Notes from Field and Study 



359 



came down and was quite satisfied. She 

 even took no exceptions whatever at hav- 

 ing a black camera only three feet from 

 her head, not even turning when the 

 shutter clicked. The strong confidence 

 shown, I dare say, is born of long 

 acquaintance, and is most gratifying to us. 

 — Margaret S. Hitchcock, New Ver- 

 non, N. J. 



The Fare of a Sandhill Crane 



While 'Jack,' my Sandhill Crane, and 

 I were out in the grove this morning, he 

 ate 148 grasshoppers, 2 moths, i "roach, 

 I 'swift' (a species of lizard), 2 grubs 

 thicker than a lead-pencil, about two and 

 one-half inches long, and 11 spiders. 



After we returned to the house, he 

 added 17 'grapenut' pellets, the size of 

 common marbles. Breakfast was finished 

 about 9 o'clock. Between that time and 

 three o'clock, he had 'scratch-feed,' cracked 

 corn, Kafir corn, and wheat. At three 

 o'clock he had a good-sized piece of porter- 

 house steak cut into small pieces, and 

 would have eaten more insects, but the 

 rain drove us home. — Mrs. L. H. Tous- 

 SAiNT, Rio, Si. Lucie Co., Florida. 



An Abnormally Colored Scarlet Tanager 



In all bird-lovers, the sight of a Scarlet 

 Tanager makes the pulse quicken! So, 

 when one day in late May I discovered a 

 female Tanager building her nest in a 

 hickory tree within a few yards of my 

 house, I considered myself peculiarly 

 blessed by nature, and was prepared to 

 take full advantage of the good fortune. 



Lack of leisure at first curtailed obser- 

 vation, and a week passed before T saw the 

 male; although I frequently heard a Tana- 

 ger song and the typical chip-chiirr call of 

 the species. My surprise, therefore, was 

 intense to see the female returning one 

 morning accompanied to the nest by a 

 bird in brilliant orange plumage of a Balti- 

 more Oriole. Careful watching soon con- 

 vinced me that he was entirely at home, 

 and undoubtedly the father of the estab- 

 lishment. I fear, a few years ago, I would 



ruthlessly have slain the two birds, ex- 

 cusing my conscience on the weak plea of 

 adding something to science. It was soon 

 quite evident that my Tanager was un- 

 doubtedly a true Tanager, masquerading 

 in strange plumage. .\ close and very care- 

 ful investigation showed him to have the 

 typical black wings and tail of all male 

 Scarlet Tanagers, while his body and head 

 were brilliant orange, paling to yellow on 

 the belly, very similar but slightly darker 

 than the coloring of the Baltimore Oriole. 

 At present writing, mother Tanager is 

 faithfully incubating, while the head of 

 the house continues to delight both our 

 eyes and ears. — William Henry Trotter, 

 Chestnut Hill, Pa. 



The Chat in Minnesota 



For a number of years I have searched 

 the woods diligently during the migration 

 of the Warblers for a sight of the Chat. 

 Finally I came to the conclusion that I 

 lived too far north. 



On the evening of October 2, 191 2, just 

 at dusk, my attention was called to a loud 

 chuck. What attracted me at once was 

 the loud and forceful call — a call that I 

 knew I had never heard before. It came 

 from a large syringa bush not more than 

 four feet from our back porch. The bird 

 seemed to be in great distress and was 

 flying back and forth in the bush, so that 

 at first I could not get a good view; but 

 knew it was larger than any Warbler I 

 had ever seen. 



Finally it flew out into view, and I had 

 no difficulty in recognizing it at once as 

 the Chat. I could hardly make it seem 

 true. Several days after, a small boy 

 brought me a paper bag containing a 

 dead bird. To my surprise it was a Chat. 

 It had been killed, but he claimed to 

 have found it in an alley near a large tree. 

 I sent it to a taxidermist to be mounted. 

 He has lived near La Crosse, Wisconsin, 

 for thirty years, and he wrote me that 

 during that time he had never seen a 

 Chat. In "The Warblers of North Amer- 

 ica" no record is given of the Chats' migra- 

 tion in Minnesota, excepting that few 



