Concord, Mass.
1911.
Oct 30
(No 3)
[October 30, 1911]

Wheat ear [Wheatear]

bird I was watching & I could see no other in the air.
The only occasion when I have noted this mysterious bird
at any season other than autumn was on March 28, 1911
when I heard the whit call of one which seemed to be
flying over the orchard at the Farm but which I failed to
get sight of. Hitherto I have been utterly at a loss
to even conjecture what the creature can be but this
morning it suddenly occurred to me that the one I
had just seen & heard might have been a Wheat ear [Wheatear].
I did not think of it at the moment but several
minutes later. What especially suggested the thought
was the bird's manner of flight and of fanning out
its short square tail. I have repeatedly seen Wheatears
in England but in most instances through car windows
& I cannot recall ever hearing their notes. The fact that
the birds met with here have always occurred singly
would support the Wheat-ear [Wheatear] theory I think.