166 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 80, 1882. 



lntm L nl JpSfog. 



WINTER HOUSE OF THE BLACK BEAR. 



TO a recent issue of the Lake City (Minn.) Bseim, Dr. I). 

 0. Estes, with whose pleasing writings all old-time 

 readers of Forest and Stream arc familiar, gives n very 

 Lnterestmg account of a curious nest of the black bear 

 "which once came under his observation. This nest Mas dis- 

 covered by (he doctor at the close of a long bunt, which he 

 describes as follows: 



One day late in the fall I struct the trail of two bears, one, 

 old and the other young. There was a light but good track- 

 ing snow, and I followed them all day without coming 

 within hearing distance. They were evidently looking for 

 winter quarters, for I found where they, or 'one of them, 

 had climbed several old trees, and in other places where they 

 had gone, into hollow logs and under old upturned trees. It 

 was getting very cold and no doubt they were getting some- 

 what, sleepy and wished to retire for their long winter nap. 

 Without coming up with my game, I returned to camp late 

 in the evening. Next morning I again struck the trail 

 where the night before I left h\ and pressed forward, ex- 

 pecting it woidd lead me to their den; but in less than one 

 mile the tracks divided, one going one way and the other at 

 nearly a right angle. They had no doubt made up their 

 minds that the time was short and that each must look out 

 quarters for himself. I concluded I would take the track of 

 the old one, for he was the bigger game, and then, being 

 separated from the cub, there was a 'better prospect for tree- 

 ing him and less prospect of being treed myself. Cautiously 

 1 followed on, hour after hour. Prom the* various directions 

 the bear took I knew he was not aware an enemy was on his 

 track. Had he known this he would have led straight 

 away. During this day's tramp he had climbed several trees, 

 and examined every hollow log in his path. I expected 

 every moment that the trail would end in some chosen winter 

 den. About i o'clock in the afternoon, to my disgust, I 

 came upon the track of a hunter who had taken the trail 

 ahead of me. This was provoking, but I resolved to over- 

 take this man, and if possible steal from him the first shot, 

 but I had not gone more than ten rods before I heard the re- 

 port of his rifle, not more than one-quarter of a mile ahead. 

 I now started on the run, determined to be in at the death. 

 Soon I came up to the hunter, and saw lying at his feet a 

 monstrous black bear. Now, after having given chase to 

 this identical bear for two days, to be thus shorn of all the 

 glory of killing him was almost too much for human flesh 

 and blood to bear. My only hope now was that this man 

 would not prove an exception among hunters, and that he 

 might share the spoils with me. But in this I was again dis- 

 appointed; for while I related to him the account of my long 

 and tedious chase for this old fellow, he only grunted. " This 

 at onee convinced me of the swinish nature* of the man. I 

 soon made up my mind that their would be no dividing with 

 me, and that my boyhood experience with the swine would 

 he right here repeated, namely, that I never could get any 

 satisfaction out of a hog. I only got a smell of the life- 

 blood as it flowed from the neck "of the dying animal. If 

 he had only given me a piece of the liver for a broil on the 

 spot, or a steak for a broil at home I should have felt inore 

 fraternal. I kept "mum" about that other bear, and soon 

 left the hog to put in some tall grunting while he swung up 

 all alone some live hundred pounds of bear meat. Late I 

 reached camp, and after devouring a large quantity of broiled 

 venison I retired to rest, and dreamed of the droves of swine 

 I had fed and stoned in my boyhood days. 



Starting early in the morning I was not long in striking the 

 fresh track of the young bear. For six hours! followed'liim 

 round and round among the big timber. Everywhere he had 

 looked for winter quarters, and not finding what he desired 

 he finally struck off into an immense thicket of brush. I 

 found it almost impossible, to penetrate this jungle, but 

 stealthily I pressed forward, now crawling, now creeping, 

 and walking. His route was circuitous in the extreme, and 

 he was apparently still looking for something; in one place 

 at the roots of an upturned "tree he had scraped up a few 

 leaves, but being dissatisfied with the location abandoned it. 

