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ARTHUR W, GILBERT, Commissioner

 

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DIVISION OF “ORMEREOLOGY

By EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH

 

 

 

:, Berne a Rerrint or a Part or tHE ANNUAL Ruvort OF THE
DEPARTMENT oF AGRICULTURE FOR THE YEAR
ENDING NoveMBER 30, 1920

 

 

- BOSTON

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO. “STATE PRINTERS
32 DERNE ‘81

“1921

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Downy Woodpecker. (Photograph by Harry G.
Higbee, Sharon, Massachusetts.)

 

Sapsuckers and their work. (Photograph by
Harry G. Higbee, Sharon, Massachusetts.)
 

 

T is now the policy of the state not to keep mailing lists,
and publications are sent only on request. If you wish
the report for 1921, please sign this slip and mail it to
the Division of Ornithology, 136 State House, Boston, Mass.,

otherwise you may not receive the report next year.

Name.

Town, street and number... .

 

 
Che Commonwealth of Massachusetts

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
ARTHUR W. GILBERT, Commissioner

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

DIVISION OF ORNITHOLOGY

By EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH

Berne a Reprinr or a Parr oF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE YEAR
ENDING NovEMBER 30, 1920

 

BOSTON
WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS
382 DERNE STREET
1921
PUBLICATION OF THIS DocuMENT
APPROVED BY THE
SUPERVISOR OF ADMINISTRATION.
CONTENTS.

Publications of the Year, .
Material in Preperation for Pulietion;
Matters regarding International Bird Protection 4 in Anerida,
Constitutionality of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act affirmed by
the Supreme Court of the United States,
Constitutionality of the Migratory Bird Convention Act athewed
by the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island,
Complaints of Lawbreaking, :
Inquiries from Outside Massachusetts,
Special Investigations, .
Sapsucker Work and Siwilay Work by Other Woodpeckers,
The Heath Hen, .
Exhibitions,
The Bird Hospital,
Bird Days, .
Bird Migrations observed diving the ian
December, 1919, ;
A Southward ‘Movement of Wild Fowl,
Movement of Grebes and Jays,
January, 1920, :
A Southward Movement of Land Bie
Geese wintering, .
February,
Birds destroyed by Storm and Cold,
Great Blue Heron and Cowbirds wintering, :
Winter Land Birds moving Coastward, .
March,
Bird Mortality, es
The Northward IMoverient begins,
The First Great Bird oe
April, .
A Retrograde Movement, : 5
Northward Flights of Hawks and Other Land eras
May, ; a ee
The Spring Mioveneut of Warblers,
Passenger Pigeons reported,
Bird Migrations observed during the Year — Concluded.

June, : ;
The Migration continues...
July, . :
Autumnal Migration begins,
A Few Egrets move Northward,
An Increase of Gulls and Terns,
August,
Southward Flights,
September,
Early Migration of Geese,
A Large Flight of Shore Birds,
Hawks, Nighthawks, etc.,
October,
A Great Flight the First Nine Dass,
November, .
Great Flights of Ceeee end Ducks,
A Scarcity of Land Birds,
An Ornithological Survey,
Recommendations,
A report on the Birds of the Commonwealth,
An Assistant Ornithologist, .
A Plan for Adequate Protection of ihe Ruffed Croiae,

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FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR, DIVISION
OF ORNITHOLOGY.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE YEAR.

The great interest in birds manifested by the people of this
and other Commonwealths continue. to increase. This ac-
cession of interest in the living birds, their utility and their
protection is exhibited in numberless insistent inquiries in
respect to these subjects and in the great demand for literature
regarding them. Current literature on birds, issued by this
office, is eagerly sought, and the demand increases for reports,
circulars and leaflets, some of which have been out of print
for years. Tio. meet this want certain publications must be
issued and reissued. Following is a list of the prints and re-
prints of the year: —

Twelfth Annual Report of the State Ornithologist, December, 1919.

Department Circular No. 2, Third edition, revised, February, 1920.
Food, Feeding and Drinking Appliances and Nesting Material to
attract Birds. 33 pp., 10 half-tones, 21 line cuts.

Department Circular No. 12, second edition, revised, February, 1920.
Outdoor Bird Study, Hints for Beginners. 51 pp., 4 half-tones, 26
line cuts.

Arbor and Bird Day, April, 1920. Prepared by Edward Howe Forbush
and Harris A. Reynolds. Approved by Payson Smith, Commis-
sioner of Education. 12 pp., 2 half-tones, 8 line cuts.

Department Circular No. 25, August, 1920. The Farmers’ Interest in
Game Protection. 11 pp. Supplants Circular No. 31, 1915.

Department Circular No. 45, third edition, revised, August, 1920. The
Starling. 23 pp., 3 half-tones.

Nature Leaflet No. 14, sixth edition, August, 1920. Owl Friends. 6 pp.,
3 line cuts.

Department Circular No. 10, second edition, August, 1920. Bird Houses
and Nesting Boxes. 28 pp., 12 half-tones, 29 line cuts.

Economic Ornithology, Bulletin No. 4, October, 1920. Two Years with
the Birds on a Farm. Second edition, 42 pp., 3 half-tones, 6 line
cuts. Revised and reprinted from Fiftieth Annual Report of the

State Board of Agriculture.
Material in Preparation for Publication.

