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Bird -Lore 



The' Massachusetts Audubon Society's 

 Check-Lists 



In order to encourage an active interest 

 in field work on the part of its nnembers, the 

 Massachusetts Audubon Society supplies 

 them with blank bird- lists on which to 

 record the species they have identified in 

 Massachusetts during the year. 



The names of the authors of the best nine 

 lists for the year ending December 31, 1904, 

 with the number of birds recorded by each, 

 are as follows: Lilian E. Bridge, 181; 

 Elizabeth S. Hill, 144; James Lee Peters, 

 139 ; Lilian Cleveland, 137 ; Samuel D. 

 Robbins, 113; Sarah K. Swift, 103. 

 Louise Howe, 96 ; Bertha Langmaid, 86 ; 

 Georgie M. Wheelock, 72. 



A FIVE -STORIED PHCEBE'S NEST 

 Photographed by Redington Dayton 



An Interesting Phoebe's Nest 



Back in the country, on a road now little 

 used, stands one of the original ' little red 

 schoolhouses.' I had long wished to visit 

 it and was enabled to do so for the first 

 time in the summer of 1904. 



The door was fastened, but the bottom 

 sash of a west window was missing, and 

 through this I climbed into the schoolroom 

 where the desks and benches were still in 

 place, carved and'^cut full of initials, mute 

 testimony of the boys' jack-knives, and in 

 the corner still stood the teacher's desk, 

 above which, on the projecting edge of the 

 window-frame, 'a'pair of Phoebes had built 

 their nest. 



The nest measured nine inches, and 

 was so near the ceiling as barely to admit 

 the old birds upon it; and, theyoung having 

 flown and it being in perfect condition and 

 well built, I took it for my collection, not 

 noticing any further peculiarities imtil show- 

 ing it to some bird students, when we found 

 that the birds had repaired and 

 built upon the original nest, each 

 timp adding more moss and less 

 mud. Upon separating it we found 

 five nests built into one, each divi- 

 sion showing plainly that young 

 birds had been raised in each nest. 



I have often known Phoebes build- 

 ing on the ruins of their old nest, 

 but never have seen any to equal 

 this one, and send the photo show- 

 ing the divisions, thinking it may 

 Interest readers of Bird-Lore. — 

 Wilbur F. Smith, So. Norivalk, 

 Conn. 



A Note on the Food of the 



Bronzed Grackle 

 Last fall I made an Interesting 

 observation on the food of the 

 Bronzed Grackle. This bird occurs 

 here only in the migrations, our 

 summer resident bird being its near 

 relative, the Purple Grackle. 



On November 8 I came upon a 

 large flock of Bronzed Grackles in 

 the woods. They were constantly 

 in motion, actively engaged in 

 hunting for food among the dead leaves cov- 

 ering the ground. Several times I saw a 

 bird fly up with a curious object in its bill. 

 Finally one alighted near me and I saw that 

 the object was a wood frog, a small brown 

 frog very common in our damp woodlands. 

 — W. DeW. Miller, Plainfield, N. J. 