 Very cautiously I peered into every open space among the 

 brush expecting every moment to jump my game. Suddenly 

 there was a crash and a tremendous cracking of the brush some 

 distance to the left of me, and I just saw a glimpse of the 

 bear as lie jumped a small ravine. I sent two bullets after 

 lurn from my Sharps rifle, but not a drop of blood could I 

 find, and no doubt the bear escaped with never a hole in his 

 hide. Taking his back track 1 suddenly came to his winter 

 quarters, for which he had so diligently searched for three 

 or four days; under an old tree top, and under thick over- 

 hanging brush was the chosen place in which to build his 

 wiuter nest. To accomplish this he had scraped up every 

 leaf and small twig from a space at least five rods all rouud 

 the center. Of this material he had constructed, right on the 

 ground, apparently one huge hen's nest. It was a perfect 

 hollow cone about four feet in diameter at the bottom, and 

 fully two feet high at the rim of I be hole in the top. This 

 depression in the top extended nearly to the ground. At the 

 bottom were dry leaves and such grass as he was able to 

 obtain for his bed. Evidently he had fully completed the 

 structure and just retired for his long winter's nap. If this uesi 

 (for you can call it nothing else) could have been safely re- 

 moved to any museum in the country, it would have 'been 

 worth hundreds of dollars. A little study of the location 

 demonstrated the fact that the bear was endowed with 

 real wisdom besides his architectural and mechanical skill; 

 for it could easily be seen when the snow did fall it would 

 lodge on the thick brush over and around him. and thus shut 

 him in from the storms and observation. Now I have never ' 

 before heard of an instance of a black bear hibernating on 

 the surface of the ground in a nest composed of leaves and 

 other material, and we are forced to conclude that in this 

 instance the method was chosen as a last resort, or because 

 he had failed to find a suitable log or tree, or a good place to 

 dig a burrow. * * * After, studying this curious 

 nest and satisfying my curiosity, my "bear hunt was 

 abandoned. H 1 had jumped a deer. 1 should certainly have 

 given chase Imi to follow a scared bear was equivalent to 

 chasing Mm out of the country, with a strong probability of 

 overtaking him. 



Bay Ridge, L. I., March 24. — Song-sparrows are here in 

 full force, accompanied by numerous bluebirds, a few fox- 

 coloi eel sparrows and numbers of robins. I have also seen 

 two pair of brown creepers. To-day I saw four wild geese 

 passing North. They were not very high and answered a 

 call, but would not stop. Have seen one red-winged black- 

 bird.— A, L. T. 



SPRING NOTES. 



NOVA Scotia, March 18.— February and March to the 

 present date have given us one incessant continuance of 

 winter in its severest forms— bitter cold northeast gales ami 

 Snowstorms always accompanied by high winds, which piled 

 up highways and railways with huge drifts. Whole town- 

 ships have had to turn out to try and make a Way for traffic, 

 and the snow-ploughs have been shovelling away in some 

 cases wholly without avail, the drifts having been frozen 

 hard and impenetrable, save by the spade of manual labor. 

 No trains have reached here for three days at a time. Every 

 vessel that arrives at Halifax from the' North reports grca't 

 fields of ice and icebergs all over the banks of Newfoundland, 

 while in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the ice king reigns 

 supreme. Such a winter, at least, from the commencement 

 of February, has not been known in Nova Scotia for years. 

 As a natural consequence, not a single migratory bird has ap- 

 peared in this neighborhood as yet. The geese, which 

 usually pass over us on their way North, some years as early 

 as the 11th of this month, could not face such weather as 

 this, and the song-sparrow, clue usually on the 15th, has 

 delayed his departure from the latitude of New York State, 

 where I see he has arrived ten days ago, by the latest 

 accounts in Forest axd Stream. ' A "few robins have 

 stayed with us all the winter, but the migratory host has yet 

 to arrive. The crow and blue jay are our most common 

 winter birds, and have been abundant even during the 

 severest weather. On taking a walk on the 12th inst., a 

 cloudy clay with westerly wind, and every appearance of a 

 change to' milder temperature, I observed the snow nearly 

 the whole distance of my walk, to be speckled over with a 

 small insect which, on examination under the lens, proved to 

 be a species of neuroptera, with six abdominal joints. Some 

 specimens had perfect lengthened wings with numerous 

 cross veins, while others were destitute of these appendages. 

