THE AMERICAN OSPREY. 



THE DOWNY WOODPECKER. 



The downy woodpecker is a yearly resi- 

 dent of New England. He is about six 

 inches long and is quite a handsome bird, 

 especially the male. He is a great help to 

 the farmer, destroying hundreds of harm- 

 ful insects and worms every year. He 

 may be seen at all times of the day run- 

 ning round the trunks of trees in quest of 

 food, and he always leaves his mark in 

 the shape of holes bored in the bark. 

 You may have noticed them in walking 

 through an old orchard. 



The crown of the head is black and on 

 the back of the head is a spot of scarlet ; 

 this spot is absent on the female. The 

 back is black with a streak of downy white 

 feathers along the center, from which it 

 derives its name. The wings and tail are 

 black, barred with white, the throat and 

 belly light-gray. 



They do not build a nest, but bore a 

 hole in a rotten limb and deposite the 

 eggs on a few chips laid on the bottom. 

 The entrance to the hole is about i| in- 

 ches in diameter, which is from six to 

 twelve inches deep and 2^ to 3 inches on 

 the inside. They lay from four to six china 

 white eggs measuring about .75 x .62. A 

 few of the downy feathers described above 

 are often found on the upper ed^a of the 

 entrance. R. W. F. 



Bristol, Conn. 



WINTER NOTES. 



had got under some ivy bushes. The owl 

 was rather small ; face, alternate black and 

 light gray stripes ; breast light-gray and 

 back mottled with black and light gray. 

 The ears had slight tufts. What is it? 



F. G. K. 

 Thomaston, Conn. 



ENGLISH SPARROW. 



"Passer domesticus (Linn.) Leach. 

 European House Sparrow. The attempted 

 naturalization of this bird has proved de- 

 cidedly successful. The case is so notori- 

 ous that further comment is unnecessary. 1 '' 

 We quote the above from Ridgeway's 

 Nomenclature under the head of "Species 

 Introduced with a View to Naturaliza- 

 tion."' We should like to hear from all 

 collectors as regards methods of extermin- 

 ating the little pests. It is proved beyond 

 doubt that they are driving away our birds 

 from their regular nesting places and 

 should be got rid of as soon as possible. 

 But how? That's the question. 



NOTES. 



While walking through the woods a 

 ruffed grouse flew past me, hitting her 

 wings against the trees in her haste to get 

 away. Close upon her was a small owl, 

 who, on seeing me, alighted. I started 

 towards him and got very near the base of 

 the tree he was in, when up flew another 

 ruffed grouse. She had probably seen the 

 owl and not having had time to escape 



Hawks generally nest in high trees. 



All herons lay light blue eggs. 



The American goldfinch is sometimes 

 called the "wild canary." 



The russet-backed thrush has a very lim- 

 ited distribution, being mainly found in 

 the Pacific coast region. 



If you wish to gain the greatest amount 

 of scientific knowledge from your collec- 

 tion collect only in sets. 



Always empty the contents of the egg 

 through one smoothly drilled hole in the 

 side. End blown eggs are next to worth- 

 less. 



The Cooper's Hawk usually lays from 

 two to four bluish-white eggs, spotted with 

 pale redish-brown spots. 



