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Bird - Lore 



Some Bird Observations During a Mild 

 Winter in Central Oklahoma 



The unusually mild weather of most of the 

 past winter may have had something to do 

 with the presence, in January, of three Spar- 

 rows that formerly we have seen only as 

 spring and fall migrants, namely, on January 

 13, 1921 a White-crowned Sparrow, and 

 three days later, a White- throated Sparrow 

 and Vesper Sparrow. Most surprising of all 

 was a Western Lark Sparrow, for these birds 

 are normally summer residents here, arriving 

 the last of March or first of April and leaving 

 in September. On January 6, a warm sum- 

 mer-like day, I first discovered him, appar- 

 ently in the best of spirits, but a week later, 

 after a 4-inch snow, he looked rather forlorn, 

 cuddling one little foot in his feathers while 

 he ate grass seeds. On February 23, I again 

 saw him near the same place, and this time 

 he was singing the unmistakable song of his 

 kind. 



There were two snows in February, and 

 they were the occasions of many bird guests 

 coming to our feeding-stations, which until 

 then had been patronized only by Plumbeous 

 Chickadees and one male Downy Wood- 

 pecker. Texas Bewick Wrens surprised us 

 by eating suet, bread-crumbs, and nuts; bird 

 seeds were enjoyed by Juncos, Field Spar- 

 rows (perhaps the western subspecies) , and a 

 Lincoln Sparrow, while Cardinals liked all the 

 eatables. It was a treat for our whole family 

 to watch these fascinating visitors within a 

 few feet of the window. One of the Juncos 

 was curiously mottled with white spots on her 

 head, back, and throat. We saw 'Speckles' 

 February 7, 8, 15, 18, 10, 20, and 22. The 

 Lincoln Sparrow came February 7, 8, 22, and 

 23; it was rather bellicose and drove the 

 gentle Field Sparrows away. These last were 

 the tamest, dearest little birds, and they paid 

 for their feasts by singing most enchantingly 

 on our grounds from February 12 till the 

 middle of March. 



Some of the migrants arrived this year as 

 much as three weeks ahead of the dates last 

 year, notably the Brown Thrasher, Vesper 

 Sparrow, and Purple Mai tin. Others were 

 about a week early, for instance, the Cowbird 

 and Bronzed Crackle; but cold weathei the 



last of March seems to have delayed some 

 species. As to nesting, a curious thing hap- 

 pened with a pair of Bluebirds and two pairs 

 of Texas Wrens, for they built their nests in 

 late February instead of the middle of March 

 as usual, but they did not lay for several 

 weeks, the first Bluebird's egg being found 

 March 24, and as the Wrens still have eggs 

 April 6, their date of laying could not have 

 been much earlier. The Crows and English 

 Sparrows we have observed are slightly later 

 this year than last, for in 1920 we found four 

 downy young of the former on March 28, and 

 this year, five blind and naked young on 

 April 4; while the first brood of half-grown 

 English Sparrows was discovered March 20, 

 in 1920, and not until April 3, in 1921. One 

 pair of Western Mourning Doves are unusu- 

 ally early, having a full set of eggs about 

 March 20. Last year we found no Robin 

 nests till April, but this year two Robins 

 were seen on nests March 23, and no less 

 than six were incubating eggs the last day 

 of this month. — Margaret M. Nice, 

 Norman, Okla. 



Minnesota Migration Notes 



Possibly an item in regard to date of fall 

 migration in this vicinity may be of interest. 



On August 20, the annual migration of 

 Nighthawks occurred. I have noticed this 

 on two pre\aous years as occurring about 

 August 15, when thousands went around this 

 end of Lake Superior during the afternoon; 

 all these noticed were within three-quarters 

 of a mile of the Lake shore. 



On September 18, the Blue Jays went 

 south in force, hundreds flying through my 

 yard. 



On October 2, small unidentified birds 

 went south in numerous flocks, edged about 

 by hundreds of Hawks. This seemed to be 

 the main migration of the smaller birds. 



My home is about three-quarters of a mile 

 from the lake, on the edge of the city, and all 

 the birds above observed were seen between 

 the house and the lake shore. Probably they 

 had followed the northeast shore to avoid a 

 long flight across the lake. — Homer Collins, 

 Duluth, Minn. 