The fourth edition of “Useful Birds and their Protection”
was exhausted in 1919, and as the law under which it formerly
was reissued was repealed when the Department of Agriculture
was reorganized, further editions cannot be published without
legislation for that specific purpose, although the demand for
the work still continues. To fill this demand in part and to
answer many questions of correspondents regarding the utility
of birds, material has been collected during the past year for
a bulletin on this subject. Material also has been gathered
for a preliminary list of the birds of Massachusetts, with an-
notations, which, if published, will be the first paper from this
office to deal with the distribution of the birds of this Com-
monwealth. In November, Dr. John B. May, who was tem-
porarily employed as assistant in this office, prepared an index
of the twelve reports of the State Ornithologist. Mr. Arthur
J. Parker has prepared a list of officers and officials of Massa-
chusetts organizations interested in the study or protection of

birds.

MATTERS REGARDING INTERNATIONAL Birp PROTECTION IN
AMERICA.

There are few laws for the protection of birds in the Latin-
American republics. It would be quite possible for the people
of any one South American country to exterminate certain
species of North American birds that pass through their
country or winter there, and it seems imperative that some-
thing should be done to protect all such birds in those coun-
tries as soon as may be.

In 1919 the writer was named as a member of a committee.
appointed by the National Association of Conservation Com-
missioners. It was made the duty of this committee to bring
influence to bear for the promotion of conventions with Cen-
tral American and South American countries under which
migratory birds might receive such protection in those coun-
tries as now is afforded them in the United States and Canada
under the treaty of 1916 between the United States and Great
Britain. On December 8, 1919, a letter was received by the
7

writer from the chairman of the committee, Hon. John H:
Wallace, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Con-
servation, asking that a paper be prepared bearing upon the
migration of birds from the United States to the Latin-Amer-
ican republics. Such a paper was prepared at once, giving in
brief a statement regarding the migration of many species of
North American birds to or through these republics, and was
forwarded to Chairman Wallace. This paper was used as, an
argument for international bird protection, and also was printed
by Chairman Wallace and given wide circulation. On De-
cember 19 another letter was received from Mr. Wallace in
which he said that he had received a communication from
Senator Bankhead of Alabama, enclosing a letter from Senator
Lodge, who asserted that the committee on foreign relations
probably would report Senator Bankhead’s resolution (No.
656) requesting the President to propose a treaty between the
United States and the Latin-American republics for the pro-
tection of birds which migrate between the United States and
such countries. On January 9, 1920, the United States Senate
agreed to send to the President Senator Bankhead’s resolution.

March 20, 1920, the resolution proposed by Senator Bank-
head had received the attention of the President. On that
day he sent a message to the Senate transmitting also the report
of Frank L. Polk, acting Secretary of State, to whom he had
referred the resolution for consideration. Mr. Polk not only
gave his ideas on the matter, but also the views of the Secre-
tary of Agriculture, to whom he had turned for further infor-
mation. In brief, the Secretary of Agriculture stated that in
view of existing conditions the time did not seem opportune to
undertake the negotiation of a treaty for the protection of
migratory birds with the Republic of Mexico, and that in the
case of most of the republics of Central and South America
such treaties are unnecessary at present. In the case of Brazil
and Argentina, such treaties might be of advantage. But be-
fore the negotiation of conventions with these countries was
undertaken, the Department desired more definite information
than was then available; therefore, no further action on this
matter will be taken by the Department of State at present.
In the meantime, Dr. E. W. Nelson, chief of the United States
8

Biological Survey, has sent an agent to Argentina, Uruguay,
Paraguay and southern Brazil for the purpose of securing
needed information concerning the conditions relating to such
of our migratory birds as winter in those regions.

Constitutionality of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act affirmed by
the Supreme Court of the United States.

On January 12, 1920, a letter was received from Louis Mar-
shall, Esq., of the firm of Guggenheimer, Untermeyer & Mar-
shall of New York City, in which it was assumed that the
writer was in favor of sustaining the constitutionality of the
migratory bird treaty act, which under the treaty with Great
Britain extends protection to our game and insectivorous migra-
tory birds throughout the United States. Mr. Marshall, at
the instance of the Association for the Protection of the Adi-
rondacks, of which he was a trustee, had prepared a brief on
this subject, to be presented before the Supreme Court of ‘the
United States on March 1, upholding the constitutionality of
the migratory bird treaty act. He enclosed the proofs, in
which he had quoted extensively from “Useful Birds and their
Protection,” and requested further information, particularly
in regard to the insect food of wild fowl. The material for
which he asked was furnished on January 23. On Patriots’
Day, April 19, the Supreme Court of the United States rendered
a decision sustaining the constitutionality of the migratory
bird treaty act, thereby fully legalizing both Federal and inter-
national protection of migratory birds and bringing to an end
a fight for such protection which had been waged for more
than a decade by bird protectionists. It now remains to pro-
vide means for enforcing the Federal migratory bird treaty act,
as the present appropriation for its enforcement is inadequate.

Constitutionality of the Migratory Bird Convention Act affirmed
by the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island.

