34 



JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Prince, if you stretch it out. Which has 

 to the world rendered the most loving, 

 and of course the greater, service for 

 humanity, — the brother a naturalist, 

 who dignified the science of Ornitho- 

 logy with his labor, station, fortune 

 and genius, and whose memory is his- 

 toried, so to speak, in the song of the 

 Mocking-Bird, or the brother, as strate- 

 gist, whose history is "Waterlood" in 

 the blood of a nation? If the editor 

 will not answer this question, I sug- 

 gest that you ask Prof. H. C. Wright of 

 Corry, Pa., to do so. He can, if he 

 will, give the answer of a psychologist, 

 and only from that view-point the ser- 

 vices indicated can be measured. This 

 bird not north of the Delaware, to sing, 

 "Until all the air 

 Is one melody — 

 All breath takes music on; 

 And echoes up-bear 

 The full voiced glee, 

 Till fainter, more faint, its flood is 

 gone!" 

 With the editors consent I will sug- 

 gest that the mocking-bird bears con- 

 finement as contentedly (?) as a canar. 

 Needs, (alone), a large cage, easily 

 kept, if cleanly kept, and if a singer, is 

 an early riser, good naturedly, snatchy' 

 "all the day long", (when not moult- 

 ing) _ and rings his own curfew, retir- 

 ing, if out of the moon light, "a yant 

 the twal." However, under these con- 

 ditions, the bird will not come up to 

 the standard pictured by Mr. Wilde, 

 above cited, and who, aside from that 

 unique ornithological description, em- 

 braces much interesting history in 

 those seven couplets, covering at least, 

 in a fragmentary manner, seven cen- 

 turies, (by suggestion only), of English 

 literature. "Dig it out." To do so 

 will doubtless be more profitable, but 

 not near so entertaining as to "Listen 

 to the Mocking-Brd." 



STEPHEN D. PARRISH. 



Richmond, Ky. 



A PERSISTENT BLACK DUCK. 



About a year ago. a female Black 

 duck (Anas obscura) was seen at 

 Bert. Packard's, at Williamantic, upper 

 end of Sebec lake. She had seeming- 

 ly been shot at and had her wing 

 broken. She hung about the shore of 

 the lake and soon joined Mr. Pack- 

 ard's domestic ducks. She fed with 

 them and stayed about all summer. 



and wintered with the other ducks. 



Early this spring, she went to the 

 shore of the lake and built a nest and 

 having mated with a Pekin drake, she 

 laid five eggs, but the water 

 rose and destroyed her nest. 

 She then went a short distance down 

 the shore, and built another nest which 

 was destroyed by water. Not dismay- 

 ed she then went to the sidehill over 

 looking the lake and built a nest in a 

 hole in a stub and has laid 

 seven eggs, which she is now sit- 

 ting on. Mr. Packard thinks she 

 mated with a wild drake of her same 

 species before laying her last seven 

 eggs. We shall watch the forthcoming 

 brood with no little interest. 



This female duck is so tame- that 

 when she is swimming and feeding 

 near the shore of the lake, she will 

 come up to the side of a boat and take 

 food from Mr. Packard's hand. 



Mr. Packard has had a pleasant 

 experience with the black ducks for 

 several years back. When the ducks 

 congregate in flocks in the fall, he 

 feeds them near his hotel and soon 

 they become quite tame. Many sum- 

 mer visitors have remarked on his 

 flock of ducks, but as soon as the law 

 is off, and duck shooting begins it is 

 needless to say that the ruthless gun- 

 ner takes advantage of these birds 

 and in one or two days' shooting kills 

 them off, or drives them away from 

 their old-time feeding grounds. 



,-w J. M. S. 



1 



CAPTURE OF A BALD EAGLE. 



The latter part of April some boys, 

 living in Chesterville. near Locks' 

 pond, caught a Bald Eagle in a trap. 

 They took the bird to Mr. Richards the 

 taxidermist in Farmington. to have it 

 mounted. Soon after, they caught the 

 mate, a fine male specimen, which 

 they have alive, keeping it in a cage 

 of wire fencing, in the stable. 



The pet crow which we have been 

 watching in Razorville and referred to 

 in the April number. Vol. IV. disap- 

 peared very mysteriously, a few 

 weeks since, and Mr. Lessner says he 

 would prefer to have lost his best 

 horse. The crow was so much com- 

 pany to him, 