 The genus is unknown to me. I hope another week will 

 firing a change, and let us hear once more the welcome notes 

 of the harbinger of summer days to come. 



J. Matthew Jones. 



[Since the above was written, the telegraph has brought us 

 news of another terrible snowstorm in Nova Scotia, which 

 has blocked the roads and generally impeded travel]. 



Iowa.— Coralville, March 31, 1882.— I notice that an 

 Iowa correspondent in the last issue of Forest akd 

 Stream desires information in regard to the Bohemian 

 waxwing in this State. Last April a boy near this place 

 shot into a flock of waxwings, killing nine of them; the 

 birds were in the orchard very close to the house. Four' 

 or live of them were brought to mo, and I mounted three of 

 the finest ones, and have two of them in my collection, where 

 there beautiful crest? and wings tipped •will) the coralred w-as 

 are much admiied. Some of the specimens were without 

 the wax on the wiugs, and I think a little larger than the 

 others; these 1 supposed were the females. I fiave a few 

 spring notes that 1 will give. February 11th, ducks, geese 

 and wild pigeons are frying; 12th, heard the first bluebirds; 

 13th, first robins. Yesterday (March 20th) was a warm, 

 showery April like day. and groat numbers of geese, ducks, 

 cranes, etc., were flying North; but to-day Ave are having a 

 genuine Western bUzzard, and it is ludicrous to see them 

 hastening back with ail possible' speed. One fancies that 

 they are soundly berating their leader for taking them off on 

 such a " wild goose chase." such a hawking and quacking is 

 heard. I have occasionally written for the Forest and 

 Stream above the signature of W., but as W's are so numer- 

 ous, and nam deptuhws are being objected to, I have con- 

 cluded to adopt my owu name, though it is with some 

 trepidation lest (being a woman) I may" be excluded from 

 the columns of this Very nice gentleman's paper, — Yiotjet S. 

 Williams, 



Hornellsvtlle, N. Y., March 26.— Bluebirds arrived 

 February 16th; robins the 19th; blackbirds the 24th; king- 

 fishers and'meadowlarks have been here all winter. Saw the 

 first swallow to-day.— J, Otis Fellows. 



HABITS OF WOODPECKERS. 



I HA YE noticed and read with pleasure many articles in 

 the Forest and Stream about the red-headed wood- 

 pecker. But he has one accomplishment which I have not 

 seen mentioned, and I hesitate about giving it, fearing it may 

 excite incredulity in the minds of rnany who have not ob- 

 served it. Yet it is a fact that the red-headed woodpecker is 

 one of the most expert fly-catchers to be found among the 

 fly-catching birds. When a boy I have watched him for 

 hours, and admired not only his skill, but his sound judg- 

 ment. In early summer, before the sap has stopped flowing 

 in the birch and maple, he will select a number of these trees 

 and pick in the south side of them, where it is exposed to 

 the sun, some fifteen or twenty holes, through which the sap 

 will flow, knowing the flies will readily lie attracted by the 

 sweet liquid, and when Ihev have well settled upon the place, 

 Mr. Bedhead will, noiselessly and still as the flight of a bat. 

 light upon the side of the tree just opposite where he basset 

 his trap for the .greedy fly, and then with his long tongue 

 reach round and gather in — I can't say how many flies, but 

 certain it is that he is well satisfied with bis success, for I 

 have watched him run half a dozen trees in this way for an 

 hour or two at a time. Clifford. 



