The Season 



369 



Kingbirds from Holt County, indicate 

 that this species is a more or less regular 

 migrant through the Missouri River 

 bottoms region of northwest Missouri, 

 though records from all other parts of 

 the state are lacking. These Holt County 

 records must be accepted as they have 

 several times been substantiated by speci- 

 mens. 



Newspaper accounts from central 

 Kansas on August 22, to the effect that 

 great numbers of Mallards (the usual 

 newspaper exaggeration) were moving 

 south, only confirm more trustworthy 

 reports of many family parties of Blue- 

 winged Teal, Shovellers, and Mallards 

 being seen there. A few troops of these 

 Ducks have been seen on the Missouri 

 River in this region, showing that they 

 have nested in the neighborhood. 



On August 24 the Blue Grosbeak was at 

 last found in the Missouri bottoms, 

 several miles from the upland farm where 

 the bird has nested during the past two 

 years. A male with a full-grown young was 

 seen, and there is little doubt that the nest 

 was somewhere on the near-by bluff. This 

 bird is fast extending its range north in 

 western Missouri and eastern Kansas. 

 Two locally rare birds noted on the same 

 date were the Yellow-billed Cuckoo and 

 Traill's Flycatcher. Shore-birds were 

 numerous on the mud fiats at the mouth 

 of the Blue River, Yellow-legs and Pec- 

 toral Sandpipers being in the greatest 

 numbers. On August 27 migrant Robins 

 and Bluebirds were readily distinguishable 

 from the local birds which still had a some- 

 what shabby appearance. On this date a 

 river fisherman reported several Ospreys, 

 about 20 feeding Great Blue Herons, 

 three flocks of Blue-winged Teal aggregat- 

 ing 40 individuals, and 6 Shovellers, all 

 seen from his cabin. From the same point 

 was observed a feeding flock of over 100 

 Red-backed Sandpipers on August 30, 

 and 6 Caspian Terns on September i 

 (Andrews). On September 12 a flock of 

 31 Double-crested Cormorants were noted 

 on the Missouri River near the mouth of 

 Little Platte, and the next day in the same 

 neighborhood, over 150 Pelicans were seen 



(Guinotte). Bell's, Warbling, and White- 

 eyed Vireos, and a lone Wood Pewee were 

 singing on September 14. Low-flying 

 Sparrows were heard migrating before 

 daylight on the cloudy morning of Octo- 

 ber 5 and on the 12th the first Tree and 

 Song Sparrows of the season were greeted. 

 Several flocks of large Red-wings, prob- 

 ably /or^w, were also seen. Two specimens 

 of the Sanderling, taken from a flock of 

 eight on the Missouri River in Jackson 

 County, were sent in on October 12. This 

 species has been seen here very seldom 

 during recent years. 



Fall migration has to date been marked 

 by no unusual occurrence, and the current 

 two-month period has developed only the 

 unusual fact of the verification of the 

 extension of the Blue Grosbeak's range. — 

 Harry Harris, Kansas City, Mo. 



Denver Region. — One realizes the 

 value of carefully kept records concerning 

 the movements of birds as they wander 

 about from month to month, when one 

 tries to make a mental picture or estimate 

 of the peculiarities of a given month's 

 occurrences, as compared with the same 

 month a year or two earlier. The con- 

 temporaneous incidents of bird-life may 

 at the time seem unusual, yet when care- 

 fully compared with records of the past, 

 may show little or no differences; hence, 

 the writer has taken especial pains to 

 compare the events of the period now 

 under notice with similar periods in the 

 past. 



On August 16, the first somewhat 

 unusual bird, for that date, to come under 

 observation in this region was the Slender- 

 billed Nuthatch; the earliest previous 

 record for the same neighborhood was 

 August 28, nine years ago. This species 

 has been noted on four other occasions 

 in the city since August 16, making the 

 writer feel that it has been here rather 

 earlier than ordinary. Once more it has 

 been shown by this season's notes that 

 birds will cling to cities, even remaining 

 well within the heart of the city if they can 

 but get food. The Plumbeous Vireo and 

 the Long-tailed Chickadee were seen 



