i.Ux. 11, lS5y, 



FOREST AND STREAM. 





oit ed (Jogs would have made a spectator tbiuk they were 

 playing the" butterfly trick with the sledge us it caromed 

 from me hunrinoci to another, leaving only tracts on the 



•crests of (he snowdrifts as they flew after their enemy. It 

 was a goo I five mile chase before Toolooah' got near enough 

 to slip his team and the (logs soou commenced nipping 

 polar'- hamstrings so assiduously that he sat down 

 on ihmi lor protection and commenced playing lawn 

 tennis with the bolder dogs' heads. A shot through 

 the neck so infuriated him that he plunged for Too- 

 looah, who was only a few step, away, but the hitter's 

 •1 vitywith his carbine pirtanother shot through the beast's 

 bone and he lay spn ad out a huge helpless mass f 

 UowliOffl ami hail 1 . 'There were thus live bears killed ou 

 our sleage journey, lnsling from April 1, 1879. *o March 30, 

 1880, n: r'y oni y cr rc-olooah scoring Hum all. 



While el np rd on fie northern side of Simpson's Strait, 

 in tii- ad waiting for them to freeze over, we 



all participated in an exciting foot race of a couple of miles 

 alter a large polar that had been started up some seven or 

 eight miles inland. Bruin, however, placed Simpson's Strait 

 between the pursuers and pursued and thus saved his robe. 

 Toolooah. uev. r exhausted, waylaid a herd of reindeer that 

 had remained s upid spectators of the bear chase, killing 

 nd wounding two others, making a handsome score of 

 nine iu as many hours. 



i loli me that he ha^ seen l he polar bear climb up 

 the II it pup! iideathn walls of icebergs to escape his pur- 

 suers, pud when these 'wore high he generally succeeded 

 in eluding them, as it th m becomes very dangerous to at- 

 tempt to ascend by .cutting niches in the ice wall for foot- 

 holds, which is the method the natives adopt in pursuing 

 prey under these circumstances. This" seems almost 

 a .ible. nnd 1 hive never seen it mentioned by previous 

 Arctic travelers, but I consider Toolooah altogether too 

 good an authority to lightly cast aside what he atlirms. 



Lieut. Perry, hi 1831, after much severe labor, sue led 



in eet i in-- on lop of a fiat iceberg iu Baffin's Bay, and here 

 found a white bear in quiet possesion, who. discovering the 

 ■i ovci the perpendicular side of the ice moun- 

 tain, Qrty-one feel into the sea, and swam to the riearesl 

 land, over tw uly miles away. 



While living am- ng the Neischilluk Esquimaux, who in- 

 habit, the shores of Simpson's Strait, I remember their telling 

 mea istorj of i very strange animal that Iheymel at long 

 intervale of manj'years, when upou their summer reindeer 

 hunts with Hif.-g iskin canoes! and spefirs. They describe 

 if as a black monster as large and heavy as a musk ox, with 

 a face like that of a man "ami feet like those of a hear. 

 They Peporl themlo be very ferocious, makinn sad havoc 

 among the Esquimaux dugs that attempt to tiring them to 

 hay, and when tku- irritated do not hesitate to attack the 

 natives themselves. Jot (Ebierbing) tells me that the Kin- 

 nepeloo Esquimaux of Chesterfield Inlet, who are armed 

 with guns Obtained from the Hudson'- Bay Company, have 

 killed several, so they report, but I have never been able in 

 procure or even see any of the robes. I think it can be no 

 other than the grizzly bear of North America which is 

 thus =hown to occasionally extend his limits as far north as 

 I lie A I'etii- Ocean during t In/ -diorl summer of that region, and 

 no doubt returns to the timberlimit, many hundred miles to 

 thi southward, to hibernate. 



