466 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. 11, .883 



and seeds with hulls. If the latter were hulled for them 

 they were refi] i 



Mr. Carter kindly sent mo for examination the pggg 

 which were saved from utter destruction, thus enabling me 

 to give the following deseviption of three that we sii 9i a <• 

 perfect for the purpose: 



The color is blue -Teen, resembling Hiat of liie eggs of f In- 

 chipping sparrow mutitn Ridg. 311. Cs. 2(19), 



sparingly spotted with dark umber lirown, chiefly in dots, 

 concentrated upon the larger end and not Euro 

 around it. Blotches of pole umber brown, more dispersed 

 and profuse than the dark dots, also center upon the larger 

 end. The smaller end is nearly or quite immaculate, Re- 

 ir.ovrd cf the white lining membrane shows the shell to he 

 en /limit, and the dark umber dols and paler 



blotches also pervade the shell to its interior so. face. The 

 shell is exteriorly smooth. The greatest longitudinal and 

 lateral diameters of each of the" three eggs examined, ex- 

 dia to mi fractions of inches, areas follows; 

 ;u-.9Sx.07— .9:x.(i7. 



These measurement are given in order ofthoir exactness, 



the last sp> , - ii h- 1 much fractured for a longitudinal 



measurement, for which Ihe nunc between the other two is 

 given 



Mr. Carter stales that of the nine eggs laid by his gros- 

 beak one was considerably larger than the others. 



1 once kept a pini grosbeak alive in confinement I'or nine 



months, and it proven an interesting pet. [tsi 



in' iibdtied a- to hare al times a ventrilortuial 



effect; uud the notes utteredinn room sounded as if from 

 u bird at a distance in the open air. Mr. Carter's grosbeaks 

 wen: 1 "very fond of cranberries, shelling the miii 

 and also eating- the pulp." My bird manifested an especial 

 fondness for the seeds of apples and pears, and would 

 eagerly By. 10 my shoulder to take a seed from between mv 

 lips 



In the s.-mmer of ISIS Mr. H. A. Purdie observed a pine 

 i lonnecticul Lake, in Northern New 

 Hampshire, "a red male feeding young the last of July and 

 in early Au.-u-l. The J Dung were able to fly. I alsosho! a 

 male OX the year." Mr, Purdie further informs me that he 

 saw a pine grosbeak in June, near Edmundston. N. Ii., at 

 the northern boundary of Maine. This bird Mas "either a 

 female or a young male, I thought the former, and in good 

 plumage." 



It is not improbable that a few birds of this species breed 

 in the wilderness of Northern Maine, but there has been no 

 discovery of their nests publicly reported. 



71. Cardinal Grosbeak. Virginia Redhild— - PfdftHi rur- 

 1 ■ ■. »> i -., --?H!i. Ridg. 843.— 



Accidental birds of Ibis species have been observed at 

 various limes, but they may have been escaped cage birds, 

 :i - the bright red plumage and pleasing notes of this species 

 o make the birds -common pets in confinement. 



73. Rose r - ] ' ... i, .-,!;-. t ■.. . . . , ..-., „„s ,\lld. . 



- ' • - 889. -I iiiiiinoii but 

 never abundant. Uncommon in Eastern Maine. Arrives in 

 May. Breed- on bushes or ttees, lays four egg 

 green with brown blotches. The furthest East I have seen 

 this Species, was in the month of July, at Ihe upper part of 

 tin; east brand of the Penobscol River, where 1 observed a 

 pair. The beautiful male gave me. morning serenades from 

 a bush within thirty feet of my camp. 



7:!. Blue Grosbeak. — [".*•"/.,"„•"* <v-r;kt'.i And.; Qmraca 

 llidg. ?!l.i. Cs. 291 — Accidental. A rare straggler 

 from the South. Mr. floaidman procured a single speci- 

 men in 1861, that had wandered as far East as the mouth of 

 lb- Si Croix River. 