Marion. Mass, March IS, 1883, 



The habit referred to by our correspondent has not, so far 

 as we know, been observed in the red-headed woodpecker: 

 Dr. Merriam, however, in an interesting communication to 

 the SkUall Bulldin (IV.. p. 1, Jan. , 1879) noted the same 

 habit in the common " sapsuoker," or yellow-bellied Wood- 

 pecker, SphympmiS va/rkt&. He says of this species; "fn 

 the central district [of the Adirondack region] they really do 

 considerable mischief by drilling holes in the bark of apple, 

 thorn-apple, and mountain ash trees, in such a way as to 

 form girdles of punctures, sometimes two feet or more in 

 breadth (up aud down), about 1he trunks and branches. 

 Whether in like manner they affect trees (excepting occasion- 

 ally a young elm) pertaining to other genera than the one 

 (Pyrits) to which the above belong; I am unable to say; but 

 the fact of their It stag i tg - me of these, notably the apple, 

 and especially in the Wi Si has often been recorded. The 

 holes which arc sometimes merely single punctures and some- 

 times Squarish spaces (multiple punctures) nearly half an inch 

 across., are placed so near together that, not unfrequently, 

 !• more of the live than the remaining bark. Hence 

 more than half of the bark is sometimes removed from the 

 girdled portions, aud the balance often drie.s up and comes 

 off. Therefore it is not surprising that trees which have been 

 extensively girdled generally die. and mountain ash are much 



mure prone to do so than either apple or thorn-apple trees, 

 due, very likely, to their more slender stems. 



"The motive which induces this species to operate thus 

 upon young and healthy trees is, I think, but partly under- 

 stood. It is unquestionably true that they feed, to a li ri 

 extent, both upon I he inner bark and the fresh sap from these 

 trees, but that the procurement of these two elements of sus- 

 tenance, gratifying as they doubtless are, is their chief aim 

 in making the punctures 1 am inclined to dispute. As the 

 sap exudes from the newly-made punctures, thousands of 

 flies, "yellow-jackets," and other insects congregate about the 

 place, till the hum of their wings suggests a swarm of bees, i 

 If now the tree be watched, the woodpecker will soon be 

 seen to return and alight over that part of the girdle which 

 he has most recently punctured. Here lie remains, with mo- 

 tionless body, and 'feeds upon the choicest specie's from the 

 hosts of insects within easy reach. Therefore it is my firm 

 belief that their chief object in making these holes is to s9 

 cure the insects which gather about them. 



Some time ago Mr. C. L. Bagg called my attention to I 

 clump of mountain ash whoso leaves had turned yellow aha 

 were fast falling oil'. Here a pair of these birds, with then 

 young, had established an unfailing foot! supply, and at al- 

 most anytime of tha day several of their dark, motionless 

 forms might lie seen adhering to the trunks and branches of 

 the young trees. Evidently this had been their headquarters 

 for several seasons, for all the main stems in the cluster were 

 girdled for at least five feet (commencing two or three feet 

 from the ground.), and most of the branches of any size were 

 likewise punctured. In making each girdle they work 

 around the trunk, and from below Upward, but they may lie- 

 gin a new girdle below an old one. They make hut' lew 

 holes each day, and after completinir two or three remain 

 over the spot for some little time, and as the clear, fresh s U p 

 exudes and trickles down the bark, they place their hill 

 against the dependent drop and suck it in with evident relish 

 — a habit which has doubtless given rise to I lie more appro- 

 priate than elegant term " sap-suckeT, " by which tlusy arc 

 commonly known in some parts of the country. 1 have 

 several times watched this performance at a distance of La9 

 than ten feet, and all the details of the process, were distinel lv 

 seen, the bird looking at me. meanwhile, "out of the corner 

 ofliiscv: ■ Whan "ac thirst in satisfied he silent 1, d< ap- 

 pears, and as silently returns again, after a few hours, to 

 feast upon the insects that have been attracted to the spot by 

 the escaping sap. The bird, then, by a few strokes of it's 

 bill is enabled to secure both food (animal and vegetable) and 

 drink in abundance for an entire day; and a single toe., 

 favorably situated, may suffice for a whole season.'' 