On December 8, 1920, a letter was received from Commis-

sioner J. B. Harkin of the Department of the Interior, Canada,

enclosing a copy of a judgment given by the Supreme Court of
Prince Edward Island, sustaining the constitutionality of the
9

migratory bird convention act, which in Canada performs a
similar office to that of the migratory bird treaty act in the
United States. This will tend to sustain in Canada the en-
forcement of regulations under the treaty similar to those now
in force in the United States.

COMPLAINTS OF LAWBREAKING.

During the past year many complaints have been received
that the State laws for the protection of birds and game and
the migratory bird treaty act had been violated. Wherever
there seemed to be good grounds for complaint the matter has
been brought to the attention of both the State and Federal
authorities and in most cases immediate action has been taken.
It is suggested, however, that such complaints, requiring quick
action, should go direct to the authorities who have the en-
forcement of the law in charge, 7.e., Mr. William C. Adams,
director, Division of Fisheries and Game, 321 State House,
Boston, Massachusetts, and Dr. E. W. Nelson, chief, Bureau
of Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Washington,
District of Columbia.

INQUIRIES FROM OUTSIDE MASSACHUSETTS.

Many inquiries come to this office not only from Massa-
chusetts but from other States and other countries. Most of
them relate to birds, but some have no relation to the work of
this Division. In such cases the matters are duly referred to
the proper authorities, but there seemed to be no official to
whom to refer a request from the National Research Council
at Washington. The executive secretary of the Division of
States Relations, Dr. Albert B. Barrows, wrote on January 10,
1920, asking information on the present scientific functions of
the State departments of Massachusetts and their relations to
each other, to the government, to the Legislature and to edu-
cational institutions in the State. The information was de-
sired particularly in view of the recent changes in the organ-
ization of State boards, commissions and departments in
Massachusetts.

Considering the many duties laid upon this Division by law,
it did not seem proper for us to undertake the inquiry, and
10

the request was turned over to Mrs. Angeline D. McKee, who
has been employed not only by the Department of Agriculture
but by other State departments from time to time, with the
request that she secure the information and put it in shape
for the use of the Council. On March 5 Dr. Barrows acknowl-
edged the receipt of the report on the scientific work in prog-
ress in the various departments of the State government of
Massachusetts, and expressed his great appreciation of the
report submitted by Mrs. McKee. |

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS.

During the year the assistance of the official observers con-
nected with the Division of Ornithology has been enlisted in
investigating some questions relating to bird life. The result
of only one of these investigations can be reported here.

Sapsucker Work and Similar Work by Other Woodpeckers.

It might seem that there could be little in dispute at this
late date in respect to habits of common birds, but such is not
the case. There is a difference of opinion among ornithologists
regarding the habits of common woodpeckers. Many assert
that Sapsuckers of the genus Sphyrapicus are the only species
that make transverse rings of small rounded punctures, such
as are numerous on the trunks and limbs of apple and other
trees, Others declare that the Downy Woodpecker is responsible
for such borings, while still others believe that these pits are
attributable to several species.

The writer is responsible for the following statement regard-
ing the Downy Woodpecker, an assertion which has been
questioned more than once: —

In many cases it perforates the bark of apple trees with small roundish
holes less than an inch apart, disposed in parallel, horizontal rings.!

Last year when asked to substantiate this assertion, the
writer had to confess that while he had seen the Downy Wood-
pecker working on trees having fresh perforations, he had not
seen the bird actually make a row of such holes. Recently in
a search through old notes the only reference to the subject

1 Useful Birds and their Protection, 1907, p. 251.
 

 

 

TypicaL SAPSUCKER WORK ON WILLOW.

Such work may kill trees. (Sierra Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus v. dagetti.) (Photograph by J. G.
Grinnell.) (From Biological Survey Bulletin No. 39, by W. L. McAtee.)

 
11

that could be found was a memorandum to the effect that
Chester A. Reed had seen the bird in the act.

Sapsuckers are now known to decorate the trees with little
round holes in the manner described above. This habit has
been observed and recorded by many people. Within the
past two years the following persons have noted this habit of
the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Massachusetts and reported
it to this office: Messrs. F. B. Currier, A. A. Cross, A. C.
Bagg, C. A. Clark, Arthur J. Parker, H. A. Torrey, Mrs. Viola
F. Richards, Miss Mabel R. Wiggin and Mrs. W. F. Eldredge.
The principal object of the bird seems to be to eat the cam-
bium!? or to drink the sap. In “Useful Birds and their Pro-
tection” there appears the following sentence: “The holes
made by the Sapsucker are different in shape, being square
rather than round.” This is an error, as the evidence shows
that the Sapsucker makes both round and square holes. Many
ornithologists defend the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers,
which often are called Sapsuckers by the country people, and
assert that these Woodpeckers never take sap or eat cambium.

An inquiry was begun in 1919 and continued through the
past year to determine whether both the Sapsucker and the
Downy Woodpecker could be held responsible for the rings of
small rounded punctures. The principal objects of the inquiry
were to examine the evidence concerning sapsucking habits of
other Woodpeckers than the Sapsuckers, to determine what
nutriment was sought by these species and to learn whether
any injury to the tree had been known to result from the
habit.

