90 



THE OOLOG t. 



quite protracted, and undulating. If dis- 

 turbed when feeding, a flock will fly about 

 in circles high up, then return to the same 

 tree. They are not at all shy. Several 

 were captured here with a horse-hair noose 

 attached to the end of a fish-pole, and one 

 might at times easily approach within a 

 yard of one while feeding ; but if one takes 

 flight the others all follow. I never have 

 seen the nest or eggs of this bird. These 

 birds are very social and do not quarrel 

 when feeding. Avis. 



Arrival of Birds in Bangor, Maine. 



FOR 1877. 



April 1. Robin; Red-winged Blackb'd. 

 4. Bl'k-bilFd Cuckoo ; Song Spar. 



12. Black Duck. 



14. Lesser Red-poll. 



16. Field Sparrow. 



21. Pewee or Peabody-bird ; Great 

 Northern Shrike.* 



23. Hairy Woodp'r ; Green Heron. 



24. White-bellied Swallow. 



25. Purple Martin ; Chipping Spar. 

 27. Cooper's Hawk ; Thistle-bird ; 



sett of Robin's eggs taken. 

 30. Crow nesting. 

 May 2. Fish Hawk. 



4. Flicker. 



5. Belted Kingfisher ; sett of eggs 

 of Great Northern Shrik^ taken. 



C. A. Morse. 



* Collurio borealis is a resident mainly, in 

 your State, and can hardly be said to "ar- 

 rive." Our correspondent doubtless mistook 

 the conspicuousness of the birds about nest- 

 building time for the arrival. — Ed. W. 



A MALE Tern {Steri^ia hirundo) was 

 taken on a mill-pond near Utica, on May 4th 

 This is the only instance of the occurrence 

 of this or any other Tei'n so near this city. 

 Many in their migrations pass over at a 

 great height, but do not alight. 



About the Squirrel Hawk. 



RITERS had considered this bird a 

 form or variety of ^1. lay opus var. 

 sancti-johcmnis, until we have rea- 

 son to believe that Dr. Coues, with his us- 

 ual promptitude in looking up such mat- 

 ters, placed it upon a sound basis and called 

 it a distinct bird and a good species. The 

 utter weakness in courage, compared with 

 its fine physical proportions and size, is 

 make an especial mark of by Dr. Coues, 

 which, together with an interesting account 

 of the taking of the bird we present : 



" Although belonging to a group techni- 

 cally said to be ' ruling' Buzzards {^Ar- 

 cldbuteo')^ it is difficult to see where the 

 claim to royal purple lies in this species and 

 others of the same genus, for they certain- 

 ly lack the qualities that go to make Hawks 

 famous. Viewing their splendid presence, 

 we wonder, as a late writer says, ' that the 

 object of such an admirable organization 

 is nothing more important than the destruc- 

 tion of the smallest and most defenseless of 

 quadrupeds or of reptiles. Yet such is ap- 

 parently the case. Many of the birds of 

 this group, though powerful in structure, 

 and furnished with the usual apparatus of 

 strong and sharp bill and claws, and other 

 accompaniments of predatory habits, rare- 

 ly attack any animal more formidable than 

 a mouse or ground squirrel, or in some 

 cases a frog or other of the weaker species 

 of reptiles.' As in some cases of conspic- 

 uous personages, become regal by the acci- 

 dent of a name, attributes of royalty com- 

 pare unfavorably with its apparatus. The 

 contrast between the physique of Rough- 

 legged Hawks and their venatorial exploits, 

 is striking, and illustrates well the fact, that 

 muscular effectiveness is not always co-or- 

 dinate with its mass. The force of a little 

 Falcon's onslaught is something more than 

 that of its falling weight ; this would tell to 

 little effect, compared with the result of its 

 weight at high velocity. Granting the 

 heavy Buzzards commensurate courage to 

 act with all their force, they cannot, never- 



