74 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Birds of Grafton Co. 

 Hampshire. 



New 



I was greatly interested in tlie article 

 entitled " Birds of Broome Co., N. Y.," 

 and thought some readers of the Oologist 

 might be equally interested in a short 

 account of the birds of Grafton Co. , N. H. , 

 and I heartily second Mr. Clute's suggestion 

 that the readers of the Oologist should 

 send in an account of the birds of their 

 coimty for pubUcation. I, therefore, 

 undertake to interest the readers of the 

 OoLOGisT by an account of the birds of 

 Grafton Co., N. H. 



This county is a very good field for 

 ornithologists on account of its physical 

 features . Although there are few aquatic 

 birds, yet this absence is hardly noticed 

 on account of the abundance of land birds. 

 But occasionally there is seen a Loon, 

 Wild Goose and Wild Duck. Of the birds 

 of prey are more the Pigeon Hawk, Spar- 

 row Hawk, Marsh Hawk, Red-shouldered 

 Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper 

 Hawk. While the Brown-winged Hawk 

 and the Gyrfalcon are not uncommon. 



Among the Owls we have the Short- eared 

 Owl, Long-eared Owl, Barred Owl, Hawk 

 Owl, Screech Owl and the Great Horned 

 and the Great Gray Owl are often seen. 



The Thi-ush family is well represented 

 in the Wood Thrush, Hermit Thrush, 

 Tawny Thrush, Olive-backed Thrush, 

 Brown Thrush, the Eobin and the Catbird. 

 All the Warblers are very common excejit 

 the Black Burnian, Prairie and the Cape 

 May Warbler. The latter is rarely seen. 



Of the Swallows, the Barn, Cliff, Bank, 

 and White-bellied are very common ; and 

 the Purple Martin is not rare. 



The Belted Kingfisher is common along 

 streams, in the sandy banks of which it 

 nests. The Crow and Blue Jay are very 

 abundant, and do great damage in the 

 corn-field. This applies principally to the 

 former. 



The Yellow-shafted Flicker, Hairy and 

 the Downy Woodpecker are the most com- 

 mon of their family and sometimes the 

 Pileated Woodpecker is seen; but this 



species can only be counted as a stranger. 



The Flycatchers are quite abundanr, 

 the Pewee often nesting in verandas, and 

 are quite tame. The Kingbird, however, 

 greatly otitni^mbeis the others. 



The Hummingbirds have only one 

 representative: the Kuby-throated, which 

 is seen in almost every garden. 



English Sparrows are too abimdant, for 

 we could well dispense with half their 

 number. All other Sparrows are common 

 except the Fox-colored, White-thrcated 

 and White- crowned; these appear only as 

 migrants. 



The Grosbeaks and Purple Finch are 

 some years very abundant while again 

 they will be very rare. 



Bluebirds are among the first of our 

 Spring visitors. 



This year the Snow Buntings are veiy 

 common and flocks of fifty to a hundred 

 are frequently seen. 



The Snowbird seems to have fallen off 

 in numbers since last year. The Kuthatches 

 are not very (»mmon. Perhaps none of 

 our birds meet with more favor here than 

 the Eed-eyed Vireo. It is of great use to 

 the farmers, and its industrious and cheer- 

 ful diposition secures for it the good will 

 of all. The other Vireos are not so com- 

 mon as the Red-eyed, but the AVhite-eyed, 

 Warbling and Yellow-thrcated Yireo are 

 well represented. 



The Great Northern Shrike, White-winged 

 Crossbill and the Red Crossbill are among 

 the most common of our Winter frieud.e, 

 though these are quite rare. 



The Baltimore Oriole, Rusty Blackbird, 

 and Crow Blackbird are quite common, 

 and the Orchard Oriole is a i"»ossible 

 resident in Summer. 



Chimney Swifts are very common, and 

 large numbers may be seen circling around 

 the chimney tops on warm Summer 

 evenings. 



The Yellow and Black-billed Cuckoos are 

 quite rare . 



I hope other readers of the Oologist 

 will follow Mr. Clute's suggestion and send 

 in reports of their feathered friends. A 

 great deal of valuable information would 

 thus be gained and it would be of no little 

 interest. 



Maurioe S. Sheejian, Hanover, N. H. 



