MAINE ORNITHOLOGIST AND OLOGIST. 



Bird Life in Central Maine. 



The Snow Bunting has, for some 

 reason, been very scarce here this winter 

 although they visited us in lar^^e flocks 

 in November. Perhaps their scarceity 



is due to the extreamly cold weather 

 wlxich we had in I^dcember, causing them 

 to pass farther south They have of late 

 however, been s3jii in small flocks re- 

 turniig to their breeding grounds in the 

 Arctic Circle. 



The Great Gray Owl, so common for 



this species last winter (over twenty vVoodcock 

 specimens being taken in this state) did 

 not put in its appearance this year, al- 

 though about fifteen specimens *)f its near 

 cousin the Arctic Cwl have been taken. 



Banded Three* toed Woodpeckers have 

 been quite pleiity in the vacunity of 

 Moo.-e'iead Lake, 



The American Wooodcock 

 in Eastern N. C, 



{Phiohela Minotu) 



This highly prized «rame-bird ifj a 

 very common migrant but an exceeding- 

 ly rare summer residant ; indeed it is so 

 rare that it has never been my lot to find 

 it breed in Of . It has not beeu very long 

 since I identified this intere-iting bird, 

 and the way it hapened may interest 

 some (^\' you, I had been trying to 

 secure one of them for some time but 

 had never been able to accomplish my 

 object. 



Maiy a time have I been out of a 

 moonlisht nioht trvino; to slioot one o^* 

 this species, but got disa ointed and had 

 lo comeback without, my booty, I had 



birds which could be found in the fields 

 at night wa? the American Woodcock, 

 and on the 15th, of Feb. 1891 was able to 

 verify these ideas. 



On going down town one day my 

 roommate, knowing my love for birds, 

 saw and bought a bird of this species 

 for me, and told me hi had a sviprisefor 

 me in the shape of a Snipe. When he 

 showed it to me I at once recognized it 

 as one of the field birds that had been 

 the object of my moon-light^xpidilions 

 and soon identified it as the Anerican 

 It had just been Aving— 

 tipped caused by its flyin^; against a 

 telegraph wire the night before. 



A boy picked it up and realized a 

 nickel on his find which he jjrobablv 

 thought a rare piece of luck I thought 

 it good luck for me at any rate. 



In the fall and spring migration Jihey 

 are scattered all over the field? at night 

 every few minutes they assend to such 

 a hight .as to scarce'y be heard, and 

 will then decend and alliglit near the 

 spot from which they rose : at. inter" 

 vals du'*ingtlie decent they make a sound 

 which resembles the word ''spank" with 

 the "ank" greatly prolonged. 



While ascen linij the\' make a whistl- 

 ing noise, which I think is made by 

 the rar>id motion of their wings. 



Mr. John S. Cairns say^ tlie 

 American Woodcock is a resident of 

 Buncombe County but is oflener heard 

 than seen. M^. C. Brimley states that 

 it is a rare resident in the vacinity of 

 Raleigh, tliis state. From this it will 

 be seen that it is more plentiful \n tne 

 western part of the state than in the eas- 

 tern which isprobably dueto thegrcate'* 



Ion;,' thought that a certain h'u 1 o!j elevation of the western part, 



-J .w.r.s. 