Mr. W. L. McAtee was the first to assemble the published
evidence regarding this and the sapsucking habits of Wood-
peckers other than Sapsuckers. This information appears in
Biological Survey Bulletin No. 39, “Woodpeckers in their Re-
lation to Trees and Wood Products.” Wilson, who is quoted
by McAtee, says in regard to this habit of the Downy Wood-
. pecker: —

In fall he is particularly fond of boring the apple trees for insects,

digging a circular hole through the bark, just sufficient to admit his bill,
after that a second, third, etc., in pretty regular horizontal circles round

 

1 The cambium layer is the soft substance, underlying the bark, through which the sap flows.
12

the body of the tree; these parallel circles of holes are often not more
than an inch, or an inch and a half, apart, and sometimes so close together
that I have covered eight or ten of them at once with a dollar.’

Nuttall says: —

These perforations made by our Sapsuckers, as the present [Downy]
and Hairy species are sometimés called, are carried round the trunks
and branches of the orchard trees in regular circles.

Nuttall followed Wilson and perhaps did not depend entirely
on his own observations, for he says: —

The circles of round holes which it makes with so much regularity
around the . . . trees are no doubt made for the purpose of getting at
the sweet sap which they contain. !

He says also: —

In the month of February, 1830, I observed these borers busy tapping
the small live trunks of several wax myrtles (Myrica cerifera); and’ these
perforations were carried down into the alburnum, or sap-wood, but no
farther. . . . On examining the oozing sap I found it to be exceedingly
saccharine, but in some instances astringent or nearly tasteless.”

Dr. Henry Bryant of Boston published the following in
1866: —

It has long been known that some of our smaller woodpeckers pick out
portions of the sound bark of trees, particularly of apple trees, where
there are no larve and apparently no inducement for them to do so. . .
They [the holes] are generally seen in circles round the limbs or trunks of
small irregularly rounded holes, and in this vicinity are made almost
exclusively by the downy woodpecker (P. pubescens) aided occasionally
by the hairy woodpecker (P. villosus).3

Dr. J. A. Allen, in a memoir of the Boston Society of Natural
History, says: —

The perforations made in the’ bark of trees by woodpeckers, forming
transverse rings, and sometimes so numerous as to do serious injury to
_ the trees, have of late been very commonly attributed almost solely to

 

1 Wilson, Alexander, and Bonaparte, Charles Lucien: American Ornithology, or the Natural
History of the Birds of the United States, 1832, Vol. I, p. 161.

2 Chamberlain, Montague: A Popular Handbook of the Ornithology of the United States and
Canada, based on Nuttall’s Manual, 1891, Vol. I, pp. 453, 454.

8 Proceedings, Boston Society of Natural History, 1866, Vol. X, pp. 91, 92.
13

this species [Yellow-bellied Sapsucker], especially in the West, where
it is so numerous. That it is, from this habit, often greatly injurious
to fruit trees is not to be denied, but that this species—now com-
monly called the “true sapsucker”’, to whose depredations it is said
should be assigned the general ill repute attached to the whole family
by most agriculturists—is the sole author of this work, which so
often amounts to mischief, there is abundant evidence to disprove.
In most parts of Massachusetts, particularly in the Connecticut valley,
this species is so extremely rare that I have never seen more than half
a dozen specimens in a year, and oftener none at all, and then always
during its migrations; while other expert collectors have searched for it
unsuccessfully for years; yet our orchards always present these perfora-
tions in profusion, though seldom to an injurious degree; and now and
then a forest tree is observed so thoroughly girdled as to be thus destroyed.
For this our spotted woodpeckers, Picus pubescens and P. villosus, are
chargeable, being in many sections the sole authors of it; they may be,
in fact, very often seen engaged in it. I do not, however, suppose their
object to be the same as that assigned to the Sphyrapicus varius, that of
sucking sap or feeding on the inner bark.!

Dr. Allen writes on December 8, 1920, that he cannot now
recall whether or not he actually saw either the Downy Wood-
pecker or the Hairy Woodpecker making these holes, and that
he has not now any manuscript notes of his observations made
half a century ago, but that he has perfect confidence that
his statements as quoted above were based on thoroughly con-
vincing evidence.

Minot, 1895, says of the Downy Woodpecker: —

. . . they extract wood-borers and other insects from the wood. For

this purpose they dig out small circular holes of about the size made by
a large awl, and with these often encircle a large tree.”

Miss Blanchan says of the Downy Woodpecker (1899): —

It has been surmised that he bores the little round holes close together
so often seen with the idea of attracting insects to the luscioussap. . . .
The Downy actually drills these holes in apple and other trees to feed
upon the milky inner bark of the tree, the cambium layer.*

In American Ornithology (1903) Chester A. Reed makes the

following statement: —

You have probably noticed rows of tiny holes extending nearly around
some apple trees. These are the work of the Downy in his search for the

 

1 Memoir, Boston Society of Natural History, 1869, Vol. I, p. 499.
2 Minot, H. D.: The Land-Birds and Game-Birds of New England, 1895, p. 336.
3 Blanchan, Neltje: Bird Neighbors, 1901, p. 56.
14

insects which, if left to do their work unhampered, would soon increase in ~
numbers so as to devastate every orchard.?

