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Bird - Lore 



the open pine forest several hundred 

 yards. What good reason the birds may 

 give among themselves for this strange 

 performance I do not know, but it doubt- 

 less protects the nests from certain ma- 

 rauders, possible flying squirrels, which 

 inhabit the pine lands abundantly. 



There is little doubt but that, in some 

 instances at least, the nest is occupied 

 in successive years by the same pair of 

 birds, and in one instance at least I have 

 known one to be used by a pair of Red- 

 bellied Woodpeckers. — T. Gilbert Pear- 

 son, Greensboro, N. C. 



A Saw-whet Owl in Central Park 



On the morning of January 4, 1Q09, I 

 saw a fine specimen of a Saw-whet Owl in 

 the ramble of the park quietly sleeping in 

 a low pine tree. I remained an hour in its 

 society and managed by bothering it a 

 little to get a good study of it. It was 

 perched so low, and was so indifferent to 

 things generally, that I could easily have 

 taken it from the branch. It didn't 

 altogether like my opera-glasses when I 

 held them near, for it opened its eyes wide 

 and followed them as I changed position, 

 in the meantime giving me e.vcellent views 

 of it. 



A Hermit Thrush, some White-throated 

 Sparrows, and a crowd of English Spar- 

 rows, made things lively for a time; but, 

 finding they made no impression on their 

 enemy, they finally left, and let it take its 

 sleep in peace. — Anne A. Crolius, New 

 York City. 



The Goshawk as an Enemy of Poultry 



The Goshawk is rare in this localit)', 

 appearing only once or twice during a 

 winter. This winter (1907-08) I know 

 of two records. In both cases the Hawk 

 made an attack on poultry. On November 

 19, a farmer, living near the village, on 

 hearing an outcry from his hens, went 

 to the barnyard and found that they were 

 attacked by a large Goshawk. The Hawk 

 had killed three hens and was after a 

 fourth when the farmer appeared. The 



man went for his gun; upon his return he 

 found that the Hawk had succeeded in 

 killing the hen and was sitting on the 

 stone wall eating it. The bird seemed 

 quite tame and was easily shot. 



The other Goshawk was seen by me 

 on December 13. I was walking by a 

 farmhouse when my attention was at- 

 tracted by the loud cries of a hen. The bird 

 was in a clumj) of bushes over which 

 hovered a Goshawk. The Hawk pounced 

 twice at the hen, but could not hit it on 

 account of the thick branches. On seeing 

 me, the Goshawk gave up and flew away 

 to the woods. — Edward H. Perkins, 

 Tilton, N. H. 



Nesting of the Chimney Swift 



Spending a large part of my summer 

 vacation of 1907 in the lake region of 

 Minnesota, I had a good chance to observe 

 the birds of this region. One of my experi- 

 ences follows. 



On July 31, while following up a stream 

 that flowed into a near-by lake, I came 

 across an old deserted hunting-cabin. The 

 building was about 10x12 feet and had 

 one small window and a doorway about 

 four feet high. On entering and looking 

 about, I saw a Chimney Swift on its nest 

 at the farther end of the building. I 

 walked up to the nest, which was about 

 opposite my head, and stood looking at 

 the Ijird for some time at a distance of two 

 feet. The Swift kept its little, black, bead- 

 like eyes fixed on me, l)Ut did not move 

 until I reached out my hand and touched 

 it on the back. 



The nest contained four young birds, 

 that I should say were four or five days 

 old. When I made a squeaking noise, 

 they raised their heads to be fed, but very 

 soon settled down. 



When I again visited the cabin, on 

 July ly, three of the young birds had 

 climbed out of the nest and were hanging 

 on the log walls within a foot of their home, 

 while the fourth was still in the nest. They 

 were all rather uneasy, and on a close 

 approach attempted to climb away. 

 Neither of the old birds entered the cabin 



