Notes from Field and Study 



275 



threatened each nest and all worked together, 

 with a stupendous scream of anger and fear. 

 We wished for a movie camera in order to 

 show others what we saw. 



Some of the nests were fully formed, in 

 the grass; others near the grass were more 

 rudimentary; others displayed very little 

 grassy material; while still other eggs were 

 absolutely nestless save for a depression in 

 the sand. 



They were frequently as close as three feet 

 apart and held one, two or three eggs, light 

 green or olive-brown, heavily blotched with 

 blackish spots. There seemed to be every 

 possible variety of coloring and blotching. 

 We visited every part of the island and 

 found nests nearly everywhere, although the 

 majority of them were grouped in or near 

 the center of the island on the higher ground. 

 I should estimate the number of nests at 

 i,Soo. 



Egg-shells were common enough, and two 

 or three dead birds were seen, but we saw 

 only two young birds. This was due to the 

 fact that it was rather early in the season 

 and also to the fact that the young are able 

 to hide or run to water soon after hatching. 

 The two young ones were beautiful, downy 

 brown chicks, looking exactly like bantam 

 chicks with webbed feet, showing no resem- 

 blance to the Tern that was to be. 



We found at the lower end of the island 

 about 200 Herring Gulls, either sterile or 

 sick, as this Gull does not ordinarily remain 

 in this vicinity in the summer time. Per- 

 manent residents, aside from the Terns, 

 seemed to be very scarce, due no doubt to 

 the activity and noise of the Terns. Song 

 Sparrows, Sandpipers and Red-winged Black- 

 birds were seen. A nest of the latter testified 

 to their residence. 



It was a day of intense interest to us as 

 amateurs. Perhaps it would have been to 

 those of larger knowledge. At 5 p. m. our 

 boatman came for us and we soon caught the 

 'Tashmoo' back to Detroit. — G. E. Van 

 Loon, Highland Park, Mich. 



A Night Flight in Iowa 



The May- June issue of Bied-Lore, which 

 just arrived yesterday, contained a letter 



from Ames, Iowa, by Mrs. F. L. Battell 

 which related an account of a flight of birds 

 the night of February 26, 1922, and this 

 aroused my curiosity enough so that I 

 referred to my field-notes for that date and 

 I copy from them the following: "Tempera- 

 ture 30° to 40°. Weather cloudy. Very 

 light snow this evening. Between 9 and 

 10 P.M. I listened to many bird-notes, evi- 

 dently by birds in migration but could not 

 distinguish what they were. All were alike. 

 Some fog this evening and weather barely 

 freezing." This no doubt was the same 

 flight of birds that was observed by Mrs. 

 Battell, as it was at exactly the same hour. 



Ames is nearly thirty miles directly east 

 of Ogden. Could it be possible that the flock 

 of birds was thirty miles wide traveling 

 northward? In addition to the above notes, 

 I recall very distinctly this particular evening, 

 as my wife and I had been spending Sunday 

 evening with a friend, and when we were 

 returning home I heard them very plainly, 

 and when we arrived home I remained out- 

 of-doors for at least fifteen minutes standing 

 out in the fog and mist trying to make out 

 some of the calls but was unable to do so. 

 There seemed to be hundreds of them. It 

 would be interesting to hear from other Iowa 

 observers about this flight. What can you 

 make out of it? — W. M. Rosen, Ogden, Iowa. 



A ^Vindow Exhibit 



The window of a book-seller's shop, in 

 Englewood, N. J., displayed during late 

 November and early December, 1921, a bird 

 tableau of unique quality. 



One-half of the large space was strewn with 

 autumn leaves, from which arose belated 

 goldenrod stalks (in pots). A stalwart tree- 

 trunk towered at one side. Bittersweet vines 

 clambered over a cottage window at the 

 back of the 'scene,' and under the window 

 glowed a brilliant sumach bush. 



For what actors was this stage set? 



A Nuthatch clung to the wires of a suet- 

 holder attached to the tree; a Blue-Jay 

 lorded it over a drinking-dish among the 

 autumn leaves; beneath the cosy cottage 

 window, Juncos and Chickadees were peck- 

 ing seeds from a feeding-shelf; and a Downy 



