206 



Bird - Lore' 



May 30. Least Sandpiper still here — flock 

 of 19. 



May 31. Bobolink's nest, 7 eggs; wood 

 Thrush's nest, 4 eggs. An Olive-sided 

 Flycatcher, a belated migrant. 



June 3. Young Pileated Woodpeckers in nest 

 found April 26 large enough to come up to 

 the hole to be fed. Both sexes feeding as 

 is usual with the Woodpeckers; trips 

 rather infrequent, the interval sometimes 

 an hour. A second nest of this remarkable 

 bird was reported in the vicinity of Minne- 

 apolis the present season. 



June 7. Young Migrant Shrikes just out of 

 nest. 



June 10. Hummingbird building nest. Laid 

 foundation of spider-webs as apparently 

 do most birds that saddle their nests on 

 small limbs. 



June II. Ruffed Grouse with chicks only 

 two or three days old. Both parents with 

 young. 



The Bob-white is more than usually 

 numerous this year in this locality, its 

 whistle being heard on all sides, sometimes 

 within the city limits. The harsh call of the 

 Ring-necked Pheasant is becoming a rather 

 frequent new note in all the coimtry round. 

 The past mild, snowless winter has probably 

 favored the increase of these two birds. — 

 Thomas S. Roberts, Zoological Museum, 

 University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. 



Kansas City Region. — The unusual op- 

 portunity of viewing iminterruptedly a spring 

 migration has been enjoyed this season by 

 the writer, and enough interesting and valu- 

 able data has accumulated to fill several 

 times over the space allotted to these brief 

 notes. Particular attention has been paid to 

 nesting habits with special reference to dates 

 of laying, and exact information regarding 

 over forty species has been recorded in this 

 locally neglected department. 



Encouraged by the finding of additional 

 evidence last year of the local breeding of the 

 Blue Grosbeak, a systematic and extended 

 search has lately been made for the nest of 

 Traill's Flycatcher, with the result that eight 

 nests have been located in this county. The 

 most productive field proved to be the willow 

 thickets in the Missouri River bottoms near 

 the mouth of Big Blue, where a nest and set 

 of eggs were collected to substantiate the 



record. This bird has hitherto been searched 

 for here in vain during the breeding season, 

 but has very evidently been merely over- 

 looked. 



A tempestuous and killing blizzard, entirely 

 out of season hit this region on April 16, leav- 

 ing death and destruction to nesting birds 

 and late fruit in its wake. A brooding female 

 Robin whose nest was exposed to the full 

 blast of the north wind and snow had to lie 

 close with head under wing to keep from 

 freezing, and next morning her four large 

 nestlings were dead. Five other Robins' 

 nests, as well as Meadowlark, Chickadee and 

 Bluebird nests, were found containing frozen 

 eggs. 



As reported in the last letter from this 

 point, very early spring had advanced the 

 arrival dates of the early migrants, but the 

 return of winter conditions not only played 

 havoc with the early breeders, but kept sev- 

 eral of the wintering species here longer than 

 usual, and delayed migration generally from 

 that date forward. Such prompt migrants 

 as Hermit Thrush, House Wren and Chimney 

 Swift, noticeable perhaps on account of their 

 abimdance, were later than for several years 

 past. However, a few species were early in 

 spite of adverse conditions, as, for instance. 

 Yellow-legs, Greater Yellow-legs, Bittern, 

 and Spotted Sandpiper. Junco, Winter Wren, 

 and Harris's and White-throated Sparrows 

 were four winter species to remain long after 

 their normal times of departure; Juncos were 

 noted in small numbers as late as May 5 

 and the Sparrows were common up imtil 

 the last of the second week in May, when nor- 

 mally only stragglers are present. Savannah 

 Sparrows passed during the last half of April 

 in unusual abimdance, especially on upland 

 and prairie regions. On the 24th, Shrikes 

 and Phoebes had yoimg in the nest, hatched 

 during the past week since the blizzard. On 

 the 25th, Baltimore Orioles, Kentucky and 

 Blue-winged Warblers, and Wood-Thrushes 

 arrived, and Dove, Meadowlark, Brown- 

 thrasher, and Cardinal had full sets of eggs. 

 Tanagers arrived on the 29th with an im- 

 mense wave of Harris's Sparrows. Belated 

 groups of migrating Blue Jays and the late 

 arrival of Indigo Bunting and Red-eyed Vireo 