74. Common Crowbill— ]ji<:nu r urn ,■».■,! n ; And., Cs. 199; 



.■'■■'.-.' Ridg. 172.— Common in conifer- 

 ous forests. Resident. Breeds, and eggs have been found 

 iu February and March, f have observed crossbills oi bnth 

 known in Maine making love in August, and dissec- 

 tion of specimens proved that they were shorn breeding at 

 that time. But i am unable to state how many broods ure 

 raised each year, or in what month the eggs are most com- 

 monly laid," Mr, L, P. Rowe writes me an interesting 

 account of two liests which he found In Franklin county, 

 Me., the latter part of February, -'one with three eggs 

 which had the appearanceof having been jusl laid, the other 

 nest having five eggs with young birds well grown in them 

 ondalive when 1 broke the'eggs." 1 found these nests in a 

 spruce tree that I v.-as cutting for camp wood. Both nests 

 were in one ire.-, twenty feel from He- ground, and six or 

 ■j l i""i apart. They were made of moss BUCh as gTOWfi 

 on spruce lives, and were very thick and warm. At a dis- 

 tance one would not distinguish the nest from a natural 

 of moss." Sir. Rowe could not slate with certainty 

 to which species Ihe birds were. 



75. While-winged Crossbill — /,e,//,/ lettcopkra Ami.; 



Ridg, 17M; Cs. 198.— Common in coniferous forests. Resi- 

 dent. Breeds. 



76. Purple Pinch—: Erytitnmnsd /I'lrjmntt Aud. ; Cttr- 



r"i-jt"n 1 1,1 Ridg. KiH; Cs 194— Common. Arrives 

 in March aud early in April. Breeds on trees. li~ eggs, 

 green, with very dark brown spots, are laid early in June. 

 A few birds of this species are found here during the 

 winter. 



77. Redpoll Linnet— U.„ni,i ,„//-», Aud. : j32ffietJiMU7>/U-ia 

 Ridg. 178; Cs. 207.— Common in autumn and winter, and 

 remains until April, when it departs for mop lorthi 



The notes ol this species resemble the 



i intcs with it in winter. 



IS. Pine Lime I - r' ■ ,■.,.,■■■. , \ . i . 1 . (' /,/■,/,■,,„„ /.' 



Ridg., 185, Cs. 212.— Common, especially in autumn. 



S -niie birds of this spaces are oeeasiotiully"found here in 



winter. Breeds on trees, and ns far south as Cumberland 



county, in April and May, lays four pale greenish egga 



potted Witt brown. The following description of a ileal 



found in Cumberland county by Mr. J. C. Mead I quote 



a letter received in October, 1879. "The pine linnets 



twerc abundant here in the winter of l.S?;-;*, 



and remained as late as May if, April 3 1 took a female 



■ , one of Which was nearly ready to be laid. 



I i of this species containing four 



young birds. The nest was on the branch of a "hard pine" 



Fefit from its trunk, and twenty-five feet above the 



the lake over which the branch projected, lie 



nest was loosely built of fine twigs, mosses, and rootlets, 



and received most Of lis Support from the pine i 



out from the branch on which it was placed." 



"Thistle-Bird'-"— e'./e./'Y-'V;, huf- Ami.; 



'""'"'»'« Ridg. 181, Cs. 218.— Abundant* Some 



this species are to he found here throughout each 



winter. Breeds on bushes and small trees, lays five bluish 



white eggs with brown spots around larger end, in July. 



Period of incubation about fifteen davs. 



80. Snow Bunting— B'v- , 7 ; < Aud. ; Ridg. 180; 

 Cs. 319.— Irregularly abundant in autumn ami winter. 

 Usuaflyin flocks, .remaining until late in March, when nil 

 disappear on flic nigbtt6$6ri " in.', places. 



81. Lapland Lark-Bunting or LongspM*— Pleotrophcines 

 Ifppmifc/i. Aud.; ContrdpJiaites lamoniom Ridg. 187; Cs. 

 230. — Occasional winter visitant. Not common. 



83. Ipswich Sparrow— y-',.,--, /', ii l >i it j-„iin;/-< (MaynardJ 

 Ridg. 192, Cs. 285.— Not Uncommon along the coast in 

 autumn, but .comparatively rarely seen in spring. The last 

 one March 28. 1882. al Scarhoro, Cumberland count v. Mr, 

 Andrew Nelson, Jr.. shot a single specimen upon the shore 

 of Back Bay in the city of Portland, in March, 1883. Th 

 Ipswich sparrow much resembles the common Savanna spar- 

 row of New England, nnd has been given rant, as : im 

 species within a lew years. 1 1 issomewhal larger than the 

 Species mentioned, and its general coloration paler. 1 have 

 seen this sparrow in Maine iu December when there was 

 Beveral inches of snow on the ground, aud long after nil the 

 Savanna sparrow s had gone south; and when ft first arrives 

 here in Spring (March), the ground i- often ilei ply i overed 

 with snow. It is quite probable that a few birds of this 

 northern- species pass the winter in Maine in seasons when 

 the suow does not become very deep on Ihe ground. 