In the biennial report of the Commissioners on Fisheries and
Game, Indiana, 1905-06, Charles K. Reed, the well-known
naturalist of Worcester, Massachusetts, is credited with the
following statement: —

Last fall I watched a Downy busily at work hammering on the trunk
of an apple tree. He would pound away for half a minute steadily in
one spot and then hitch sideways about an inch and repeat the operation;
when he had completely encircled the tree he dropped down about his
length and made another ring around the trunk. The marks left on the
tree were identical with those that I had supposed were made by the Sap-
suckers. The Downy did not appear to find anything to eat, and I con-
cluded that he was doing it in play, or that he wished to sharpen his bill.?

It will be noted here that the bird having made one line of
holes backed down the tree and started another. Mr. Stephen
P. Brownell watched a Sapsucker making similar rings of holes
in an alder in summer, and he says that the mother bird in
making the pits, out of which the young took sap, always
worked upward.? Frank Bolles and C. Hart Merriam also
noted this: at that time of the year sap flows from the upper
holes, or the last row made.

A note to Mr. C. K. Reed elicited the reply that he did not
write the article referred to, but that he supplied the cuts
that went with it. Also that he never had observed this
habit of the Downy Woodpecker, but he says that Chester
Reed wrote this, as well as other unsigned articles in the
magazine, and that Chester’s statement of what came under
his personal observation could be depended upon as an accu-
rate chronicle of the facts. Charles K. Reed was the publisher
of the magazine entitled “American Ornithology,” and Chester
Reed was its editor. The latter died in 1912. He wrote all
the material in this magazine not credited to others. The arti-
cle in the Indiana publication was evidently made up by some
one in Indiana by taking excerpts bodily from American Orni-
thology written by Chester Reed, and illustrating them with

1 Reed, Chester A.: American Ornithology, Vol. III, 1903, p. 94.

2 Biennial Report, Commissioners Fisheries and Game, Indiana, 1905-06, p. 733.
3 American Ornithology, Vol. VI, 1906, p. 78.
15

cuts taken from the same magazine, and crediting C. K. Reed
with the authorship of the article as it appeared in the biennial
report. This was a very natural mistake, as the name of
Charles K. Reed the publisher appeared prominently on the
cover of each number of the magazine. ;

The assertion regarding the habits of the Downy Woodpecker
quoted above, and written by Chester A. Reed, appeared first
in American Ornithology, Vol. VI, No. 2, February, 1906, page
39, under the heading “ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,’ and was
written to show that the Downy Woodpecker was responsible
for a part, at least, of the lines of pits ordinarily seen on fruit
trees in Worcester County, Massachusetts, and generally at-
tributed to the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. This is the first,
definite statement recording actual observation of this habit
in the Downy Woodpecker that I have been able to dis-
cover.

Now for the evidence of eyewitnesses that the Downy and
other Woodpeckers take both sap and cambium. In the “ Food
of Woodpeckers of the United States,” by Professor F. E. L.
Beal, the stomach contents of 3,453 Woodpeckers, including
sixteen species, were recorded. Professor Beal reported that
nearly all members of the Woodpecker family ate some cam-
bium.! The quantity found in the stomachs of Sapsuckers,
however, is apparently much greater than that found in other
species. There seems to be little evidence available about
other Woodpeckers, regarding the habit of taking sap, but in
1873 Mr. C. A. White wrote as follows: —

Upon the Iowa University campus we have a number of grand old
aboriginal oaks, a favorite resort for red-headed woodpeckers (Melanerpes
erythrocephalus). Among the young and growing trees that have been
transplanted upon the campus are some sugar maples (Acer saccharinum)
the bodies of which are 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Seeing the wood-
peckers busily tapping upon them, I examined the trunks and found
them perfectly sound, but the birds had pierced many holes of the usual
size through the bark and into the cambium layer, where they stopped.
The sap was flowing freely from the holes, and, watching the movements
of the birds afterwards upon the trees, I became convinced that they
were sucking the sap and that they had pecked the holes for the purpose
of obtaining it.?

1 United States Department of Agriculture, Biological Survey, Bulletin No. 37, 1911, p. 11.
2 American Naturalist, 1873, Vol. VII, p. 496.
16

Mr. F. Stevens makes (1895) the following statement in re-
gard to the California Woodpecker: —

At one of my camps in the pine region of Smiths Mountain, a family
of this species developed the sapsucking habit. I had noticed some fresh
holes in the bark of two live oaks, a foot or two from the ground, from
which sap was flowing, and later I saw the birds drinking; in one case
three were seen drinking at the same time. This is the only instance of
the habit of this species that has come under my observation. *

Joseph Grinnell records the following observation in 1908
regarding the same species: —

At Seven Oaks, June 24, 1906, we had been watching a Sierra Sap-
sucker (Sphyrapicus v. daggetti) industriously running a line of bark pits
around the branch of an alder, when a California Woodpecker . . . flew
down and drove off the sapsucker . . . then went the rounds of the
borings himself, ‘dipping’ from each.?

