230 Bird - Lore 
It was discovered that, during the winter months, the Owls were not to 
be found at the barn. They evidently migrated each year in November, and, 
did not return until some time in March. But the Owls did not return with 
the spring of r910. All that could be found to indicate that the loft had ever 
been tenanted by them were a few decaying pellets; while it was learned that, 
for the first time in years, a part of the coop had been reclaimed by Pigeons. 
We can only entertain the hope that another spring will mark the return to 
the farm of these birds of mystery. 
An Acre of Birds 
By ALTHEA R. SHERMAN, National, Iowa 
HE recent establishment of a Bird Reserve in Cincinnati turns our 
attention once more to the rich results that may be obtained from 
working well a small area. Notable among the very limited spaces 
that have been thoroughly studied are the following: that of St. Paul’s Church- 
yard in New York City, in which there have been seen 40 species of birds; 
that of the Boston Public Garden where were listed 116 species during a period 
of nine years; and near it, in Roxbury, a private garden of six acres in which 
were noted 85 species within a dozen years; that of another garden in Charles- 
ton, S. C., where were found 90 species in the space of five years; that of 
a small door-yard in Morton Park, Illinois, from which were observed go 
species within three years; and that of a door-yard of nearly an acre in Pasa- 
dena, California, where were counted in one season 33 species of birds, 15 ~ 
of which nested there. 
Of the large number of birds that have been seen from a small space in a 
brief time, there stands prominent the record of Mr. Ridgway, who, from 
his Washington yard, counted 24 species within a half hour, and who heard 
25 species singing together one June day on an Illinois prairie. Perhaps the 
largest list for a single forenoon, on so small an area as six acres, was that 
obtained by two ornithologists at Scarboro, N. Y., where 77 Species were seen. 
Several enthusiastic ornithologists in Ohio have nearly doubled this number, 
by devoting the whole day to the search, and by covering a much larger 
territory. Sufficient instances have here been,cited to prove that small fields 
offer abundant material for bird study; but I should like to add to them some 
items relating to the bird population on my own home acre, where I am sure 
a long life might be spent in diligent study without exhausting the many 
secrets connected with bird-life thereon. 
It was upon three acres of a cultivated field adjoining a small village that 
the home was started forty-four years ago. Recently three other acres of — 
abandoned village lots have been added to the original acreage; but two- 
thirds of this land enters very slightly into this account, since all the nests 