8". Savanna Sparrow— Emberr. ■ d : ,-',/.«,/•. 



- widvrich , '. manna Ridg, 193a; Cs, 2^7. Ahuml- 



i ' l.\ in April. Breeds 



on the gi-Himd iu May and June. Lays five or six greenish 



with brown blotches. Autumn migration lasts 



well into October. 



84. Grass Pinch j Bay-winged Sparrow— ■ J&mbeai 



im .>.; Ami.; Pfurftis ;;i-ii,„ii„itsi. Ridg. 197, Cs. 233. 

 Abundant, arrives in April. Breeds on the ground; lavs 

 from four to six greenish white eggs, wtth bro 

 in June. Sometimes eggs are laid before June 1. Two 

 broods commonly raised. 

 S.V fellow-winged Spti ": 



■; ... i, «'.'» i .-'-;-ii ri/ni.i Ridg, Ifl 



bon mentioned the occurrence of ibis spe< 

 Maine. George A. Boardman, I 

 has procured two Specimens here. 



[TO BE CONTtNCED.l 



ue/rbia Ami.; 

 Rare. Audu- 

 as far north as 

 is me that he 



A LITTLE MORE BEAR. 



HAVING followed the many dissertations in this journal 

 upon the habits of our black bear. I feel mysell bound 

 to add a note of information concerning this 1 

 Quadruped of the family Urndte, so far, lie or ehe has been 

 viewed from a wholly sa>:-ei . ■ i .- 1 • ■ ■ . nil baring 

 pleasure Of raising a male cub from three months up, I can 

 describe its habits most truthfully as the story is in this case 

 "first handed." 



1 brought this youngster sixty miles from Rowlesbwy. 

 W. Va., in the heart s/f Ihe Allegheny Uountaius, from an old 

 weatherbealen fellow, who professed to hunt and raise a few- 

 potatoes on the side of a desolate s!o|,e. Ajb y c pnssad his 

 ancient log house, we saw this animal chained securely to a 

 hickory stake driven in the ground, lie was rushing fran- 

 ticaUy up and down, tugging at his chain, and looking ter- 

 ribly frightened. Upon our approach he backed uncere- 

 moniously into a Hour barrel, where he remained until 

 hauled out. We negotiated for him, and had tin satisfac- 

 tion of placing him in our wagon after a hard contested 

 fight. 



Froin Rowlesbury he completed his journey iu a box 

 about four by three and a half feet, barred with hickcry 

 Strips. But upon getting to Rowlesbury. we had to rush for 

 a train, and instructed our ieanr-ter to ship Master Bruin to 

 Cumberland, Aid , next morning, where we would stopover 

 night. Nexl day we received a box. well boarded 

 upon opening it found our charge, tied as to his four feet, 

 and a most fearfully constructed mu/./.ie on bis nose. From 

 lure we bad little trouble in shipping him to Pittsburgh, his 

 ultimate home. 



[built him a sleeping place on the "dog house" pattern,, 



and chained him a-- I i i v inke, around which 



he could circulate at will, and here 1 had ample Opportuni- 

 ties to study him. From morning until night lie would 

 walk up and down a path, taking in about three-quarters of 

 the circle, and never going past his beaten 1 racks. In tak- 

 ing this exercise his head was always beyond his Chain, and 

 I never knew him, with all his CUUning, to attempt to slip 

 his collar. 



At &ra months bis teeth began to grow, and, strange to 

 say, lie wa-- toothless up to this age, but after the fangs ap- 

 peared they grow with marvelous quickness, and at ax 



months he had aa fine a set of ivories as one individual black 

 bear COlild well carry, lie would eat eornmeal mush, upon 

 which lied bini exclusively until his fifteenth month, and 

 he evinced a perfect passion for apples, pears and chestnuts. 

