^ 



THE SUNNY SOUTIf O 



ii'ti odLo 



GIST. 



rootlets, the eggs four to six, are of a slate 

 or inky-wliite color,- dotted with purplish- 

 brown; they measure 86x65# in general, but 

 they vary both in size and form. The bird 

 itself is between six and seven indie's in 

 length, and its general color is reddish-olive^ 

 or dusty-brown; the chin,- ffontlets^ and a 

 line above each eye are black, the lower 

 parts are yellow^ and the wings and tail are 

 dusky gray^ 



THE NOKTHEKN WAXWINGf. 



(Ampelis gafrulus.) 

 This bird is not a summer resident of On- 

 tario, but when driven from its haunts in 

 more northern latitudes,- by the severity of 

 the winter reason ^ it sometimes visits this 

 country in quest of food. Then it associates 

 in small flocks; and approaching the habita- 

 tions of man^ either in town or country^ and 

 feeds on the berries of mountain-ash,- and the 

 seeds of evergreens* On one occasion I 

 noticed a pretty large company feeding on 

 the stalks of mullens^ that protruded through 

 the snow. On these occasions it may be 

 caught in grain-baited traps, like the snow, 

 birds. Its native home appears to be the fine 

 tegions of British Columbia, and other 

 northern mountain regions, where it feeds 

 on the cones ol pines and other evergreens,- 

 and small fruits. Its disposition is sociable,- 

 and it loves the company of its own species. 

 Its general color is ashy-broWn; head and 

 throat marked with black; the tail has a yel- 

 low band, and the wing's are marked with 

 Ivhite and red. Its length is seven and one- 

 half inches. The nest and eggs of this 

 species are said to differ with those of the 

 Cedar- Waxwing only in size, and the breed- 

 ing habits are much the same. 



L. W. Kells, Listowel,^ Ont. 

 ■#-#'* 



FoT the Siinny ScHith Oolc^gist. 



Collecting among the sea-birds 



or MAINE. 



For some time I had been looking forward 

 to a trip^ with a friend who is an ardent col- 

 lector, among the sea-birds that frequent our 

 coast in large numbers during the summer 

 months. Our start, made early in the morn- 

 ing to gain time, was quite unsuccessful, for 

 Ivhen about two miles from home the wind 



suddenly died out and left us envying a feW 

 fishing boats that were nearer the shore and 

 had a fine breeze. For two hours we were 

 *'as idle as a painted ship upon a painted- 

 ocean/' At last the long wished for breeze 

 arrived and we sped merrily upon our way. 

 At noon we arrived at our first stopping, 

 place, Fisherman Island, This is a small 

 rocky island one quarter of a mile long, and 

 a breeding place of the common Terns, who 

 resort here in large numbers to lay their egg& 

 and rear their young. 



The birds made themselves known long be-- 

 fore we landed^ hovering over our heads^ 

 uttering their shrill cries, now and then dart- 

 ing at us as though in anger and well aware 

 of our object. On landing all the birds arose 

 in the air and made such an uproar with 

 their cries that it was almost impossible to 

 hear any one speak in an ordinary tone of 

 Voice. Here we picked up forty -two sets of 

 Tern's eggs, also a number of single eggs oi 

 the same and two sets of Spotted Sand-piper.- 

 The eggs on this island are kept picked up 

 quite clean by the fishermen who live on the 

 mainland three miles distant, and who use 

 them for cooking,, although ^hey have an oily 

 taste peculiar to sea-birds. 



To illustrate how they are kept picked up,, 

 not a young bird was found on the whole 

 islESnd, althoiSgh the birds had been laying 

 three or four weeks, and but few of the eggs- 

 were incubated, none so but that they could 

 be blown. This place i& quite a resort of 

 Bank Swallows, but all the nes-ts examined 

 contained young. Our next stopping place 

 was to be Marblehead Island, a round island 

 rising out of the sea like a ball floating on 

 the water, and difficult to land on as there is^ 

 no beach and a heavy swelL As the wind- 

 had died out again we took the sm^ll boat 

 and rowed out. Here we found thirty-one 

 sets of Tern's eggs, and w'hat we least ex- 

 pected, three sets of Black Guillemot. This 

 was quite a surprise to us for we had no* 

 knowledge of the birds breeding within 

 twenty-five miles of here, although they 

 breed abundantly on some islands that dis- 

 tance from here. The eggs are placed in the 

 most out of the way places imaginable, un- 

 der an overhanging rock on the cliffs in al- 

 most inaccessible places. While searching; 



