Notes from Field and Study 



229 



sat in the tree and watched operations. 

 (It may have been that he had visited it 

 before unattended.) At such times he 

 was the first to take flight, and the family, 

 after a few hurried sips, trailed o& reluc- 

 tantly behind him. Excepting the Thrushes, 

 these Crossbills seem to be the most timid 

 of all the birds who visited the pool. They 

 came and went in numbers and usually 

 made two trips a day to drink. 



The Thrushes patronized the pool late 

 in the day, and in the chilly twilights of 

 September we frequently saw a Hermit 

 Thrush taking a bath. 



Last summer it was not unusual to see 

 Song Sparrows and Warblers splashing 

 about together, seeming to agree that 'the 

 more the merrier.' — Maud Stanwood, 

 Hartford, Conn. 



Notes from London, Ont. 



It is some two years since any notes 

 have appeared in Bird-Lore from London, 

 Ont., and the following items may, there- 

 fore, be of interest to Bird-Lore readers. 



The bird-lovers of our city have 

 organized under the name of the Mc- 

 Ilwraith Ornithological Club. Our organi- 

 zation, as well as our meetings, is very 

 informal, but an increased interest in birds 

 is already apparent. 



Cardinal. — It is not many years since 

 this bird was of very rare or accidental 

 occurrence in this vicinity. We now look 

 upon it as one of our permanent residents 

 and a very welcome addition indeed. Dur- 

 ing the winter 1916-17 one of our Club 

 members had eight feeding at his place. 



Redpoll. — It is a long time since Red- 

 polls have been as common as they were 

 during the winter 1916-17. They were 

 noted on every trip taken in the country 

 between December 16 and March 23. 



Northern Shrike. — When taking the 

 Christmas Census for 1916, one of these 



birds was found just west of the city at the 

 'Coves.' This was the first one recorded for 

 about three years. It remained all winter, 

 and about March 21 began to sing. It 

 had a great variety of notes, and we were 

 very much delighted at the opportunity 

 afforded of hearing this rare visitor in 

 song. Strange to say while making the 

 Christmas Census for 191 7, a Northern 

 Shrike was found in the exact locality 

 favored by the one last year, and we are 

 led to wonder if it is not the same bird. 



Least Bittern. — One of these birds 

 was noted on May 30, 1917, in a fringe of 

 willows bordering a small pond. This is 

 only the second or third time this bird 

 has been reported from London. It was 

 under observation for some minutes at a 

 distance of 30 or 40 feet, and, with the aid 

 of field-glasses, identification was not 

 difficult. 



Prairie Warbler. — This was a new 

 record for our county and was also made 

 on May 30, 191 7. The song, which we did 

 not recognize, zee, zee, zee, zee, zee, begin- 

 ning low and becoming higher and louder, 

 first drew our attention. We approached 

 very cautiously, but the bird seemed to 

 ignore our presence and continued sing- 

 ing and feeding in a small dead tree by the 

 edge of the same pond. We got within 

 12 or 15 feet of it, so that every mark was 

 clearly seen, even to the chestnut patch 

 on the back. 



On this trip we also saw a Gray-cheeked 

 Thrush and heard it sing, and recorded an 

 Olive-sided Flycatcher, calling from the 

 top of a tall tree, a Philadelphia Vireo, and 

 Wilson's Warbler, all of which are rather 

 rare migrants with us. 



A note from the 1916 season that might 

 be of interest is the nesting of the Golden- 

 crowned Kinglet, a bird which very seldom 

 stays with us during the summer. — C. G. 

 Watson, Secretary, London, Ont. 



