178 Bird -Lore 



In the openings of a near-by tree- and bush-grown pond, if the resident 

 Kingfisher does not give the alarm, a Black Duck with her brood may be 

 seen, and, more rarely, one may catch a glimpse of a radiant Wood Duck 

 floating on the clear brown water. At dusk the whistling of Woodcocks' 

 wings and the momentary sight of the birds rapidly flying to fresh feeding 

 grounds adds another game-bird to the list. 



In the grass-grown fields, ready for the mower, and on the rolling 

 plains, where sheep graze, are Meadowlarks, Vesper, Field, Savanna and 

 Grasshopper Sparrows, with Kingbirds and Indigo Buntings in the border- 

 ing tree lines. 



From every side comes the splendid, vigorous whistle of Bob-white, and 

 often the singer may be seen, perched on the top rail of a fence, replying 

 in kind to a rival occupying a similar position on the other side of the field. 



Approaching the borders of the woods, and where thicket growths 

 encroached upon the fields, one was sure to have the always startling expe- 

 Tience of flushing an English Pheasant; and in the morning and evening 

 the little, immature, bantam-like crow of cock Pheasants was a distinctly 

 strange and foreign note. 



In spite of its abundance, the novelty of this bird's appearance does not 

 wear off. As, with a cackle and a roar of wings, the bird seemed to burst 

 from the earth, I invariably paused to watch the magnificent creature rise, 

 rocket -like, and sail away into cover; nor did one think of moving until 

 it was lost to view. The manner in which a cock Pheasant can conceal 

 himself where there is apparently not sufficient cover for a Sparrow was a 

 never-ending source of wonder. Scarcely less astonishing than the flight 

 of the adult Pheasants is the wing-power of the chicks. When evidently 

 not more than two or three days old, they fly with a speed and certainty of 

 aim which quickly carries them to the near-by shelter. The sitting females 

 were exceedingly wary, leaving the nest with but little cause and returning 

 with much caution. Several hundred Pheasants were released on Gar- 

 diner's Island a dozen years ago, where they have so thrived that they are 

 now numbered by thousands. 



The woods, in addition to the Vireos, Scarlet Tanagers, Ovenbirds, 

 Wood Thrushes and other common species, held as tenants several Caro- 

 lina Wrens, a southern species whose loud, ringing, musical whistles added 

 an unexpected bird voice to the chorus of June song. Reaching the regu- 

 lar northern limit of its range in northern New Jersey, this bird is known 

 only as a rare straggler on Long Island ; but it appears to have become 

 permanently established on Gardiner's Island, where the conditions have 

 evidently proved favorable to its increase. Its characteristic notes gave 

 form to mental pictures of some southern woods, made still more real by 

 the guttural, lisping gurgle of the Parula Warblers nesting in the long, 

 hanging streamers of usnea moss. 