 Cor the latter delicacy he never failed to grasp me around 

 the waist and try to crawl up to my bead, Frequently poking 

 his snout in my coat pockets. I transferred bis quartets, 

 at ten months, to a box under the house and fed him regu- 

 larly upon mush, morning and evening. If at six o'clock 

 P. M. the sumptuous repast was not forthcoming, he would 

 tug at the chain and moan like a young calf. No matter 

 bow hungry, I could not induce him to eat meat, cooked or 

 raw, nor would he touch a potato in any shape. Every day 

 he would be led from bis quarters fnto the woods, and there 

 he was perfectly happy, rooting around dead trees and dart- 

 i ii a his long tongue eagerly out at the swarms of black ant 

 eggs. He ignored the ants, but never missed a nest of their 

 laivae lb- wa- pailhularly fond of "snake weed" and 

 gobbled it up. 



When the time came fur returning we would have a des- 

 perate light, he tugging and 1 nigging — a veritable game of 

 nip and tuck. ' When ho was Unable to drag me in his 

 direction, bis rage knew no bound*, ana he moaned loudly 

 and struck frantically at every object he s .w. gnashing his 

 teeth together in a truly ferocious style. He had a whole- 

 some drtud of his master, and nevei' attempted to attack 

 him. Only once did he approach with hostile intentions, 

 and ;d the' 'time I was standing with m\ back to him, hold- 

 ing the end of flic chain, lb- crept 'cautiously to within 

 three feel i E t I tuakjng a spring, grasped me gently 



by the calf of the leg aud beat a hasty retreat. This was 



probably intended lor play. 



Last September he broke loose and wandered unceremoni- 

 ously into a neighbor's kitchen and frightened Ihe cook into 

 hysterics. She undoubtedly thoughl bis Satanic Majesty 

 had arrived in person. From here lie adjourned to mv 



" i ud ipoi i- I. i tying to capture him, lie struck 



her a resounding blow on the nasal organ, bringing as 

 healthy a How of "claret" as Jem Mace himself could desire. 

 For this escapade we banished him to a local museum, 



where he now pines, buried in fur up to his little rjicish, 

 wicked eyes. 



Taking this bear a n a sample of the tribe, I should pro 

 nouiice lliem utterly unwilling to attack a man esc 

 extraordinary provocation;, and even then it. is doubtful, i'or • 

 taeir timidity is very great a^d Ihe first and rulinp ii.:pilie 

 is to make for a tall tree and shin up with remarkahl 2 ra- 

 pidity. They are extremely cunning and droll, but withal 

 not to be trusted and never to be wholly tamed. 



E. P. Ii 



WINTER NOTES FROM NOVA SCOTIA. 



DEC. 9— Our winter is now closing in. and those 

 harbingers of blinding snow storms dn prospect, (he 

 snow birds, P. ttitaUt have arrived. On the 2d of this 

 month 1 ouscrveda few flying past the house, and on referring 

 to my journal I found that on that precise date, ;i had on two 

 separate occasions recorded their first arrival. From ob- 

 servations made in this province during the past twenty- 

 1 am inclined to believe that this bird migrates 

 from the North with the first heavy snow storm accompanied 

 by high wiuds; in fact, "keeping company" with them. In 

 no instance have I ever observed the bird 'at the commence- 

 ment of winter, before the first fall of snow, nor have 1 i v, ( 

 seen it at the close of winter, unless some snow u ss visible 

 on the ground. The only locality I ha\ e ever seen the bird 

 in where snow wqs entirely absent, was ; 

 where almost every winter, a few par a vbit, alb. it. an un- 

 intentional one. to' those distant semi-tropical isles of the 

 ocean, in company with numbers of other feathered deni- 

 zens of Northern America, which are blown Out to sea aud 

 lie wild waste of waters in the vortex of 

 some violent, revolving-gale. They there Ircquuit the most 

 open and exposed spots, and look quite out ot 'their element - 

 whili feedi g mder the shadoof the palmetto trees; but 

 i i m disappear; for, yearning for the cool embraces of 



northern snow drifts, they launch themselves upon Ihe 

 current of some favoring northerly gale, and soon no 

 doubt, reach their desired haven. On the 4th of this month 

 a vn-y large flock appeared here, and according to the popu- 

 lar belief we are to have a severe winter in coa 

 f have, however, found that this theory does not always 

 hold good. 



