidently had migrated in on the night of 

 the 12th — a night of warm, heavy rain — 

 for several were observed there on the 

 morning of the 13th. The earliest date of 

 the species' eggs recorded in the nest in 

 the vicinity of Orient is May 28, and their 

 common laying period is the first half of 

 June. It is extremely interesting that this 

 bird should drop an egg on this early date 

 and, apparently, on the first night of its 

 arrival on Long Island. The egg was in 

 dimensions, texture, and markings per- 

 fectly normal. Has this species a longer 

 breeding season locally than is commonly 

 recorded? Does it occasionally deposit two 

 clutches of eggs a season? The specimen 

 in question may have been prepared to 

 nest farther south. — Roy Latham, Orient, 

 Long Island. 



Duck Hawks in New York City 



I believe that an account appeared in 

 Bird-Lore, several years ago, of a Duck 

 Hawk which frequented one of the tall 

 buildings in lower New York City, and that 

 a photograph was obtained of the bird. 

 But no printed mention seems to have 

 been made of the Hawks, one or more of 

 which roosted regularly under the eaves 

 of the Hotel Biltmore during a part, at 

 least, of the autumn of 1919, and which, 

 to the best of my belief, were Duck Hawks. 

 I went to New York on September 15 of 

 that year and remained there for eighteen 

 days, staying in one of the skyscraper 

 hotels which overlook the Biltmore. Every 

 afternoon, except two or three, when I was 

 prevented from watching, I saw a Hawk 

 go to roost close up under the eaves of the 

 Biltmore, on the east or south side of the 

 south wing, generally very near the south- 

 east corner of it. Occasionally two birds 

 went to roost. They sometimes appeared 

 early in the afternoon, when the weather 

 was fine, and played about the building 

 for several hours before retiring. Once 

 three birds came, and made a wonderful 

 display as they chased each other about, 

 darting, plunging, and soaring in the un- 

 obstructed space above the Grand Central 