Speaking of hibernating, there is probably no subject of 

 Arctic Zoology on winch there is such a variety of opinion, 

 (UuLjOE "which t: r ;. ;,-. I,,,!,-, known, and SO much inter- 

 esting information yet to be gained, as pertains to the hiber- 

 nation of the. Northern bear. The very first conclusion at 

 Which one would naturally jump is that this species of all 

 others would be the very one to seek such a state to protect 

 them from the intense and bitter cold of the polar winter, 

 ani 1 am much iuc ined to think thai the published opinions 

 of many have been based on such conclusions rather than 

 personal observations. Some are found who deny that, the 

 polar bear hibernates at all in the true sense of that word, 

 an I from what little I know of the subject I feel disposed to 

 side with them. Dr. Richardson, the naturalist of several 

 : expeditious, a most conscientious and voluminous 

 writer on the natural history of the polar regions that ho 

 travel sed, limits the hibernating of these animals to the 

 luring the time they are with cub or pregnant, yet 

 J find by a ihve testimony that they have slain (hem in this 

 condition, aud 1 believe that this can lie relied upon. Others 

 think that the mothers remain secluded while the cubs are 

 too weak to elude- pursuit, but it is hardly worth while to 

 deny this, so numerous are the cases furnished by civilized 

 and savage observers who have secured the cubs when they 

 eould not have been much over a few days of age. 1 am 

 prone to believe that, the polar hear never hibernates under 

 any circa instances. The- mother for a few days on either 

 side of tee cubs' birth may remain secluded iu the den 

 which she has excavated in'some deep snow bank, and dur- 

 ing pregnaey is more shy th in at other times, but bevond 

 this jiid (iu) e bear holes wuieh are occasionally found, there 

 is nothing to base any conclusive theories upon in favor of 

 hibernation, -"vhilc the fact that polar bears of both sexes 

 have lieeri killed and encountered in every month in the 

 ye ir and in all sorts of conditions are the opposite state- 

 ments in th l ease. These bear holes in the snowbanks are 

 very interesting little affairs, but the fact that they are only 

 found after the cuiibiug season, and never during the 

 eolde ■■',,. Mar of 'winter, would show that they were not 

 u.-cd permanently, unless it he argued that the" maker has 

 n idt I teiutiy earefady secreted to lie observed at this 

 time. Lieut, I'ayer, of the Austrian Expedition, was fortun- 

 ate enough to see them occupying these abode--, though even 

 l,he 1 nea: m\ seldom, if ewer, have this opportunity. He 

 says. But almost i nmediiiely again the hear disappeared 

 in tne snow, and win n we came' to the place of his dis- 

 e discovered the winter retreat of a family 

 ol hears, ll was a cavity hollowed out in a mass of suow 

 lying under a rocky wall. The bear had shown herself 



dreary \ 



old 



t do 



Fr 



Ms 



ish llil 



id not bi 



wi1 





«n g 



end at all. 



edit. 



So as we 



I'.ak. 



r thought 



finally brought our stay of two 

 the Arc.ie. We had bade adie 

 friends, and were on board Ihe ■; 

 of New Bedford, for hoc 

 aud everything stored s 

 Atlantic. The whaling 

 but one seventy-barrel h; 

 bent, mil' course for Hudson's Strait. C , 

 he would take one more hurried peep into Ro I'a >'• I on I 

 see if a whale could uot Ire raised, as we wended our way 

 home. The 8th of August saw us entering its southern 

 mouth, and when squarely off Whale Point, the man in the 

 crow's nest phe lookout placed in Ihe foremast to watch for 

 whales) reported a couple of polar bears off our 

 starboard beam, and the Captain hove the ship too, 

 lowering the mate's boat, which was sent in pursuit, 

 your humble servant in the bow. It was a she bear and a 

 "three months' old cub, who, hearing us lowering the boat, 

 took to the water. The cub kept close to his mother and 

 occasionally took a rest on her shoulders. As it became 

 evident to the dam that in a fair race --he could Qol escape, 

 she crawled upou a large cake of ice, roaring furiously at 

 lis — not unlike the deep roar of the lion— and faced us for a 

 fight. At about forty yards f put a bullet through her back 

 just behind the shoulders with my riHe, and she sank 

 '•'spread eagle" style over the ice cake, and was knockel 

 completely rior.i ilii rombitL Iter vain efforts to ha< 

 into the wat-r were silenced by a shot fiom the mate through 

 her swaying head, and we were left facing the little cub, 

 which I was extremely anxious to capture alive. A biuec- 

 warp was procured, a running noo-e made, and the 

 little fellow soon lassoed and dragged into ihewaler, riding 

 ou the dead body of his mother to the ship, upon whose 

 deck we soon had htm "triauglcd" by three eon verging 

 Strong ropes, tit which he bit with a vengeance that kept ns 

 el: si a respee. able distance. The Captain, When be earn. 

 upon deck, ordered him tp be shot, .as lie considered him 

 too dangerous a fellow toJiave mi board during a storm, 

 when he might break loose and create an uncomfortable 

 consternation, I was, therefore, not destined to bring him 



nlfve, as 1 had anticipated, and probably it was just 



as well that, the male put apUtol to his head, as we never 



iealor walru- to kill, ami the sleek little 

 uld probably have died on our hands from the 

 itli of starvation. 



