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Bird - Lore 



same is true of the Sparrows, Flycatchers, 

 Kinglets, Thrushes, and other groups of 

 smaller land-birds. Of the water-birds the 

 writer can speak less definitely as oppor- 

 tunity for thorough observation was 

 limited, but it was noted that the always 

 common Spotted Sandpiper was almost 

 absent. 



Since the end of the migration, con- 

 siderable time has been spent in the field 

 and it is plainly evident that our land- 

 birds at least, with but few exceptions, are 

 greatly reduced in numbers this year. 

 Meadowlarks, Song Sparrows, Chipping 

 Sparrows, Scarlet Tanagers, Catbirds, 

 and Robins, are possibly nearly as numer- 

 ous as usual, but the woods and fields are 

 for the most part strangely silent and 

 deserted. Of course it is not intended to 

 give the impression that there are no birds, 

 for all species are represented, but the 

 bulk of bird-life, as far as individuals 

 are concerned, is far below what it has 

 been of late years, to say nothing of thirty 

 or forty years ago. Why this should be so 

 is still a mystery but the fact remains that 

 but a small portion of the birds that left 

 the vicinity of Minneapolis last fall re- 

 turned this spring. Reports from other 

 localities are awaited with much interest. 

 — Thos. S. Roberts, Zoological Museum, 

 University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 



Denver Region. — The bird-lover who 

 lives in the usual haunts of the Mocking- 

 bird and hears each year the wonderful 

 exuberance of its nesting-song, can feel 

 with me the pleasure I have had over a 

 great influx of Mockingbirds to this region 

 during this season. It is now more than 

 twenty years since I have seen so many 

 of these birds in the neighborhood of 

 Denver. As I write, I hear one singing 

 lustily in the adjoining park — a rare treat. 

 I have always believed that we would have 

 many more with us regularly if they were 

 not searched for and disturbed so per- 

 sistently during the nesting-season. As 

 soon as a pair or two appear in a neighbor- 

 hood, everybody seems to desire a young 

 bird for a pet. No suitable locality within 

 a radius of twenty-five miles of Denver has 



failed to show a Mockingbird since the 

 arrival of the first wave of May 2. 



There has been a singular absence of 

 Warblers this season; perhaps I overlooked 

 them, but at any rate the only migrating 

 Warblers I have seen this spring were 

 Macgillivray's and Virginia, and during 

 the same time I did not see even a single 

 White-crowned or a Gambel's Sparrow, or 

 a Bronzed Crackle. I have always seen 

 these species in the neighborhood of my 

 present home, without making any special 

 effort. There has been an unusual number 

 of Bullock's Orioles, House Wrens, and 

 Plumbeous Vireos. The nesting of the 

 House Wren in my vicinity last year and 

 its recurrence now, lead me to hope that 

 it will become a regular breeding bird in 

 our park. Nighthawks reached us about 

 on time (May 24), and again a Poor- will 

 visited Cheesman Park, the second in 

 eight years, coming on May 29. Our Wood 

 Pewee was the last of the Flycatchers to 

 appear in Denver, arriving May 23. 



I have often wondered what would 

 become of an escaped Canary, and I have 

 had an answer this spring, for a male has 

 been living in the vicinity of my house 

 for several weeks, singing lustily, and get- 

 ting its own living of weed and dandelion 

 seeds as cleverly as our native House 

 Finches, with- which it has consorted much 

 of the time. 



I had looked forward with a great deal 

 of anticipation to the time of the sun's 

 eclipse (June 8), in order that I might note 

 the behavior of birds on the approach of, 

 and during, the transitory night. To our 

 great disappointment, the afternoon was 

 cloudy, and we were not treated to that 

 rare phenomenon which comes with a 

 total eclipse and an unclouded sky, the 

 sudden and awesome change from day to 

 night. Nevertheless, during totality(ninety 

 seconds) the mountains and plains were 

 covered by a striking and weird semi-dark- 

 ness, and as it approached, the Horned 

 Larks became more voluble, and the Night- 

 hawks took up their crepuscular ways, only 

 to roost again on the fence-posts, when sun- 

 light once more prevailed. — W. H. Berg- 

 told, M.D., Denver, Colo. 



