86 



THE OOLOGIST. 



by nipping the young buds and 

 branches, assuming, while occupied in 

 this precarious business, a variety of 

 posture that astonishes and delights 

 you. By this time your patience is 

 exhausted and, selecting the old patri- 

 arch of the tJock, that one in the mid- 

 dle with tlie jet-black wings and tail, 

 you discharge both barrels of your gun 

 into the band. With a startled cry 

 they dash from the tree, steering in and 

 Out among the trunks with a dexterity 

 and swiftness that a Ruffed Grouse 

 might euA-y; rising high in the air in a 

 ('ompact tk)ck, circling around a few 

 times, as if h.ith to leave a place so 

 replete with good things, then darting 

 away to less attractive, but safer 

 woods. 



Turning 3'our attention to the fallen 

 you first set about catching yonder 

 wang-tippcd female and, attempting to 

 grasp her under the wings, get so well 

 bitten for your pains that you are glad 

 to let go if she will. Presenting a stick 

 you find that she can be easily trans- 

 ported from place to place by the grasp 

 of her powerful 1)111 alone. 



Besides the maple mast and buds the 

 Grosbeaks are very fond of cedar ber- 

 ries and the red ha^^s that grow in the 

 woods. 



As spring advances the males may be 

 heard uttering their quaint song at all 

 hours of the day. 1 am inclined to 

 think that instead of vying with the 

 Barred Owl in vesper song, the Gros- 

 beaks, like other sensible birds, retire 

 to their evergreen roosting place as 

 evening approaches. 



This Grosbeak comes ever year but is 

 so irregular in his comings and goings 

 that it is very difficult to decide 

 whether it is u winter resident, visitant, 

 or only a migrant. My (^pinion is that 

 although they undoubtedly remain in 

 small hands during the winter, yet the 

 bulk passes north in the months of 

 March and April. In those months a 

 llockp can nearly always be found by 

 search in suitable localities. 



Stewart E. White, 

 Kent county, Mich. 



Evening Grosbeaks Again. 



In addition to the instances cited last 

 month of the Evening Grosbeak occur- 

 ing in the Eastern States, we also have 

 the following: 



A few days ago a party of hun- 

 ters shot two fine specimens of 

 the Evening Grosbeak, in this vicinity. 

 This is quite unusual as the bird is not 

 often seen so far east. The birds were 

 identified by the State Ornithologist, 

 M.L. F., 

 Williamsport, Pa. 



On the morning of March 18, 1890, 

 W'hile waiting for one of my friends 

 with whom I Avas going gunning, I 

 heard a slight noise in a maple tree 

 standing near and, on looking up, saw 

 two i)irds which I did not recognize. I 

 fired Olive and missed, upon which they 

 fiew to the top of a large elm tree in 

 one of the neighbor's yards. After 

 waiting a few minutes they flew down 

 into a group of spi-uce and cedar trees. 

 Here I crept up and secured one which 

 proved tc be a female. The other ficAv 

 off' so that I could not obtain it. Sex of 

 the bird that escaped not known. Con- 

 tents of stomach, parts of cedar buds. 

 The bird has been identified by Profess- 

 or Carl Braun. 



George P. Shepherd, 

 Bangor, Me. 



The Pileated Woodpecker in Florida. 



This handsome Woodpecker can 

 hardly be- classed among the rare birds, 

 but is becoming rarer as civilization 

 advances. Years ago it was said to 

 have been common, but as the hum- 

 mocks and swamps have been cleared 

 up, he has retreated farther and farther, 

 until now he is found only in the inore 

 secluded hummocks. In these places 

 he may be found at all seasons, busily 

 engaged in pecking oiit grubs from the 

 many rotten logs and stumps to be 



