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Bird - Lof 6 



Jack Curlew is one of the more regular 

 migrants along the Sound side of the 

 island, where shore-birds in general are 

 poorly represented. It may be seen steer- 

 ing a steady course to the west along the 

 Sound, passing close to the northern head- 

 lands. 



The writer has long been aware that the 

 Duck Hawk regularly persecutes coastwise 

 shore-birds, and expects to meet with it 

 whenever these become particularly abun- 

 dant. Early in August he saw a Cooper's 

 or Sharp-shinned Hawk attempt to pick 

 up a Woodcock in the woods. Puddles of 

 water in a wheel rut of a certain road 

 frequently had borings beside them, and 

 one afternoon a Woodcock was found 

 sitting motionless, facing such a puddle, 

 and the road beyond, its long bill slanting 

 down across its breast. After about three 

 minutes by the watch, a shadow dropped 

 down, and a flutter resolved itself into, — 

 first, the Hawk, which had missed, turning 

 upward with dark-barred tail broadly 

 spread to disappear in the arching branches 

 and foliage above, second the Woodcock's 

 wing-twitter slanting up and away through 

 the trees in a direction opposite to that 

 it had been facing. It must have been very 

 quick. — J. T. Nichols, New York City. 



Washington Region. — During the 

 months of June and July, 1920, the city of 

 Washington, so far as the weather was 

 concerned, was an excellent summer 

 resort, for birds as well as for people. Evi- 

 dence of the cool, pleasant weather of this 

 summer appears in the rather unusual 

 abundance and activity of birds during 

 _^uly. Several species, such as the Indigo 

 Bunting, Chewink, House Wren, and 

 Wood Thrush, have continued regularly in 

 song through July up to the last of the 

 month, which seems to be not commonly 

 the case. 



Not very many unusual birds have so 

 far been noted during the present season. 

 The Blue Grosbeak, which is a more or less 

 regular, though very rare, summer resi- 

 dent about Washington, was observed on 

 June 21 by Miss M. T. Cooke at Belleview, 

 D. C, along the Potomac River, a short 



distance south of Washington, and on June 

 25 by Mr. F. C. Lincoln at the same place. 

 The Least Bittern was seen by Miss M. J. 

 Pellew on July 21 and 23 near the southern 

 end of the Highway Bridge to Virginia, 

 and the American Bittern on July 23 near 

 Alexander Island, D. C. The Sparrow 

 Hawk, which has become accustomed to 

 rearing its young in the city of Washington, 

 ordinarily in nests placed in the cornices of 

 buildings, is this year apparently breeding 

 near the Library of Congress, as the birds 

 were several times seen there during the 

 latter part of Jvme. 



The Purple Martins have again returned 

 to roost in the city, and much earlier than 

 usual, though in apparently their former 

 numbers. They seem, however, to be much 

 more restless this year than previously, 

 since they have several times changed their 

 roosting-place already. Large numbers of 

 Starlings, more than ever seen in Wash- 

 ington before, are assembling into roosts, 

 sometimes with the Martins. A large roost 

 of Swallows also, comprising Bank, Barn, 

 and Rough-winged Swallows, was dis- 

 covered by Miss Pellew in the marshes 

 along the Potomac River just south of 

 Washington. 



Birds about the writer's home in the city 

 near the Zoological Park were unusually 

 numerous, apparently twice as much so as 

 during the same period of last year. A pair 

 of Robins reared a brood in the rose arbor 

 at the back of our house, and a pair, sup- 

 posedly the same, later brought up another 

 brood on the branch of a tree in front of 

 the next house but one, and only some eight 

 or ten feet above and directly over the 

 front walk. At the present time there is a 

 third nest, recently built in front of the 

 house on the other side of ours, and still 

 occupied, notwithstanding damage done 

 by workmen in the tree. What we assume 

 to have been also the same pair of Robins 

 had a nest in an adjoining yard last year; 

 and these two birds seem to have become 

 fully accustomed to the proximity of 

 persons at all times of the day, although 

 they never have entirely lost their fear of a 

 very close approach. — Harry C. Ober- 

 H01.SBR, Biological Survey, Washington, D.C. 



