THE OSPREY. 29 



as food, remain green longer under the trees. After a deep fall of snow, and 

 sometimes even before snow, Grouse resort to birch and apple trees to feed 

 upon the buds. In March, I once counted twenty birds in the apple trees 

 close behind our house where they appeared every evening for several weeks. 

 These birds were unmolested, and though the trees were young I think they 

 were not seriously injured. 



There are laws, rigid laws, in Maine for the protection of birds. It is 

 next to impossible to carry birds from that state, thanks to the Lacy act. 

 Only two partridges (Rutfed Grouse) can be taken legally — taken, not sent. 

 Fifty cents will allow you to send a pair; but no more. And fifteen are all 

 that any one can have in possession at any one time or one day. Well, that is 

 "enough for a mess." This is intended to protect the Ruffed Grouse. 



The huntsman with his gun and dog is the birds' enemy, but there are 

 others. In a two months trip in northern Maine, last fall, I noted no less than 

 twenty places where these birds had been killed by some animal. The marks 

 near by some of them indicated skunks. I also saw many places where 

 Thrushes had been killed by animals, presumably skunks, though minks, 

 martens or foxes may have been the culprits. 



Foxes were very numerous in this region. Once I saw a fox with tail 

 almost erect to keep it from getting wet skipping from rock to rock in the 

 river trying to get at some Sheldrakes that were sitting on the water near the 

 center of the stream. 



I have no doubt but that skunks are the most destructive to birds that pass 

 much of their time upon the ground. I am positive that red squirrels are 

 destructive to small birds anywhere, especially to the eggs and young. But 

 to get back to birds I will mention one feathered enemy, the Crow. On more 

 than one occasion have I seen them carrying off young Robins from their nests 

 close by an inhabited house, and have even shot the Crow with a young bird 

 in his beak. I have had occasion to mention this before. (Vide "Recreation" 

 Oct. 1898). 



Mr. William Palmer of the U. S. National Museum has returned to 

 Cuba to continue his investigations of the natural history of that Island. 



An interesting and valuable collection of Northeast African birds has 

 been recently received by the U. S. National Museum from Dr. A. Donaldson- 

 Smith of Philadelphia, the well-known African explorer. 



The Thrush is the name of a periodical published in London, but it is 

 not in the interests of ornithology, but of poetry. It is proclaimed to be 

 "the only periodical devoted exclusively to the publication of poetry by living 

 writers". 



