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Bird - Lore 



A neighbor made careful preparations 

 for Purple Martins. The birds came, and 

 there was every indication that they 

 would stay; but, after a little while, 

 though, they inspected the boxes fre- 

 quently, they went away. Later it was 

 found that the box was infested with 

 wasps. 



Twice during the season have I found 

 wasps in boxes, the last inspection being 

 on September 20. Along with the efforts 

 to give the birds ventilated and otherwise 

 comfortable quarters, protect them 

 against vermin, etc., it is also well to be 

 on the lookout for these troublesome 

 pests. — R. F. O'Neal, Si. Louis, Mo. 



Harris's Sparrow at Rantoul, Illinois 



Observing in the recent issues of Bird- 

 Lore notes on the occurrences of the 

 Harris's Sparrow in northern Illinois and 

 Wisconsin during last spring, I wish to 

 add another record in connection with 

 them. 



On April 26, an even dozen of individ- 

 uals of that rarity, the Harris's Sparrow, 

 were observed and correctly identified. 

 They were in a scrubby hedgerow, near a 

 small creek, in conjunction with other 

 species of Sparrows, Towhees, and birds 

 which ordinarily are found in such a loca- 

 tion. As this place was not visited for 

 several days, no further record was 

 obtained. — George E. Ekblau, Rantoul, 

 Illinois. 



The Starling in Maine 



On August 16, 1914, I saw on the island 

 of Monhegan, Maine, a flock of 25 to 30 

 European Starlings, certain of which 

 were obliging enough to alight and give 

 an opportunity for positive identification. 



It may be of interest to record also 

 that from August 17 to August 28 Cape 

 May Warblers were common on the 

 island, from five or six to a score being 

 repeatedly seen on a single outing. 



I could not learn that Starlings had been 

 seen before at Monhegan. — Wm. Fuller, 

 Auburndale, Mass. 



Instincts of a Parrot 



The following actions of a Parrot belong- 

 ing to an acquaintance of mine may be of 

 interest as an illustration of bird intelli- 

 gence. 



The Parrot laid three eggs upon which 

 it sat for three weeks. Though the eggs 

 failed to hatch, at the end of the three 

 weeks the bird attempted to feed the eggs. 

 Three weeks later they were removed. 

 After ah interval of four years, the Parrot 

 laid one egg, but made no attempt to 

 incubate it. merely rolling it about as a 

 toy. — R. F. Haulenbeck, Newark, N. J. 



Little Blue Heron in New Jersey 



I have the pleasure of reporting an 

 uncommon bird for this latitude. July 

 18 (or perhaps 25) I saw on the shore of 

 Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, an imma- 

 ture Little Blue Heron. It was pure 

 white in plumage except for a little tinge 

 of slate- blue on the head and neck; the 

 legs were greenish yellow. It permitted 

 me to come within a few yards in my canoe, 

 allowing an easy, naked eye identification. 

 — R. F. Haulenbeck, Newark, N. J. 



The Whisper Song of the Catbird 



I wonder if any of the readers of Bird- 

 Lore have noticed what I have called 

 the 'whisper-song' of the Catbird, occur- 

 ring in the fall, a little before the time of 

 autumn migration. 



I first observed this fact in 1908, and 

 I have this record in my journal: 



"September 14, 1908. — Yesterday, 

 while a visitor was mending his automo- 

 bile down near the woodpile, I noticed the 

 low singing of a bird, apparently very 

 close and behind me, in some tall weeds 

 between the grape-vines and the woodpile. 

 Today I heard it again, and thought it a 

 Catbird's voice. After repeated trials, I 

 at last located the singer. He was a Cat- 

 bird, not over four or five feet from me, 

 sitting trustfully on a stick among the 

 weeds, quite unconcerned, and singing in 

 such a low, fine voice that I could only 



