48 



THE OOLOGIST 



in the stores a popular priced work 

 in English about the birds. So, such 

 birds as I learned to know in France, 

 I •simply recollected from my former 

 reading. 



One of my first acquaintances was 

 the robin, though to us the name of 

 robin sounds strange when we use it 

 to speak of the red-breast of Europe. 

 In disposition it seemed amiable, 

 solitary, and whenever I saw it I al- 

 ways thought of a line I read in an 

 old book: "A bush contains but one 

 robin." 



The rooks were very common in 

 northern France last winter, but I 

 did not see any in southern France 

 during the summer months. Of course 

 one which everybody interested in 

 birds looked for was the nightingale, 

 and I was anxious to hear its song. 

 The natives seem to think it is the 

 only bird worth hearing. I, myself, 

 was not greatly impressed with it. 

 However, I am not a competent judge 

 in such matters, and the nightingale's 

 reputation will suffer none because of 

 my opinion. For my part though, I 

 would rather listen to some of our 

 Thrushes, in a quiet nook of American 

 woodland. 



My real favorite of the birds over 

 there was the skylark. After a cold 

 spring night on guard duty, and when 

 the East is flushed with the first light 

 of morning, it is worth while listening 

 to this cheerful singer high in air. I 

 shall mention another bird which 

 should be last and least: this, the 

 much detested house sparrow. He is 

 careless about his appearance, and he 

 does not keep his quarters clean — to 

 use a rather military expression. 



I have seen the screech owl — or 

 what I supposed to be such — flying 

 at dusk and in twilight. Rapacious 

 birds, though, seem to be rather 

 scarce. There is a little brightly- 

 colored hawk which may be a sparrow 



hawk but he seems to have more 

 pluck and dash than our bird of this 

 name, and he is the terror of the 

 smaller birds as they cower in the 

 copse, when he is about. 



If the French have any laws for the 

 protection of birds, they are certainly 

 very lax in the enforcement of them, 

 as the people seem to shoot whatever 

 birds they please. The birds seem to 

 thrive more through the general in- 

 dolence of the populace, than through 

 any special effort to protect them. 

 C. W. Pelton, 

 Jonesburgh, Mo. 



Cape May Warbler in New Jersey 



On May 19, 1916, I observed my 

 first Cape May Warbler (Dendroica 

 tigrina). On this morning, as had 

 been my usual practice for twelve 

 years prior to this date, I canvassed 

 the entire length of Branch Brook 

 Park, Newark, N. J. and was fortu- 

 nate enough to encounter this species 

 near the band-stand in the section 

 between Bloomfield Avenue and Park 

 Avenue in the low shrubbery which 

 borders the walk. Only one male was 

 present of this species and remained 

 in this park throughout the day. On 

 this same morning the Maryland 

 Yellowthroat, Redstart, Black and 

 White Warbler, Ovenbird, Louisiana 

 Water Thrush, Hooded Warbler, 

 Canadian Warbler, Wilson Warbler, 

 Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackburnian 

 Warbler, Palm and Pine Warblers 

 were also present, making in all a 

 very excellent day for the Mniotiltidae. 



On May 18th, 1919, in a copse of 

 woods at Hawthorne, N. J., I saw my 

 second specimen of the Cape May 

 Warbler. This latter bird was also 

 the only one which could be found on 

 this day, although it is quite possible 

 there were others of the same species 

 present as the shrubbery, lower and 

 upper halves of the trees were fairly 