Farmers operating maple sugar orchards in New England
assert that the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker and the Nuthatches all take sap from the
trees when it is running. There is no reason to doubt this, as
squirrels and insects, such as flies, wasps, hornets and butter-
flies, are known to have similar habits when the sap is flow-
ing. In “Useful Birds” it is proved by the observations of
the late C. E. Bailey, a very careful and accurate field orni-
thologist, that the Downy Woodpecker sometimes taps trees
for the sap alone.* Mr. Bailey followed a Downy Woodpecker
from 12.30 until 2.45. He saw the bird tap two small maples
4 and 6 feet from the ground, after which it spent most of
the time taking sap. The tree was tapped by pecking it a few
times. The perforations made by the bird are figured from
the specimens brought in by Mr. Bailey. The bird clung to
the tree and took the sap out of the lower cut. It then sat
for a long time in another tree, when it came back and took
more sap. This was done three times while Mr. Bailey was
watching it, and he was able to get within 6 feet of the bird
while it was actually engaged in taking sap. The illustration

 

1 Bendire, Charles: Life Histories of North American Birds, 1895, p. 115 (Smithsonian Insti-
tution, special bulletin).

2 University of California Publications in Zodlogy, 1908, Vol. V, pp. 65, 66.

3 Useful Birds and their Protection, 1913, p. 256.
17

shows that the apertures made for taking sap were quite. dif-
ferent from those to which reference has been made in jthe
foregoing pages.

 

‘

Section of two small red maple trees tapped for sap by Downy
Woodpecker. The bird while making the cuts was watched
by C. E. Bailey. It came back three times in two hours
to take sap from the lower holes a-a. The upper incisions
b-b were not used.

In the investigation made during 1919 and 1920 by our of-
ficial observers, several people who actually saw the Yellow-
bellied Sapsucker in the act of making horizontal lines of holes
and feeding from them, described their observations. Mrs.
Viola E. Richards of South Deerfield writes on October 18,
1920, that she watched a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker make two
round holes in an apple tree. He drilled one shallow hole and
then began on another, which he frequently left to return to
the first, as if sap had gathered in one hole while he worked
at the other. There is a recrudescence of sap in maple trees
sometimes in autumn. The Indians are said to have drawn
sap in October.

Mrs. William F. Eldredge of Rockport, Massachusetts, writes
18

that on October 8, 1920, she saw an immature Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker drilling small holes low down on a girdled apple tree,
and the bird allowed her to come very close. It had bits of
“pulp” in its beak; the larger pieces were apparently dis-
carded and the smaller ones swallowed. It drilled a few strokes,
with its head turned to the left, and then turned it to the
right, and in the midst of its labors it seemed to drink from
the last completed boring. She reports that her husband saw
it eat the inner bark. Others report similar observations. It
seems probable that the Downy Woodpecker and possibly the
Hairy Woodpecker may, at times, have the same object as this
Sapsucker.

Miss Florence W. Rockwell of Montague writes, June 3,
1920, that she has watched the Downy Woodpeckers evidently
drinking sap from such holes, but has not seen the pits in the
making. Miss Nina G. Spaulding writes from Jaffrey, New
Hampshire, on March 12, that she watched a Downy Wood-
pecker on an old apple tree evidently pecking some small round
holes. After he left she found fresh holes. Some were in-
creased in size, evidently by pecking at the same place until
a large space was cleared of bark. She writes that she has
seen but one Sapsucker in that region, but that there are
quantities of round holes in apple trees. Many others report
the prevalence of Downy Woodpeckers and, the scarcity of
Sapsuckers, but this cannot be accepted as conclusive proof
that the Sapsucker did not make the holes.

Major Mark Robinson writes from Mowat post office, Ontario,
that on February 2, 1920, he saw a male Downy Woodpecker
in a small yellow birch making a ring of holes along one side
of the trunk about 6 inches below a knot hole, or “cat face,”
and watched the bird for some time about 8 feet distant. On
April 11 he writes that he has examined carefully the holes
that he reported as made by the Downy Woodpecker, and
found that some insect had bored into the trunk of the tree.
It was hoped to get a photograph of this Woodpecker’s work,
but it was learned that Major Robinson had destroyed the
specimen by tearing off the bark in making his examination.
He asserts that this work was “not in the same class’? with
that of the Sapsucker. The Woodpecker evidently was drill-
ing for insects.
19

Mr. William J. Cartwright of Williamstown, Massachusetts,
writes, October 28, 1920, that he flushed a Downy Woodpecker
from an apple tree having holes in circles about its trunk, and
found some freshly cut holes, while others showed signs of
various stages of weathering. He did not actually see the
Woodpecker make the holes, but the point he makes is that
the holes he has found made by Sapsuckers always have gone
deeper into the sapwood than those found on this ash tree.
He noticed, however, that the individual holes in both cases
were about the same distance apart. The bird did not come
back to the tree while he was present.

Mrs. Susan K. Squires of Fredericton, New Brunswick,
writes, November 11, 1919, that in October of that year when
picking apples she saw two or three Downy Woodpeckers going
over and over an old crabapple tree. She examined the tree
and found it had rows of new holes and some that looked like
old ones newly opened, but most of the new ones were on spots
where loose bark had fallen, or where the Woodpeckers had
pecked it off.

