4fberti Have the Blue-Birds Gone 7 



To the Editor: At this season of the 

 year when the days begin to lengthen 

 out and the east wind has lost much 



of its venom, I dare say many of your 

 readers take an hour in the evening to 

 observe the different sights and sounds 

 which to all Canadians are associated 

 M'ith the advent of spring. The snow 

 drop, crocus and daffodil are true to 

 their time in the garden, the frogs are 

 croaking in the marsh, the robin, 

 pho&be, song sparrow, chipper and ves- 

 per sparrow are all here; but I wonder 

 how many out-door observers have this 

 year seen the blue bird? He is usually 

 the very first of our feathered friends 

 to arrive; even before the ro'bin had j 

 been noticed his rich, soft notes used ! 

 to be hoard from the tops of the tall I 

 poplar or his bright blue mantle be ' 

 seen gliding through the orchard to 

 visit his last year's nest, and in former 

 seasons they were by this time mated 

 and busy preparing their summer resi- 

 dence. 



This season they are absent. I have 

 heard of one or two isolated individuals 

 being seen about the end of March; 

 but I have not seen one, and do not 

 know of a single pair being located 

 near Hamilton, where they used to be 

 so generally distributed. 

 ' As it would be quite interesting to 

 ' know how far their cliange of habit ex- 

 ^tends, and what has led to it, I hope 

 some of your readers may be able to 

 throw some light on the subje(?t. 



For the past few years there is no 

 doubt that the English sparrow, by ap- 

 propriating their boxes, have driven 

 them from about our houses; still, they 

 have been common throughout the 

 country until this spring, when they 

 have failed to appear. 



T. McILWRAITH. 

 Cairnbrae, May 1, 1895. 



Auk, XII, July, 1895, pp-3of-3u 



Absence of the Bluebird at MeadviUe, Pa. — For the first time in my 

 recollection Sialia sialis is noticeable for its absence, in the vicinity of 

 MeadviUe, Crawford Co., Pa., for this time of the year. In referring to 

 my note book, I find that I have obsei-ved them in this locality', every 

 month in the year, with the exception of the month of December, in more 



nbers, they being ve: 

 fall months. But their soft warbling 

 among those of many other happy S( 

 them this spring was on April 6, whe 

 when I saw two. Since then I have 

 haunts a number of times but have 

 were very common last year, lingering 

 I am inclined to believe that the ex( 



non during the spring, summer, and 

 lotes are not to be heard this spring 

 ngsters. The first that I observed 

 1 I saw four, and again on April i6, 

 visited some of their most favorite 

 failed to note a single one. They 

 vith us until late in November, 

 optionally cold winter has been 



very hard on them, in depriving them of their food supply. 



Early on the morning of March 24, 1895, a large ' bird wave,' composed 

 of Geese, Swans, and Ducks got lost, or became bewildered by the electric 

 lights (a dense fog prevailing in this valley at the time) and flew about 

 the city for a couple of hours before they could get their correct bearings. 

 There must have been thousands of them judging from the noise they 

 made. 



Of late years this is getting to be a common occurrence during their 

 spring migrations. I have in my collection a iine specimen of the Long- 

 tailed Duck, which I found dead on the door-step one morning, after one 

 of these flights, it probably having flown against the house.— H. C. Kirk- 

 PATRicK, Meadv ille. Pa. 



