THETAUDUBON:L BULLETIN 45 
been opened up. Should the Flickers return next spring, an effort will be 
made to evict all Starlings and Sparrows as soon as they show any indica- 
tion of occupation. 
OreHEUS Moyer SCHANTZ. 
Berwyn, Ill., December 29, 1934. 
— 
Three Rare Records 
In the spring of 1897-98 it was my good fortune to be enrolled in 
the ornithology classes sponsored by Lynds Jones of Oberlin College. It 
was my first opportunity to meet an.authority on bird life. Chapman’s 
Handbook of Birds of Eastern United States was our text, which was sup- 
plemented by lectures and delightful field trips from the wooded areas 
about Oberlin as far as Lake Erie. I shall always be grateful that Dr. 
Jones taught me how to make honest, accurate observations and to keep 
careful records. 
After leaving Oberlin, Benjamin T. Gault of Glen Ellyn was gra- 
cious in helping me solve problems in the Chicago area. To the late Frank 
M. Woodruff of the Chicago Academy of Sciences I am indebted for my 
knowledge of water birds. It was several years before I made contacts 
with the Illinois Audubon Society and the Chicago Ornithological So- 
ciety. That is the reason these records have not been officially reported. 
On the morning-ef April 22, 1902, I visited, as was my custom, 
what remained of an old nursery in southern La Grange. A heavy wind 
had speeded up the migration. he temperature was 80° that morning. 
In addition to the usual arrivals was a large flycatcher with a deeply forked 
tail. The bird was quite exhausted, so I observed it carefully at close range 
for several minutes. I entered it in my records as the Fork-tailed Fly- 
catcher. In motoring across southern Kansas June 11, 1925, I found to 
my great delight several of the same species. I feel confident that my 
first bird was a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. 
On May 5, 1910, Mrs. Charles Raymond and I were returning 
from a study of water birds on the flats east of Hinsdale. As we passed 
through the County Line Woods we found our first Whip-poor-will. Then 
we flushed a much larger bird several times. Our last observation of it 
was on a lawn on the edge of the woods where we noted its size and 
markings in detail. “There was no doubt in the mind of either of us that 
the bird was a Chuck-will’s-widow. 
August 23, 1913, Mrs. Raymond and I were on the beach near Miller, 
Indiana. Being quite familiar with the shore birds, we were greatly aston- 
ished to see a large black bird rapidly skimming just above the surface of 
the water, flying eastward. From pictures we had with us we identified 
it immediately as a Black Skimmer. Mrs. Raymond later verified our 