Mr. Norman P. Woodward of Worcester, Massachusetts,
writes, November 17, 1919, that there is an old pear tree in
his vard that is full of holes made by Woodpeckers. He has
often seen the Downy Woodpecker drilling these holes, but
never long at one hole. It runs from hole to hole, and gives
half a dozen pecks with its bill. He has never seen in either
spring or autumn any signs of sap running from these holes.
He has sugar maples at the door, but so far as he is aware, they
are not visited by these Woodpeckers.

Mr. J. K. Jensen, a Danish field ornithologist of long ex-
perience, formerly of Westwood, Massachusetts, but now of
Santa Fé, New Mexico, says that he has seen the Downy
Woodpecker make the small holes so often seen in apple,
maple and birch trees, and believes that it is the author of
most of these holes. Trees with the bark punctured are very
common near his old home in Westwood, where the Downy
Woodpecker was common and the Sapsucker scarce. In fact
he had never seen the Sapsucker during his eleven years’
residence in that region. He spent much time studying birds
and investigating their habits, and believed that had there
20

been Sapsuckers enough to make 10 per cent of these holes,
he would have met with one or more of the birds.

He states that during the latter part of August, 1919, he
was camping near the ranches of Taos, New Mexico. On
the bark of several large and healthy white birches he found
at least 100 punctures forming lines at even heights one line
above the other. What first called his attention to the trees
was seeing a bird he believed to be Nelson’s Downy Wood-
pecker alight on a tree just above what seemed to be the
freshest row of holes. The bird stayed on the spot about
twenty minutes, every little while picking up one of the ants
which was attracted to the flowing sap. For several hours the.
bird could be seen, apparently catching ants on this tree, re-
maining on the tree from fifteen to twenty minutes at a time.
He asserts that in Denmark he has seen similar holes in the
bark, mostly in apple, maple and linden trees.

Mrs. Wilhelmine Seliger of Hartford, Connecticut, writes: —

‘

The small holes in the apple trees I have seen made by the Downy
Woodpecker, who curiously turns his head from side to side and then
begins to pick again for the purpose of getting the juice out from under
the bark.

Mr. C. J. Maynard of West Newton, Massachusetts, in a
letter dated October 24, 1920, says that he has actually seen
the Downy Woodpecker making rings of holes about a tree,
and that there was an old wild apple tree back of Prospect
Hill, Waltham, on which he remembers seeing the Downy at
work. This, he avers, is the habit to which he refers in his
“Birds of Eastern North America,” in which he says: —

IT do not think that this is in the least injurious to the trees, nor that
they are drilled by the birds with the intention of eating bark, but that
they are simply following the promptings of what we may call inherited
instinct.?

He asserts that these holes are drilled one-fourth inch or
little more in depth, that he never saw one that penetrated
the “fresh bark within,” and believes that they serve as a sort
of storehouse for the birds, as insects enter them for con-

 

1 Maynard, C, J.: The Birds of Eastern North America, 1896, p. 377.
 

 

 

Work of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on apple tree at Huntington, Massa-
chusetts, October 10, 1920, observed by Albert A. Cross. The bird
was watched while it was making these bark pits.
 

 

 

 

Work of Downy Woodpecker on apple tree at Huntington, Massachusetts,
November 13, 1920. Observed by Mr. Wm. J. Trudell, who watched the
bird make the three rows of pits — a, 6 and c.
21

venient hiding places, and are thus readily found by the
“sagacious Woodpeckers.”

Recently, Mr. A. A. Cross of Huntington, Massachusetts,
wrote that Mr. William J. Trudell of that town had seen a
Downy Woodpecker in the act of making a row of holes in
the bark of an apple tree. In response to an inquiry Mr.
Trudell sent the following: —

On November 13, 1920, while rabbit hunting, I came into a small
apple orchard on the Russell watershed, known as the Ritch Farm. I
was standing under one of the apple trees waiting for a sign of game,
when I heard a Woodpecker at work over my head. I took my glasses
and saw it was a Downy. It was about 8 feet from me and I plainly saw
it make a series of round holes horizontally on the limb, and I am positive
it was making the original holes and not opening up old holes. I am not
sure whether the bird was securing food, but I think it was, as there is no
sap in the tree as late as that.

The Sapsucker does not always follow any definite plan in
making these perforations. Sometimes they are spotted over
a tree like a charge of buckshot. The Downy Woodpecker also
sometimes makes these pits in a very haphazard manner. In
a recent letter from Mr. R. A. Gilliam of Dallas, Texas, there
appears the following: —

December 5, 1920, I saw two Downy Woodpeckers on the stem of a
honey locust, just below where the first limbs branch off, industriously
boring into what I knew, even without a glass, was perfectly good bark.
They kept at this for at least twenty minutes before I was compelled to
disturb them. I found they were going entirely through the cambium,
the incisions or holes being about one-eighth inch in diameter, and pos-
sibly one-fourth inch apart up and down the tree, then one would start
another run about one-fourth inch to the side.

