The Season 



Arundel County, Maryland, by Mr. T. 

 Denmead. No males were noted, and it is 

 probable that this does not represent a breed- 

 ing record, notwithstanding the lateness of 

 the date. / 



Miss Katharine H. Stuart reports that a 

 male White-throated Sparrow made its ap- 

 pearance on the campus of the University of 

 Virginia about June 26, and remained there 

 until at least July 10, in full song and ap- 

 parently quite unaware that he was far away 

 from his usual summer home, and equally 

 unconscious of the interest that his presence 

 in such a place at such a time aroused. 



The European Starling is breeding about 

 Washington in increasing numbers, utilizing 

 here chiefly the natural hollows of trees. The 

 bird has become a common sight in the fields 

 as well as in the city of Washington itself, 

 and does not appear seriously to molest 

 other birds. 



The Purple Martins have again returned 

 to their roost on the Mall opposite the Red 

 Cross Building along 17th Street. They first 

 appeared here on June 11, and have con- 

 tinued to return to the same place, although 

 their numbers much decreased during the 

 latter part of July. They are apparently as 

 restless as they were last year, when they 

 changed their roosting-place several times 

 during the summer. There are not so many 

 resorting to the roost this year as previously 

 but the gathering possibly may be much 

 augmented during the month of August. — 

 Harry C. Obeeholser, Biological Survey, 

 Washington, D. C. 



Chicago Region. — Excessive and con- 

 tinued heat has marked "this period as one 

 of the hottest summers for fifty years, and has 

 tried the endurance of the most hardy ob- 

 servers when in the field. Many nests have 

 been reported, however, and early migration 

 notes are already coming in. 



One of the most interesting nests was that 

 of the Black-and- White Warbler, found by 

 Mr. W. D. Richardson in the Dunes in June. 

 The nest held four eggs when found and was 

 watched until the young flew. There are only 

 one or two other nesting records for this 

 species in this region. On June 18, Mrs. 

 Coffin foimd a nest of the Prairie Warbler 



251 



containing four eggs, in the Dunes, from 

 \^hich the young flew July 3. On the same 

 day a pair of Blue-winged Warblers and a 

 Yellow-throated Vireo were seen, but no 

 nests found. 



At Beach, 111., on July 24 I found a pair 

 of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers feeding almost 

 full-grown young. The young were catching 

 insects, too, but had not outgrown the habit 

 of opening their mouths and quivering their 

 wings when the old bird came near, for which 

 they were often rewarded. This bird is a 

 rare breeder north of the city but is more 

 common in the Dimes where Mr. Ford and 

 Mr. Richardson found a number of nests this 

 year. Mr. Ford also reported four nests of 

 the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. 



Mr. Wm. Lyons, of Waukegan, in con- 

 nection with his banding work found thirty- 

 five nests of fourteen different species, from 

 which he banded ninety-four birds. These 

 include Spotted Sandpiper, Baltimore Oriole, 

 Crested Flycatcher, and Downy Woodpecker. 

 The female Downy was one of three birds 

 he banded last January and had stayed to 

 breed in his orchard. Mr. Harper reports the 

 Scarlet Tanager and Virginia Rail breeding 

 at River Forest, and Mr. Watson a few pairs 

 of Dickcissels breeding on the far south side 

 of the city. I have noticed a decided scarcity 

 of Yellow Warblers this year — in places 

 where they have always been common pre- 

 viously no nests were found and only one or 

 two birds seen. 



The early migration notes have to do 

 mainly with the shore-birds. Mr. Benjamin 

 T. Gault has made an extensive study of 

 their movements at Lincoln Park. The 

 first seen were the Least, Semipalmated, and 

 Pectoral Sandpipers on July 17, and the 

 latter again on the 20th. On the 24th, be- 

 sides these, the Lesser Yellow-legs, Sander- 

 ling, and Semipalmated Plover were no- 

 ticed, also on the 28th. The 31st a Turnstone 

 was added to the list, and August 3 all ex- 

 cept the Least and Semipalmated Sand- 

 pipers were seen. Mr. Lewis's notes dupli- 

 cate some of the above but add Greater 

 Yellow-legs, August 5, at Hyde Lake, and 

 Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones, July 

 31, in the Dunes; July 24, on Dead Lake, at 

 Beach I found a large flock of Greater and 