THE BIRDS OF MAINE. 



With Annotations of their Comparative Abundance, 



Dates of Migration, Breeding Habits, etc. 



BY KVKBETT SMITH. 



Family Vireosid.e: Vibeos, 



oo. Relieved Vireo— Virco Otyeaisttn Aud., Cs. 170: Vireo- 

 syfoift ni;.mo:n Ridg. 1*5.— Abundant. Arrives in April. 

 Breeds, usually on high trees, and lays four or five white 

 eggs with brown spots. The mosl common species oi . iron 

 in Maine, an indefatigable songster, whose pleasing notes 

 may be heard at all limes of day, and throughout Ihe entire 

 summer. 



of. Philadelphian Vireo- VireowMa pMa<klphiev3 Ride 

 138.; Vifte pli,iladdpldom Cs 173— TJrcommon, h 

 Prof. Hamlin's list of the bird: oj Waterville, Maine, 18:.o 

 was recorded "one specimen, the only one vet found in 

 New England." The few that are sitmtn ■•!•' visitants to 

 Maine probably breed hcie. Mr. H. A. Pttrdie informs me 

 of its occurrence in the region of the upper valley of die St, 

 John River. 



55. Warbling Virco— Vireo gilmt* And., Cs. 1 ri; Vireo- 

 Sffloia gSm Ridg. 139. — Common. Arrives in May. Breeds, 

 ou high trees, and lays four or five white egg's with brce.vi 

 spots, in June. Not common in Eastern Maine, but a it ir 

 nlar visitor to Western Maiue, where it commonly breeds. ' 



56. Yellov-throated Vireo— Vireo flaeifrons Aud, Cs 

 178; Lanmno Jamfrons Ridg. 140. -Not very common. 

 Arrives in May. Breeds on trees aud bushes, lays four oi 

 five white etss with brown spots, in June. 



57. Solitary Vireo, Blue headed Vireo— Vireo solitarim 

 Aud., Cs. 177; Lanimveo xditoriuz Ridg. 141.— C 



only once, but resisted all our efforts to seduce her to 

 leave ihe shilter she bad chosen, nor had we any special 

 desire to creep on till fours into the narrow dark habita- 

 tion. Stirehn i.miii- ol the dogs) only was bold enough to 



follow, her, but he saw too many things which led him to 



return very cpiieklv. From the scow which had been 

 thrown up at the entrance of this hole, we inferred that 

 this had in-ii the work of the bear in her efforts to close the 

 approach to her abode. It was the first time we came upon 

 a family of bears iu their winter quarters, or had the chance 

 of adding anything to our scanty knowledge as to the 

 a .as |uep of those animals. M iddendorft does not admit. 



that they sleep during the winter. He considers i la I in 



too lean' to be able to do so." 

 T-ij wo/li turned o.i its axis and revolved inits Ol'bSt and 



Arrives m April aud early May. Breeds on treeR and 

 bushes, lays four or five white eggs with brown spots, early 

 in June. 



58. White-eyed Vireo— ITr.v itow^n-m-aiu* Aud.,-JEUdg 

 143, Cs. 181.— Rare. Audubon mentioned this species as oc- 

 curring as far east as Nova Scotia, and also wrote that he 

 observed a few specimens in Labrador. Mr. Montague 

 Chamberlain mentions the capture of a specimen "shot by 

 Harold Gilbert, at Soul h B.iv. near SI, John. New Brims 

 wick, May 24, 1877. ( N. 0. C. Bulletin, April 1 



A pair of vireos once nested upon one of Ihe upper 

 branches of a maple tree near mv home in Portland, Maiue. 

 The nesi was but a lew- feet from a chamber window and T 

 bar most, excellent opportunities to observe the birds and 

 identify them as of this species. I hopefully watched for 

 the birds to appear again the following season jiui none were 

 seen. 



Famit.y Laxud.e;; Shiukt>. 



