22 



THE OOLOQI8T 



WINTER RESIDENTS 



In December 1921 issue of The 

 OOLOGIST Mr. Fred J. Pierce of Win- 

 throp, Iowa, makes note of a Belted 

 Kingfisher wintering there. Now I 

 have found the Belted Kingfisher the 

 year around at the United States Fish 

 Hatchery just three and one-half miles 

 east of Manchester. The Fish Hatch- 

 ery is on a large stream of spring 

 water that never freezes during the 

 winter and the Belted Kingfisher can 

 be found there most every winter. 

 This is the joining county to the 

 county Mr. Pierce resides in. 



Driving west to Masonville just 

 seven miles from Manchester on Dec. 

 22, 1921, a Meadowlark flew up from 

 the road and went into a meadow. A 

 party told me the Meadowlark had 

 been there all winter. A report comes 

 to me from New Hampton, Iowa, of 

 five Meadowlarks wintering there. 

 This is some farther north and here is 

 a newspaper clipping which I do be- 

 lieve is true. 



The Larks Remain 



Rolfe, la. — To the Editor: The 

 writer has wintered in Iowa more than 

 forty years, but never before this win- 

 ter have I noticed Meadowlarks with- 

 in the state limits in the middle of 

 January. On Jan. 11, between this 

 place and Havelock, I saw three Larks 

 feeding just off the railroad right of 

 way and on Jan. 10 saw one between 

 Manson and Pocahontas. It is not an 

 unusual thing for these birds to ap- 

 pear in northern Iowa by March 1, 

 while the snow still covers the ground, 

 and to remain until Dec. 1, in mild 

 falls. Both Robins and Blackbirds can 

 be found in sheltered nooks in many 

 localities in the state all through the 

 winter. Some winters fiocks of Can- 

 ada Geese and Wild Ducks stay 

 through the winter along the Missouri 

 river when considerable water spa'ces 

 in the river fail to freeze over. Of 

 late years Cardinals have appeared in 

 many parts of the state where there 



is natural timber shelter and remain 

 the year round. But who ever before 

 heard of Meadowlarks in midwinter in 

 northern Iowa?" 



A flock of nine Evening Grosbeaks 

 were near my home November 14th, 

 1921. These are the only ones I have 

 recorded in Iowa. 



There is a flock of about fifty Prairie , 

 Chickens 14 miles north of Man- I 

 Chester. They have been far from 

 plenty for some time but the closed 

 state law has done much for the 

 Prairie Chicken and Quail, in Iowa, 

 the past few years. — O. M. Greenwood, 

 Manchester, Iowa. 



SPARROW HAWKS VS. WESTERN 

 RED-TAIL 



I had the opportunity of witnessing 

 a Sparrow Hawk atta'ck a Western 

 Red-tailed Hawk this noon. When first 

 seen both birds were in an eucalyptus 

 tree with the Sparrow Hawk several 

 feet above in some leafiess branches 

 In the top of the tree. 



The tree in which they were perched 

 was one of a row of eucalyptus trees 

 about fifty feet from a dwelling and a' 

 storehouse in the Benicia Arsenal 

 grounds. My companion and I saw the 

 Sparrow Hawk when about a block 

 away and when we had gotten within a 

 hundred feet the smaller bird fiew up- 

 wards uttering its "killy-killy," then 

 swooped down towards the Red-tail 

 and upwards again forming a half 

 circle in its flight several times, but 

 always missed the larger bird by a 

 couple of feet. When the Red-tail 

 sailed away the little Sparrow Hawk 

 chased it until out of sight among the 

 trees, still uttering its cry and swoop- 

 ing down towards the other bird's 

 back during the flight. 



This Sparrow Hawk has a regular 

 station in the neighborhood of my 

 office, and no doubt considers the vi- 

 cinity as his post and hence any other 

 bird of prey as an intruder. 



E. A. Stoner, Benicia, Cal, 



