twenty years, but I never found them before. This year 1 
have had the pleasure of hearing them sing in two localities 
during the summer, and I doubt greatly if they nested in 
either locality fifteen years ago. The Hermit Thrush has 
been given the place of honor among the birds that are 
worth while. I have not overlooked the Starling however, 
and must record the almost unbelievable spread and increase 
of this variety. There were no Starlings here in 1907, now 
there are uncounted thousands too many. And while deal¬ 
ing with introduced species I may as well touch on Passer 
“Damnasticus” for a moment. There seems little question 
that the advent of the Ford has both shattered his nerve 
and restricted his food supply. He has partly forsaken the 
city and I find him perhaps a little more common in the 
villages and cross-road settlements. Bob-White has gone, 
and I miss him, and hope he will come back. My encounters 
with the Nighthawk this year have been very limited in 
number and it seems that this year at least he is less numer¬ 
ous here than formerly. For a time the Wood Pewee 
seemed to be very rare, but eventually I found quite a few, 
though it seems that they must have been more numerous 
in former days. This spring I saw fewer Fox Sparrows 
than during any spring that I remember. I wonder if 
this species is on the wane, or is it just another accident of 
observation? My recollections of the Indigo Bird seem 
more clear of a few summers spent in southern New Hamp¬ 
shire. It is certain however that there has been no increase 
here, and I think the bird is less common. The Purple 
Martin, in my experience never common is a decided rarity 
now. It may be that I only imagine that I have encoun¬ 
tered the Red-eyed, Warbling, and Yellow-throated Vireos 
with less frequency than years ago, but the impression pre¬ 
vails that they are all less common. The White-eyed Vireo 
has apparently forsaken his old haunt in the Salem Pastures, 
and so has the Chat, and the Prairie Warbler, though I saw 
one of the latter in the Ipswich River Valley for the first 
time was spring. This year has yielded only one Red¬ 
breasted Nuthatch, and no White-breasted. I do not 
49 
