H 



THE BITTERN 



The eggs, beautiful pure white ones, — 

 two in number,--were safely brought 

 to the ground, and are now in my pri- 

 vate collection. 



The owl, a great beautiful bird, I 

 took home and afterwards mounted. 



Shooting an owl without seeing one, 

 was at the time, considered a lucky 

 shot. But as I now afterward recall 

 that early spring day at the Ledge?, 

 and imagine I again hear the sweet 

 lisping notes of the red-poll linnets and 

 the joyous notes of the feathered 



friends, — the beautiful woodland scen- 

 ery with its refreshing little stream and 

 pool of spring water, — all loses its 

 charm by that one hasty act of ours, 

 that destroyed the life of the Great 

 Horned Owl. 



Life was perhaps as sweet to her, 

 and as full of hope as it is to any of 

 us. Think of the sorrow it must have 

 caused her liege lord when, a little 

 later, he discovered the nest robbed of 

 its treasures, and his faithful mate 

 dead. 



NOTES ON NEWS 



Collectors are filled with an adven- 

 turous spirit, and if any of the readers 

 take the pains to examine into the sub- 

 ject, they will find that the lovers of 

 birds are almost invariably given to 

 travel and adventure. I have found 

 this to be so in almost every case, and 

 will mention one neighborhood as an 

 illustration. In Kalamazoo County, 

 Michigan, always noted for its collect- 

 ors, the following enthusiastic observ- 

 ers have made fame, if not fortune, in 

 this neighborhood, as well as in other 

 states. This list embraces the most of 

 the old-time collectors, some of them 

 having been known to their brother 

 observers for over a quarter of a cen- 

 tury. 



Most important is Benjamin Syke, 

 who is at home anywhere in the woods. 

 He has collected north and south, and 

 has traveled afoot through the pineries 

 of the Lake region, and navigated alone 

 and in a canvas boat the lagoons and 



rivers of Florida. He knows the songs 

 of all the birds north and south, and is 

 the most resourceful woodsman and 

 agreeable compan-on that ever climbed 

 a tree or waded a marsh. 



George Sudworth is another exten- 

 sive traveler and careful observer, and 

 the finest skin-maker in the country. 

 He is now devoted to forestry, and is 

 in that department at Washington, but 

 he writes me that he feels the spirit 

 come upon him to drop everything and 

 get out among the birds. Mr. Sud- 

 worth is a conscientious worker in any 

 thing he undertakes, and has made a 

 success of his botanical work. 



Dr. Morris Gibbs, who has been well 

 known as a writer on many branches 

 of natural history for over twenty years, 

 has observed in many states, north and 

 south. He is as familiar with the 

 snakes, turtles and fish, as he is with 

 the birds and fiowers. 



