14 



THE OOLOGIST, 



elm oi' hemlock, its majestic form, thoug'li 

 small has an air of grandeur, and with its 

 little body as uprig'it as if conscious of its 

 importance, it glances quickly over the sur- 

 rounding objects, in search of some victim 

 to fasten, or to descry any impending dan- 

 ger. Suddenly he utters two or three sharp 

 notes, jerks his head about, leans to a 

 horizontal", opens his wings and away he 

 goes, probably to return the next moment 

 and resume tlie same position as before. 

 Should an Accipiter or Buteo make its ap- 

 pearance, our little friend conceives that it 

 has no business in his vicinity, and imme- 

 diately gives chase to the bulky would-be 

 intruder, rarely ever failing to drive him 

 ignominiously from the field. Then, ex- 

 ultant, our little hero tlits to the top of the 

 tallest limb attainable, straightens himself 

 up, and looks about with the air of a mon- 

 arch. I never saw it chased by Crows, but 

 some of the old farmers of Newport, N.Y. 

 say that it is not an uncommon occurrence. 

 The. following incident is mentioned : In 

 a large forest on tlie summit of the Hasen- 

 clever Hills, a pair of Crows had built a 

 nest. A Sparrow Hawk in pursuit of a 

 sparrow, flew immediately over the nest of 

 t!ie C'row. w'hen. with a large concoinl of 

 her associates, she gave chase. The Hawk, 

 being a much swifter flier, soon distanced 

 them, but this is not the case with our 

 large Buteo ; it is driven about and worried 

 imceasiugly by our Crow, who never al- 

 lows him a moment's peace while on the 

 wing. It is remarked in several notes on 

 the Sparrow Hawk taken by eminent stu- 

 dents, that it never makes a second dart 

 after it has once missed its aim. It is pos- 

 sible that such incidents have not occurred 

 within the observance of many, but I have 

 witnessed it twice, and am fully convinced 

 that its disgust is not always decided by the 

 first and often the second failure. While 

 stalking a Gi'eat Blue Crane in Herkimer 

 County, N. Y.. I had a good opportunity 

 to observe this quality of perseverance, if 

 it might so be termed. I was in the act of 

 creeping behind a wild currant bush, when 

 dirpctlv behind me there came two or three 



sharp screams and a rasping, as of some- 

 thing climbing a tree. As I turned, a small 

 form darted past and flew directly for a 

 small birch tree, gliding, I thought, uncom- 

 monly near the tree, and alighting on a 

 stake a few rods further off. The next mo- 

 ment I heard a scramble, and a Yellow-bel- 

 lied Woodpecker hopped to the side of the 

 tree nearest me. After a moment's delib- 

 eration, the Hawk again flew directly for 

 the " treed" bird, who quickly hopped side- 

 wise and higher up; but unfortunately, in 

 this instance, after missing for the second 

 time, it wheeled sharply, and as quick as a 

 flash, grasped the Woodpecker by the head, 

 and endeavored to fly off; but the victim 

 was too heavy and both sank to the ground, 

 where the Hawk commenced his well-earn- 

 ed meal. Observing that he was an un- 

 commonly fine plumaged bird, and having 

 a good shot. I fired and killed him, but I 

 lost the Crane. Avis. 



An Adventure with Owls. 



/^NP^ afternoon towards dusk, 1 took a 

 ^-^walk to a wood called Solitude. It 

 was a small wood of grand old oak, chest- 

 nut, beech and tulip poplar trees, and was 

 a favorite resort of mine. On the evening 

 mentioned, I tlirew myself down under a 

 large oak, and remained there till it grew 

 quite dark ; when a bird flew on a branch 

 of a beech tree opposite, and rising and go- 

 ing nearer I perceived it was a Red or Mot- 

 tled Owl, Being rather close, I thought 

 by throwing a stone I might hit it. and 

 picking one up, I threw it, but missed. It 

 flew to another tree close by, and approacli- 

 ing quite near, I threw another stone, 

 again missing. 



It flew not far off, and picking up a stick 

 and getting quite close, I was preparing to 

 throw, when it flew straight for my eyes. 

 I threw, however, missing as usual. The 

 bird now commenced a regular tight, con- 

 stantly flying for my eyes. After throwing 

 stones and sticks for some time without ef- 

 fect. I was about leaving when another- 



