The Meadowlark in Maine, and Other Notes. — The Meadowlark ( Sturn - 
ella magnci) has arrived here and is breeding (June 15, 1909) on this side of 
the Penobscot. It is one of the group of Alleghanian birds which are 
steadily pushing their way east-ward across what was formerly a forest 
portion of the State. The advance of these birds is curious and should 
have been studied much more closely than it has been so far. The im- 
portant point is the determination of how long one of our north-and-south 
flowing rivers like the Kennebec and the Penobscot holds a species in 
check. They seem very reluctant to cross a stream, like the Penobscot, 
Seboois Lake, which tarried a day on an island and then departed, prob- 
ably to Nova Scotia or northward. May 14, 15, 16, 17 I heard of Meadow- 
larks being seen. Just about a week later a small boy told me of finding 
a nest containing two eggs. He seemed to know the bird and gave a 
clear description of the nest and eggs. These eggs were taken by some- 
thing, probably a boy, as no shells were left, and the child told me to-day 
that he had not seen the larks since. Last Saturday, however, June 12, my 
son discovered a nest with five eggs. Monday morning I went with him to 
photograph the nest. While we did not flush the old bird, there could be 
no doubt about the eggs being Meadowlark’s. Both old birds, very shy 
indeed, were seen in the vicinity but would not come within a quarter of a 
mile of the nest. When we were a long way off, one of them took a flight of 
three fourths of a circle and dropped just behind the crest of the hill where 
the nest was, undoubtedly planning to run up to it stealthily. As we did 
not disturb the eggs and shall not visit the place again, there is a good 
chance for the young to hatch. (The nest reported from Hampden had 
well grown young on Sunday.) These young birds stand ajgood chance of 
growing up. Though in a field which will be mowed by machine after the 
Fourth, the nest is only two rods from the edge of a cow pasture where 
they would be perfectly safe. We are anxious to see the birds well estab- 
lished here and would regret having their attempt to breed defeated. 
May 15, some thirteen miles east of Brewer, I saw a Red-headed Wood- 
pecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus) . The only other instance I ever 
heard of in this region was in 1878, when my father killed an immature bird 
on Machias waters far east of here. 
About the same time a young man -wrote me to identify for him a bird 
which he had seen on a fence near the Brewer line, in a thickly settled 
farming district, miles from any heavy woods. He described it as about 
the size of a small crow with a tuft of scarlet feathers “which stuck out like 
a boy s scalp lock that will not lie down.” I had no hesitation in calling 
it a Pileated Woodpecker, though the locality was extraordinary and the 
bird is rare, in our near vicinity, even in our densest and oldest woods. — 
Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, Brewer, Maine. 
9 
Auk 26, Oot-ieoe.p, 
