THE NIDIOLOGIST 



37 



Kingfisher had recovered himself and flown a 

 few yards, when the latter was obliged to dive 

 ■wholly under water by his merciless little ]jerse- 

 cutor. 



This act was repeated five distinct times be- 

 fore the opposite shore was reached, the fisher 

 staying in the water longer every time he dove. 

 When he finally landed, he fell, rather than lit, 

 upon a branch that fortunately was close at 

 hand, giving none of his lively "rattle." The 

 Swallow continued gathering material for sup- 

 per, at least I conclude it was that meal, it being 

 exactly 6 o'clock p. m. when I turned and [JUt 

 on a fresh bait. J- H. Bowles. 



Ponkapog, Mass. 







fLD. 



Several Ruffed Grouse have been seen in 

 town this fall. One took refuge in a church- 

 yard, but was discovered and shot by a merci- 

 less hunter. 



Another was flashed from our back porch 

 early one morning. It was perched on a 

 clothesline, where it had possibly spent the 

 night. W. S. J. 



Boonville, N. V. 



* * 



Some Pet Snowy Herons. 



Editor Nidiologist. 



Dear Sir: Mr. F. C. Elliot and myself 

 captured four Herons, two Little Blue and two 

 Snowy. One died, and two very mysteriously 

 disappeared. The one remaining. Snowy, in- 

 terested me very much. When very young, its 

 feathers not being very handsome, I thought it 

 would turn out to be a Little Blue, but to our 

 joy it was a Snowy. The appetite of this bird 

 was simply appalling. It ate from daylight till 

 dark, if edibles were obtainable. For a long time 

 we fed it on fish, rather small, and of all the funny 

 sights I ever saw, the way it gulped down the 

 fish was the funniest. One day in its hurry to 

 swallow a fish it came very near choking. The 

 fish went down tail first, and of course the fins 

 stuck into its throat, but we managed to extract 

 it without causing much damage. Between the 

 toes of each foot there was a piece of skin, like 

 that of most swimmers, which I suppose Nature 

 furnished this bird for protection when, by ac- 

 cident, it is thrown in the water. 



The Heron became so tame that whenever 

 my friend went into the yard it would fly to 

 him and alight upon his shoulder. When very 

 hungry, which was almost always the case, he 

 would shake his wings incessantly and utter a 

 guttural cry very similar to that of the Crow. 

 It was allowed to go at will, and even roosted 

 in a pear tree in the back yard. Not long ago 

 it made daily pilgrimages to a pond not far off, 

 coming back every evening, but the last time it 

 went it stayed. R. W. Williams, Jr. 



Tallahassee, Fla. 



* * 



Dicksissel at Plymouth, Mich. 



Editor Nidiologist. 



Dear Sir : In reply to query of " B. H. S.," 

 of Detroit, Mich., as to " Dicksissel Breeding at 

 Detroit," I will say that these birds made their 

 first appearance in this locality during the 

 spring of 1891; and on the first day of June of 

 that year I collected two sets of their eggs, a 

 set of four, which were fresh, and a set of five 

 slightly incubated. The nests were situated in 

 a field of tall rank clover, midway betw-een the 

 ground and the tops of the clover. They were 

 composed of coarse, dry grass, and leaves, and 

 lined with fine dry grass. Since 189 1 the 

 Dicksissel has visited this locality, but they are 

 not very abundant, as only two or three pairs 

 have been noticed during each season. 



Plymouth, Mich. James B. Purdv. 



* * 

 Bittern and Sandpiper Notes. 



Editor Nidiologist. 



Dear Sir : The little note on page 20 of the 

 October number reminds me of a Green Heron 

 shot here September 7. The stomach was 

 filled, principally with " Kelleys," |-" to 2' long 

 — the little salt marsh " minnows " — and in ad- 

 dition contained an eel, some kind of a water 

 bug, several grasshoppers, and two spiders. 

 Two American Bitterns (A. O. U., 190) had 

 nothing but insect remains in their stomachs, 

 and were both very fat. They were taken on 

 the salt marsh September 10 and September 

 27. Both juv. $ . I shot a juv. cf Spotted Sand- 

 piper on October i (a little later), and had the 

 pleasure of jumping into the lake after it. It 

 swam six feet or more under water, using the 

 wings just as in air. Henrv R. Buck. 



New Haven, Conn. 



The Nidiologist improves, if possible. I 

 wish Vol. HI the prosperity it merits, and the 

 success it has had in the past. 



D. M. AVERILL & Co., 

 Publishers Orei^on Naturalist. 

 Portland, Ore. 



