THE OOLOGIST 



55 



flock of about ten birds, at a wide 

 place in Buffalo Creek. The bird has 

 the general appearance of a hybrid 

 though she has all the characteristics 

 of the female Gadwall. It is doubtful 

 that the birds of the flock were of the 

 same species as the specimen captured. 



9. Bald pate 



Occurs occasionally. The wing 

 feathers served to identify a specimen 

 shot on a small creek near Independ- 

 ence in 1914. 



10. Blue Winged Teal 



This species nested along the banks 

 of Juerdon Run in the spring of 1912, 

 and I was fortunate enough to see the 

 remains of one of the young birds 

 which was raised in captivity. Doubt- 

 less the species will nest if the con- 

 ditions are favorable. The green 

 winged variety has not appeared in 

 the county as far as I know. A flock 

 of about twenty blue wings remained 

 near Bethany for some time in August 

 of 1915. The size of the flock which 

 indicated a brood of the year suggests 

 that a pair may have nested close at 

 hand. An immature bird, presumably 

 of the year was secured from this 

 flock, and but one adult male was seen 

 in the group. 



11. Pintail 



Feathers of specimens shot near 

 Wellsburg make the recording of this 

 species possible. 



12. Bufflehead 



A pair of these were shot near Beth- 

 any in the spring of 1917. The heads 

 of both birds were brought to me for 

 identiflcation. 



13. Canada Goose 



A huge gander was brought to me 

 for mounting in the winter of 1915. 

 It was said that he was a straggler 

 from a flock that dropped down to a 

 pond on a farm near Independence. 

 Flocks pass over as migrants regular- 

 ly. 



14. Whistling Swan 



I have this record on a specimen in 

 the collection of Bethany College. The 

 bird there was killed twenty-five years 

 ago, on Wallace Run, about three miles 

 from West Liberty. It was incorrect- 

 ly labelled 'Trumpeter Swan.' 



15. Am. Bittern 



A specimen was shot at Bethany in 

 1912. It is preserved. I recorded one 

 in 1914. It is evidently very rare. 



16. Great Blue Heron 



Regular summer resident. A lone 

 pair nested far up in the wooded re- 

 cesses of Castleman's Run, and it is 

 likely that they still nest there. The 

 parent birds came regularly each even- 

 ing during the summer to Buffalo 

 Creek. Two specimens were killed in 

 the fall of 1918. 



17. Green Heron 



Very common summer resident. I 

 located two colonies of these birds; 

 one in a willow growth directly bor- 

 dering Buffalo Creek, and another 

 about a quarter of a mile from water 

 in an old apple orchard. This latter 

 one had about thirty nests and I made 

 interesting studies of the old and 

 young during my frequent visits. The 

 awkward young were found clinging 

 in all sorts of attitudes in the branches 

 or propped on weak legs in their scant 

 nests. They looked like feathered 

 skeletons as they tried to maintain 

 their equilibrium on the swaying 

 branches, all in marked contrast to 

 the grace of the adults which came 

 with food. 



18. Black Crowned Night Heron 



A large flock of these flew over Beth- 

 any one evening. They were identified 

 primarily by their unique note. The 

 species has not been shot here, how- 

 ever, so far as I can ascertain. 



19. Virginia Rail 



There is a specimen in the Bethany 



