The Season 



353 



Sw.'illows ro:-,(; froif) I lie riic in (/,rc;i,l, '.w-'iyiiit; 

 <:f;iumns, dense anfl black, and rnounl.efl inlo 

 the air like towering:; streamers of smoke, 

 unrlulafinj; and driftinj; about, with iIk^ 

 lower enfl of fiie (olurnn <\(>r.<- to the ri(:(!, t.lir; 

 upper end mount i/i;^ liijdier ;uid highier iint.il 

 filially it ;,[;rea(J out like a vasl mushroom, 

 the tiny birds just visible a» they fluttered 

 and floalefl about in the upper air. Several 

 of these streamers ff)rmed at the same time 

 and as they swayed and moved about, two 

 of them occasionally came together when they 

 rni-.ri^c.d into one anrl the dizzy, whirlit^ijj; 

 (^ame went merrily on in auj^mented numbers. 

 Kvery now and then one of these (olunm, 

 broke asunder and the birds scattered in a 



/ast rcvolvin):; flock, only to come quickly 

 io;<ether a;:;ain as before. While scattered 

 the birds all twittered incessantly, but assf>on 

 as the column was reformed they all became 

 silent. After an hour or so the upper air 

 became literally alive with Swallows, that 

 could be .seen {plainly only with the aid of a 

 glass. 'J'hey milled about over a wide area, 

 sustaining them.selves by raj>id, fluttering 

 wing-beats alternating with brief ;)eriods of 

 ■oaring, a manner of flight very unlike their 

 normal movements. 

 This regular morning [performance of the 



..'/allows was sf> remarkable and specta/.ular 

 that it attracted anri held the attention of 

 many of the rneml^ers of the club, even 

 though they were not interested in birds, and 

 I am inclined to think saved the life of an 

 occasional Duck that might have been 

 bagged, had the Swallow-f>lay been le'^'^, 

 ab-v'jrbirig. 



Si'.pl(:tnl)f:r 2J. '/'he first Cireen-wiriged 



leal shot at the Gun Club. This iJuck is a 

 rather late arrival from farther north, 



Sf.plc.mix'.r 24. 7'he Swallows are still at 

 the sloughs but the evolutions this morning 

 were s^^rnewhat different. The birds did not 

 tower 'r/i) high but remained in great, whirling 

 flocks which rose from the rice and settled 

 l;a*jk again from time Ui time, keeping this u[) 

 from daylight until after g o'clf>ck, when they 



mattered for the day. 'ITiese great flocks 

 left shortly after this date, only a few strag 

 ^ding birds remaining.— Thos. S. Hohkhts, 

 /,0'jlogical Mw.eum, UniversUy of MinnKsoUi. 

 Minnfapoli:,, Minn, 



Kansas Cny Rkmo;;. It will be i,- 

 mf:mbered that the unjjrecederit.ed invasion 

 of .Magpif^s down the jMissouri Valley last 

 winter penetrat.efl northwestern Mis;souri as 

 far as iioutliern Holt (bounty whitre fifty or 

 more indivirluals were under ob,erv;ilion 

 throughout the winter. Word li.-is recently 

 reached the writer from ;ui entirely trust- 

 worthy w^urce that at least two pair of these 

 showy anrl noisy strangers reniainerl in that 

 r<;gion to breerl, anrl that the two nests in 

 which young an- known to have been raised 

 are located less than tfiree miles from Corning. 

 .Mr. Cfiarles \i. Dankers has been askerl to 

 l<liot(igrai>h these nests if j)o.ssif>le, and Ut 

 furnish such documentary proof as will make 

 this astoni-shing record absolutely authentic. 

 'I'his is, of course, a new record for Miswjuri. 



kanrlom notes for the early fiart of the 

 current seas^^n include such recorrls as the 

 true singing of the Hlue Jay heard on August 

 15, a rare [performance in'leed and only once 

 before heard by the writer; a feerling U[<land 

 Plover seen on the Shelter House lawn in 

 Swo[>e J'ark on August i(>; a .Mourning (Jove 

 building a belated nest on August 22; Kill- 

 df:ers and CriA-.n Herons heard overhead 

 fluring the dark nights of August 24 and 26; 

 a continuous migration of -Vighfiiawks during 

 the last week of August anfl the first week r»f 

 Sef)tember, wfien birds dis[jlaying tvi:ry 

 <:<>\i>r and shade of [jiurnage wii^nt. seen 

 [>erching about in sha^le trees and on U:tin\ 

 wires and telef>hone cables within the city; 

 JJaltimore Orioles heard in full W)ng as late 

 as September 6; and migrating Savannah 

 S[>arrows s(;en on Sefjtember i/\. 



A ]>r()ir<u±i:<\ heat-wave anrl drouglit gave 

 way on Septemb<;r 8 to a forty eigfit hour 

 down[xjur of rain a<;f.'om[ianied by 25' dro[> 

 in tern[>erature which marked the beginning 

 in earnest of fall migration. On the morning 

 of Se[jtember 10, several lilack -crowned 

 -N'ight Herons and a mi-<ed crowd of Sanrl- 

 pifxirs were surprise*] in I-'orcst ilill Cemetery; 

 on the 12th Mea<Jowlark» fairiy »warmc<J 

 everywhere in the oj>en, singing their jiar- 

 ticulariy [^leasing, rollicking traveling song; 

 on the 13th the first Rough -legg<;/l Hawk, 

 [jrobably a bird of the year, was s<;en facing 

 worried by a [>air of pugnju.ious Sf>arrnv/ 

 Hawks; and on the ;5th the fir.nt large gar.g>. 