Wiud Goosk, Brn nUi cmittdennig. Dec. 11.— A Hock of 

 about sixty passed over in a westerly direction up the valley, 

 apparently steering for the Annapolis Basin. 'I "I 

 coming from the direction of the Basin of Alines. There is 

 no doubt as to the I act that flocks of geese do winterin Nova 

 Scotia, for on several occasions they have been observed ou 

 our shores, even as far north as those of Cape Breton, in mid- 

 winter; and according toBarnstou, (see ' Swans and Geese of 

 the HudsonBny Territories, ") they have been seen at that sea- 

 son frequenting the open current of the St. Lawrence, near 

 Montreal, but he stales also that such an oeeuranee was 

 rare. 



Crow, C. nm?ri<vn »,•*.— This bird does not appear to be'at 

 all inconvenienced by the heaviest snow storms, for I have 

 often observed it making its way against the most violent 

 gale: indeed, it appears to be even more on the move during 

 inclement w either in winter time than when it is fine. Pos- 

 bible the extreme cold may temt to increase its ravenous ap- 

 petite, Which appears to be always ready for either fin, flesh, 

 or fowl. Often in very severe frost it may be seen pecking 

 away at the old bones ou the rubbish heaps iu the suburbs of 

 Halifax, 



Snow. — Have any of your readers observed a somewhat 

 curious circumstance occurring during a violent snow- 

 storm, when in some exposed situation, the snow will form 

 into spherical masses of alt sizes, from that of a bullet to a. 

 good sized ball, and keep rolling about, driven hither and 

 thither by the fury of the blast. The phenomenon is not one 

 of common occurrence here, but probably to be 

 once or twice during the winter. J. Matthew J<t>:ls, 



SNOWY OWLS. 



THE snow owl is more abundant with us in exceptionally 

 mild and open winters. Their migration," are entirely 

 dependant upon their food supply and not upon the weather. 

 I am now going to start a new inquiry. What has become! 

 of the ptarmigan ? When I was a boy at school and quite a 

 liii'dstuil'er 1 iced to gei cumbers of these birds every winter. 

 Our markets and hucksters' shops were always in I 

 but now, for a number of wint. rs, there has not been one 

 exposed for sale, and I am informed they are now extromrly 

 irregular at Quebec, where, in former years, they were 

 abundant. This ptarmigan question will doubtless interest 

 some: of your readers. Very few snow owls this winter. 

 IlKXI'.i- O. Vf.nxou, 

 MoktkSjUi, Quebec, Jan. 0. 



"J. L. D.," of Lockport, N. Y., is very wide awake as a 

 sportsman and naturalist — else lie has wonderful luck in the 

 interest of Forest and Stream. Whenever I see his inf. 

 tials in your columns, my mind is prepared for an item of 

 extraordinary interest to your constituency. The wild 

 goose note, i'or instance, in your issue of Dec. £1, is not 

 likely to lie matched very soon. But I can just beat his 

 four feet eleven owl report in the number for Dee. 14. and 

 am very proud of my ability to doso. Over tl.itty yens ago 

 (that is giving ii clue to my age. but bIucb gray hairs ap- 

 peared in my moustache 1 have become reckless), when my 

 father lived on a farm in Eoinpey, em. n 

 comrade of mine drove his cutter to our door, called me out, 

 and said that on the bare ground, in a field over on the main 

 road, he had just ps n laige, queer-looking bird that 

 could be shot From a cross fence within a lew rods of him. 

 It did not take me long to load a rifle and get it lev- 

 eled on that bird across a lower rail of the fence, after 

 worruijjg my way over an intervening snow drift without 

 scaring him away. lie measured fully five feet across the 

 wings and was a beauty and a puzzle, until some Look 

 hunted up in the village library proclaimed him Riix nyctea. 

 The capture was duly" reported in a Syracuse paper and my 

 father took off his skin and stuffed it with bran. 'J. L. D." 

 can appeal to him with pirfect reliance as to lhal 

 iuon, lor, at the age of nearly ninety-one, he would not fib 

 I'm such a little thing as that'. Snowy has been re-latinizad 

 since then, it seems, and no womb r. 'One must get up early 

 in (lie morning and be awake all day to keep track of the 

 changes iu scientific names of our blasts, birds and fishes. 

 For instance, the brook trout, which even Ihe laity had 

 come to know- us >.</»,>, h.ntiiioUs, must perforce have its 

 front name altered to Kite, H. H. T. 



Haw Yobx, Jak. 8,1888. 