THE NEW CHECK LIST. 



Washington, March 24, 1882, 

 WSifor- Forest ami Stream: 



I have read with interest Mr. Everett Smith's article in the 

 last number of Forest ASD Stream, and heartily agree with 

 him in the general drift of the complaint he makes' that our 

 nomenclature of birds is so incessantly shifting. The evil of 

 which he speaks has grown almost intolerable, and I can, 

 only hope it: is not an" insuperable one. 1 have long been 

 convinced of its magnitude, and have attempted of late I i 

 what I could to lessen, if not remove it. by offering a syst{3 

 of nomenclature of our birds, based upon recognized" ruhisB 

 for the tenability of names, and tending, as 1 trust, to a 

 degree of fixity we have not hitherto attained. T<< i 

 names, determined upon good grounds to lie tenable, entirely 

 within the grasp of all who have not made the subject "a 

 special study, 1 have moreover undertaken to explain aud 

 define each one of them. The little treatise to which 1 allude 

 is so nearly ready for publication, after a delay 

 two years in passing the press, owing to my long" illness aud 

 absence from my desk, that I feel at liberty to enclose to you 

 o portion of the introduction, explaining 'the- chars. , | 



objects of the work. I shall be amply rewarded for the pains 

 bestowed upon its preparation, should it have any good 

 effect in correcting existing abuses, in lessening the diffi- 

 culties Mr. Smith adduces, and in contributing to Ihenxitr 

 of our nomenclature. Elliott Coces. 



introduction. 

 In 1873, shortly after the publication of the author's 'Key 

 to North American Birds," appeared the original edition o'f 

 this "Check List," which was almost immediately reissued 

 in connection with the same writer's 'Field Ornithology! 

 in 1874. That lkt reflected the classification and nomencla- 

 ture of the "Key" with much exactitude, although it. in- 

 cluded, in an appendix, a few species additional to those 

 described in the "Key," aud made some, slight chan.u 

 names. Excepting some little comment in foot notes aud m 

 the appendix, the original "Check List" Wasa bare catalogue 

 of scientific and vernacular names, printed in thick 

 one -!■■ ■ .' the >api -- 



Meanwhile, the science Of ornithology has progressed, and 

 our knowledge of North American buds has increased, both 

 iu extent and in precision, until the original list, faithful aa/l 

 it was at the time, fails now to answer the purpose of adjj 

 quately reflecting the degree of perfection to which the sub- 

 ject has been brought. A new edition has therefore heeoitie 

 necessary. 



The list has, been revised with the utmost care. The -rate 

 fying degree of accuracy with which it represented our 

 knowledge of 1878 is exhibited in the fact, i hat it j 

 necessary to remove no more than ten names. On the other 

 hand, the progress of investigation has resulted in 

 one hundred and twenty names to the list, and showing the 



necessity or expediency of making many chance- i e.si 



clature. The exact analysis of the differences between the 

 two lists is given beyond. 



In revising the list for the main purpose of determining 

 the ornithological sMuaol every North American bird, the 

 mosi scrupulous attention has been paid to the matter of 

 nomenclature.— not onl; a part of scientific classincatium 

 determining the technical relatioflsof genera, jpeeies, and 

 varieties to each other, but also as involved inwri 

 spelkii-,-: the n ; n. e of birds correct l\ The nice 1 - clcs ! ; ■■■■■■ 

 matter was scrutinized, the more evidences of incon 

 negligence, or ignorance were discovered in our habitual use 

 of names. It Was therefore determined to submit th 

 catalogue of Norl birds to a rigid exam: 



.lence to the spelling, pronunciation, and derivation 

 of every name — in short, to revise the list from a phi 1 

 as well as an ornithological standpoint. 



nt •• Check List," therefore, differs from th 

 mil edition in so far as, instead of beia. 

 names, it consists Ln a treatise on the etymology, orth 

 aud orthoepy of all the scientific and many of the vei 

 words employed ill the Uomei 

 birds. Nothing of the sosi has been done before, to the same 



