JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



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the endeavors of the parents to keep 

 the home clean, thousands of mites had 

 appeared and swarmed over the nest, 

 birds and surroundings. Very wisely, 

 since a house with three cats is not a 

 good locality in which to train untried 

 wings, the old birds led the brood 

 ! away. 



Some time later, when the south- 

 ward migration was well under way, a 

 family of Phoebes paused for a time 

 about the place, and I regarded them 

 as my summer friends, bidding adieu 

 to their summer home, though perhaps 

 they were not the same birds. Will 

 the coming year bring them back? It 

 is likely, for the birds do not forget 

 their home. 



(This paper was read before the 3rd 

 annual meeting at Brunswick. The 

 Lewiston Journal asked for the mss. 

 and when I asked for its return, they 

 said this with several other papers had 

 been lost. In Feb. '02, they published 

 the article in their weekly. Perhaps, 

 after they thought we had forgotten 

 the circumstance. — Ed.] 



WINTER BIRDS OF SOUTHERN 

 PINES, N. C. 



The town of Southern Pines, N. C. is 

 situated on the line of the Seaboard 

 Air Line R. R. about thirty miles from 

 the South Carolina border and inland 

 some sixty miles. It is quite well 

 known as a winter health resort — 

 among those who have never been 

 there. 



This part of No. Carolina is covered 

 with a deep bank of sand forming low 

 rolling hills. There are no rock forma- 

 tions in the vicinity and no water of 

 any extent. 



The sandhills are covered with low 

 scrub oak — the "Black jack" of the 

 south— with the long leaved pines 

 more or less thinly scattered about. 



The soil is extremely barren. A grass 

 like growth is seen in bunches quite 

 thickly in the oak scrub and some 

 weeds and plants, but the ground is 

 mainly bare and dry- 

 There is little to sustain bird or 

 animal life and there seems to be a 

 consequent; scarcity. Between the 

 hills, it is usually damp and the 

 ground is watersoaked and frequently 

 a tiny stream trickles between the 

 hills. In such places the trees and 

 shrubs grow thickly and vegetation 

 well covers the ground. It is probably 

 in these places that most of the birds 

 nest, for it is rare to see a nest in the 

 oaks. The number of birds seen dur- 

 ing the winter is small, it seems to 

 me, both residents and winter resi- 

 ents. The commonest bird was the 

 slate colored Junco. They were always 

 to be seen and were in considerable 

 numbers. The Bluebirds and Flickers 

 were quite common all winter. Robins 

 were plenty until about the first of 

 December, when they evidently went 

 south, as none were seen during the 

 winter. Sparrows were not at all 

 common, though Song, Chipping, Field 

 and White-throated Sparrows were 

 occasionally seen throughout the win- 

 ter. Kinglets, I thought them Ruby- 

 crowns, were several times seen. Also 

 small flocks of Gold-finches. 



A few Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers 

 were here in October, but soon disap- 

 peared. On Nov. 6 a small flock of 

 Red-winged Blackbirds, on the 11th a 

 flock of Cedar Waxwings, and on the 

 26th a single Palm Warbler. 



One Fox Sparrow was found dead on 

 the trolly track but no live ones were 

 seen. 



A small Flycatcher, which I took to 

 be a Wood Pewee was several times 

 seen and some species of Thrush which 

 was too wild to admit identification. 



Of the resident birds, the first to 

 attract attention was the Turkey Buz- 



