162 Bidgway on Birds observed at Mount Carmel. 
living stems were filled with stubs in every stage of decay, and 
perforated with countless Woodpecker-holes, most of them old, 
and long since given up by their original tenants. That a locality 
so favorable in every way had not been overlooked by the Protho- 
notary Warblers was soon evinced by the presence of the birds 
on all sides in numbers that far exceeded anything which we had 
previously seen, and careful search soon revealed a number of nests. 
Probably not less than twenty pairs were here breeding in close 
proximity. In the larger holes and among the branches were the 
nests of a colony of Grackles ( Quiscalus purpureus), and a few 
Woodpeckers and Carolina Titmice were also nesting somewhere in 
the vicinity. As we returned down the pond late in the afternoon 
the sun was sinking behind the tree-tops. The dying breeze still 
agitated the crest of the forest, but not a breath rippled the still 
water beneath. The lonely pool rested in deep shadow, save at its 
upper end, where the slanting sunbeams still lighted up the group 
of willows, bringing out their yellowish foliage in strong relief 
against the darker mass behind. The arches of the grand old 
woods were filled with a softened, mysterious light, and a solemn 
hush and silence prevailed, broken only by the occasional hooting 
of a Barred Owl or the song of some small bird among the upper 
branches, where the rays of the setting sun still lingered. High in 
air, over the open space the Buzzards still wheeled and soared on 
easy wing. Ducks were scurrying about in all directions or plash- 
ing down among the lily leaves, and a heavy plunge in shore told 
where a startled otter had risen and disappeared. As the last rays 
of sunlight touched the top of a mighty sycamore that raised its 
towering head above its fellows, the Herons left their rookery and 
laboriously winged their way overhead to some distant feeding- 
ground. Long in the writer’s memory will linger that last glimpse 
of beautiful Beaver Dam Pond. ' 
NOTES ON BIRDS OBSERVED AT MOUNT CARMEL, SOUTH- 
ERN ILLINOIS, IN THE SPRING OF 1878. 
BY ROBERT RIDGWAY. 
Although the spring seemed to have opened earlier than usual, 
the birds were, strangely enough, behindhand in their northward 