59. Northern Shrike, "Butcher bin!" — Litmus liomatin — 

 And., Ridg. 148, Cs. 1815. Common in winter, arrives iu 

 October. Not knowm to occur in Maine in summer, nor to 



■d here; not seen here in spring later than April, and 



local 

 side, i 

 on ti 

 eggs 



usually returns to its more northi 

 60. Loggerhead Shrike. "Butch. 



ckinRHi) Aud,, Ridg. 149, Cs, 187, 



IS'ot found here iu winter, arrives ii 



and bushes, fl 



southern port 



The eggs are 



a aicbgr ea a 

 Tla tv .,, 



its bet' 

 ird ' 



date 



April 



Bn 



id lays 



antral ami 



lorn four to six eggs in May. 

 - covered with drab blotches, 

 ce of the latter color ti 1 1 Kb eggs. 



known to Maine, may gener- 

 auy tie lUstiiiem-iieU tiy nie characteristics below named. 



Loggerhead Shrike:' The eye is inclosed- by Mae broad 

 black stripe along ihe side of the head, and (lie, stripe 

 extends forward to meet its fellow at a point in the center 

 at. the base of the bill. 



Northern Shrike: The eye is not inclosed by the broad 

 black stripe along the side of the head, and this stripe does 

 not extend to the center al the base. , I the bill. These d,- 

 scriptions apply only to adult birds. 



The plumage of immature birds does not fully show these 

 characteristics, but the species are readily separated by a 



comparison of specimens, The nor the;] i approei 



ably the larger of thai wo, aad i oi > ol b idii 



portunir f foi I 



difference in length of' 1 • ' ■■■ ; or old 



birds will determine lb : , 



wing is under four inches in length. ' ■ a ■ 

 wing ae. ni Sl iind its aver i about 

 four and a half in 

 Upon young loggerhead slirit- ■ i. ■ 



moult ha . . ., rrc in rd h ■ it -■ ''and 



plumage." But fhe- plums Ol ttppoi p I ol the 



young i ■■ ". . fin I fii • . i. . . . thai of th im 



nirtiir- ncrtbai '. The shrib i i n 



termed "kite p in BOme localil I and tlwil 



of kill:'- ■■ ll! ... ii known, tne,. 

 birds lean ! al .■■ ind provok' i 



shrike. 



I HlKT.SDIKtrJ : ' I ' i 



61. 1 ii firm 



6i&ls L'i I" i I. a I . ii loi ■' ■ i. . Aj 



rives in April and Maj Breed i iall.1 ; ii usi ■ 



erected for its use, and Ii our t ' in white 



in June, Tlie ttlrges! of our jwall.owa, am' .i a 



locally named 'be - i : .. ." on at . i mi I maiii 



fondne si.. I - which are mil molested by other 



specii - ol -'■ I'..,, a :. llly v 



or tyrnni lives;, tier ,.■-...,..., ,.■,.■■,, ■ , , , i,., i , ; . 



a trienil ; i ' a ■ |i i ,, a, one of 



"bee martin," and the reputation of a fondness Pot bees, 

 while ornithologists generally have ignored th Ei ■■ 

 our purple mariinr-! much better entitled to tlie num 

 laiai A colony rf pui - pl a ., a,,,- ,j, a p 



willdestroi; mora i— - in ■ ,■■•■. a, ,lian all the ll' 

 that can In fo.aid within the nri D of a small lea,; ,;o 



these martins, the swiftest a-,. D n« :hI birdi -' Ih ir 

 family, 'i' tro ' lumbers of noxious insccjs, and will 

 bar!, islj all tcli ind dri ■ i ■.' irr : latma ituvu 



near their abode, and are tho ray d irab I irti . 



irjo la a I i ai a ■. kepi 



63. Cliff Sv,alV. ,.,.,. . |i, ., /.■ .. 



a'/.., ...',aa.. .... I , '.. I r I a'.. i bm 



loi ti '•■•'-■V' in ■■ md 31a; B: 

 boildi i ■ undi i the a M . c iusi le eon red \i idgi - 

 teams and raltel . i tc. Lays from four to i 

 ith brown spots in June and July I'a numb 

 ),airs a colony of birds of this pecii I d thei i is w 

 t'i esxt ■■' I ■ tern Raijroail siati Inud, 



on the ide tov urcl I jtreetwh eth' mi I m ■ urn 



63. Barn S P, i bid W » ■ - 



throgaslw lid .,,.,.. i s 



159,— Almndnnl Arrives lati in April and earlj iu Me 

 breeds iu colonieo, iistinlly in barm m I beam 

 rafters. [ ■ ■ from fori is ivhi'le \ . .villi ivdiii 



brown spot'-, in lune Tv . . i. . .. , air \ , a 



til. White-b -Us :i . . a 



Taefiycincta ' cnfor,V I6j) 



