Notes from Field and Study 



99 



maple and the larch; of the latter they ate 

 not only the buds, but even the bark of the 

 smaller, more tender branches. 



I saw an occasional one as late as March 

 21, and hope that observers have made 

 careful notes of their latest appearance. 



During this exceptionally severe winter, 

 I have seen, in addition to the very com- 

 mon winter birds, Tufted Titmice, King- 

 fishers, Bluebirds and Winter Wrens. 

 Brown Creepers have been unusually abun- 

 dant, as were Red-breasted Nuthatches 

 during late fall and early winter. Redpolls 

 and Snowflakes have been reported, but I 

 have not been so fortunate as to see them. 

 On the other hand, some of our regular 

 winter birds. Song Sparrows, Golden - 

 crowned Kinglets and Flickers, seemed 

 entirely to disappear for a time. — R. C. 

 Caskey, Morristo'ivn, N. J. 



Purple Martins in Illinois 



In the fall number of Bird-Lore I saw 

 an account of great destruction to Purple 

 Martins last summer, all through the East, 

 and one especially in which all the young 

 of a large colony were destroyed by rains. 



It may be interesting to your readers to 

 know that I observed fourteen pairs which, 

 as far as I knew, raised all their young 

 successfully this summer (1903). When 

 they gathered for migration the sky about 

 the Martin house was dark with birds.— 

 Abbie Vredenburgh, Curran, III. 



Cowbird and White-eyed Vireo 



Having heard some conjectures and in- 

 quiries of the treatment of the young in 

 nests when shared by the young Cow- 

 birds, the following observations may 

 prove of interest. A pair of White-eyed 

 Vireos had a nest in an apple tree in 

 my orchard, about eight feet from the 

 ground. I found that it contained a young 

 Cowbird and one young Vireo. The Cow- 

 bird, of course, was much the larger. 

 When the Cowbird was half-grown it left 

 the nest by being disturbed. For the first 

 three days after the Cowbird left the nest, 

 the old birds fed both the Cowbird and 

 Vireo in the nest, but on the fourth the 



little Vireo died, apparently from neglect. 

 By this time the Cowbird was able to fly 

 and meet the foster-parents, which it did so 

 persistently before they could get near the 

 nest, that it seemed to take all the food the 

 old birds could procure, and they apparently 

 could not satisfy the Cowbird and nestling 

 too. The Cowbird was by this time 

 bigger than its foster-parents. — Henry 

 Hales, Ruf^^eivood, N. J. 



Bird Protection in Great Britain 



The British Admiralty have lately taken 

 a step in regard to bird protection which we 

 might well emulate in this country. It is 

 reported in English ' Country Life ' as 

 follows : 



" Amongst the things that we pretend to 

 do, and leave most carefully undone, must 

 be numbered the protection of wild birds. 

 There are Acts enough in the Statute Book, 

 it is true, and they can be produced at any 

 time for purposes of annoyance, but they 

 are entirely ineffective as a means for the 

 preservation of our wild birds, and especially 

 of sea-birds. It is a notorious fact that 

 any one who wishes it, and is willing to pay 

 the price, may have Gulls' eggs for his 

 breakfast during the whole of the breeding 

 season, or, if he be on collecting bent, he 

 may, for a price varying with the rarity of 

 the bird, obtain clutches of all our disap- 

 pearing species. Under these circumstances, 

 it is a matter for congratulation that the 

 Admiralty has sanctioned the cooperation 

 of the coastguard in carrying out the provi- 

 sions of the Wild Birds' Protection Act. 

 There are 677 coastguard stations on the 

 coast, and the mere knowledge that each 

 coastguardsman has power to interfere with 

 the destruction of wild birds or their nests, 

 ought to act as a check upon the depreda- 

 tions that are constantly taking place." 



' By the Wayside ' 



With the May issue of this progressive 

 little magazine. Miss Ruth Marshall, of the 

 Ryan High School, Appleton, Wis., as- 

 sumes the editorship. An especial effort will 

 be made to increase the magazine's value to 

 nature-study teachers. 