■' Ill I Li i ..... a a, - ; a in a 



rives early in April: breed i oil I i i . ind in bird 

 bouses -reefed foribc pinpOSI i iVi n htte i ■ 

 ATay. The -.(oniaebs of I he ,-iiaei'inai.- ; n ed ill & I'l 



Ale., April ti, I found lo ih npi - 01 i e 



common hay bush; no insect of attj ui-i tej tomacl 



a i birds i io a ■..■■. ■ ■ , 



a e aa, | . | a , | B 



S3 Bank Swallow --,'.' 

 Ridg, li ...... 



in May; breed a ban ravel i hoi 



eveavati -I h. '■ p ,;, ;. ; . j ; ... | i:ll , 



a . | a. - 



6(3. St era : r i .: ,•■ — , pj, i ,; 



Cs. lot. --: 'saamon in Western l i a . a Oil! a Ma 



B ai... . a . \ . .■;■ ... a .. ■ .. tr 



bushes, and lays four Or flvi bblfch-whitu 

 brown spots, in June, 



BI ''auiiiji: : '! auager— tyya ,. ..■ IJldj 164, 



Cs. Ho— Accidental straggler from the nut . 

 was obtained at Wise --- i uai u hy Dr. 



S. B, Cn -hra oi, to Who.n 1 an a ,, a ioa of 



the fact 



i'-mii.y AMPCT.in.r: , , . ,: 



lis; Bohemian Chatterei' or ' "■ nxv . , , , .• 



roll Aud , a g'ular 



winter visitant. '. ithc ;• a a 1 1 me . ii 



here in large, noeh aran Uinl E this 



species may always bi dj'stingui: I . a ','.■■ ii s| 



colored under I ill coverlH, from th bit ■■ :,, ■ 



under tail ■ 



(ih. Cedar-Bird. "Waxwing" 

 Ami. : An u ■■■•■.■ iiid ■ bit, C ; inclant. 



Sometimes seen here it a | ,; , n , Lthougn 



1 a . in; i i;. in the sirring, a- . ^ as- , ... i .id 

 until late in .tune and in Juha i , a ivc | lil.aveli dial, 

 ego-- with brown spots. 



Family Fcix.iiit.io.i-: The Pi i 



70. Pine Grrusbeah > ud 



■■ ■ ■' '■■':' Hid .:. Ida, >■' . a., r i ... iii ,. j • . , i j ,.,,.; 



visitor from the Nortlh Th 1I3 



takenio Maine, orthe Linieii sito'es, i ije.iev.-, . is- 



a caged bird in ibepoas; - . a ... amili ! . 



Paris, Me. This gent leiu, in's son Mr. Jajvi$ L. Carter, 

 fakes especial interest in oruiila.io ■.,,;,, r.jie autumn of 



' .. : ! a a, ■:'<. h a I, '. incpl alll..- 



the iutercsiing results i quote from an explicit letter ..a ■;■,,,: 

 from Paris 



A male and fern 

 December 1878). TI 

 first. Thev thrived a 



the Iie\l Alav the fei.i; 



"' 



liah-bht 



id depo 



rd the 



birds' 

 of the 



. a green 

 ties of brown. Bo; 

 deal royed a pari , . 

 throwing them out of the nesi ' uring tl : I winter the 



female suddenly died, ' ■ a . a, ,r ait previous'illnesa. 



The male is ye! living After moulting v, lien the plumage 

 was renewed, the ci i Iffi replaced .■ 



and the former Color ha 1 ne I iAiii i, . 



(March 8, 1882) 



Hr. i larli r fin thet inf ■ m ■ materials 



were given to these birds f i . 



ing them. ! .rig other old nesi 



diligently pulled into pieces I i mill .in : 

 e aa: aa'th dried grass in the a 



Both birds wen ti gi liei in i ' :;v. a .. i i h. 



stroved nearly all of the Oggsbj ttoov in Ul el tile 



nest. When firsi captured they would eat only En 