Apparently these incisions were made in a vertical line, as
was the case once with a Sapsucker watched by Frank Bolles.
The main point in the observation, however, is that they were
made in sound bark. Two correspondents assert that the
Hairy Woodpecker also is responsible for the rings of punctures
that appear on apple trees, but do not say that they have
actually seen the bird make such pits.

1 Auk, July, 1891, Vol. VIII, No. 31, p. 258.
22

In the foregoing observations we find the following motives
attributed to the Downy Woodpecker: —

It is said to make rings of punctures —
(1) to secure insects from beneath the bark.
(2) to catch insects that come to seek the sap.
(8) to prepare hiding places for insects, in which it later seeks them.
(4) to take sap.
(5) to take cambium.
(6) to take the inner bark.
(7) to sharpen the bill.
(8) to exercise, as in play.

There is sufficient proof found in stomach examinations alone
“to show that the bird takes cambium. Small pieces of the
inner bark often are found in the stomachs of Woodpeckers,
taken purposely or accidentally while swallowing their chief
food, which consists of destructive insects. Undoubtedly the
Woodpeckers hammer much in play, and this serves. to wear
down the end of the bill, which otherwise because of its rapid
and continuous growth would become so elongated as to be
useless for its main purpose.

The reader may judge for himself whether the above evi-
dence is sufficient to convict the Downy Woodpecker of making
circlets of pits. In any case further evidence is needed re-
garding the depth of the holes usually made, the prevalence
of the habit, and what nourishment, if any, the bird secures in
the operation. There is hardly sufficient testimony to convict
the species of injuring the trees. So far as the writer’s ob-
servation goes, the vigor of the trees seems to be increased .
by these small rounded holes, whether made by the Downy
Woodpecker or Sapsucker, although McAtee has shown that
the Sapsucker holes injure the wood of timber trees, causing
defects in the lumber. The large rectangular holes made by
the Sapsucker sometimes destroy limbs or entire trees by
girdling.

The series of small holes made by Woodpeckers on sound
apple trees may have the effect of stimulating growth. Scrap-
ing off the outer bark of fruit trees or slitting it vertically
often produces a similar effect. a

On the whole, the Downy Woodpecker is one of the most
23

beneficial birds of New England, a persistent enemy of borers,
bark beetles, codling moths and other destructive tree pests;
and the Sapsucker, which may be more or less destructive in
the northern forests, apparently does little harm to orchards
in Massachusetts.

Tue Heatu Hen.

In April an attempt was made to take a census of the Heath
Hen on Marthas Vineyard, but, owing to inclement weather
during the only time when a visit to the island could be made,
it was impossible to get a reliable census or even a close esti-
mate of the numbers. Nevertheless, information acquired then
and since indicates that under the present management of the
reservation the birds are increasing. A more definite report
probably can be made next year. There are now no birds of
this species anywhere on the mainland, as all that have been
distributed there have died; therefore, the saving of the
species depends on the success of the colony on Marthas
Vineyard.

EXHIBITIONS.

In September the Division prepared an exhibit for the
Eastern States Exposition at Springfield, which was visited by
more than 100,000 people. A prominent part of the exhibit
was a case showing the different forms of the gypsy moth and
the birds that destroy the pest. On children’s day the booth
was largely given up to an-exhibit of living birds from the
Bird Hospital, the unique undertaking of Miss Mary C. Co-
burn of Seven Acres School, Springfield. About 18,000 people
saw this exhibit on that day. Below is a brief report of the
hospital for the year: —

Tue Brrp Hospi.

During the past year more than a hundred of our common birds have
been or are at present inmates of our hospital. All the patients are in-
teresting, but especially so are the Black-crowned Night Heron (victim of
a steel trap), the European Goldfinch (blinded by illicit game poachers),
an Albino Red-eyed Vireo, a normal Red-eye with dust shot in back of
head, a Baltimore Oriole, a Catbird, Barn Swallows, and a prize-winning
Pigeon with shorn wings.

We found the English Sparrows to be suffering from a kind of lockjaw,
24

thirty being brought in badly emaciated with jaws shut fast. No other
variety of birds seemed to be so afflicted.

This year but two birds were found suffering from the European blowfly,
—a Song Sparrow and a Red-eyed Vireo; the tumors developed more
slowly in captivity than when the birds were in a wild state.

During the summer many visitors saw our birds, and several schools
came. Children often came to get help for sick Pigeons, Parrots and pet
Canaries. Seventy dollars have been contributed toward the support of
the birds. As a result of the interest the press has taken in our work,
several retired physicians in the west have written us in regard to estab-
lishing bird hospitals.

Our school children have worked hard to get insect food for the birds.
We have spent on the average two hours daily since April 19 to catch
fish for our Heron. This service has been done most willingly. Several
zodlogical societies have asked for some of the birds to exhibit, but the
boys and girls love them too well to part with even one invalid. Feed
boxes are ready for the use of winter birds. Money is being raised to buy
a lantern for lecture purposes, the lecture to be entitled ‘Hospital Work
for the Birds.”

Brrep Days.

As usual the Division co-operated with the bird committee
of the State Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, in bird day exer-
cises. The director was present and spoke at the exercises at
Charlemont May 22, which were attended by many people
from all the near-by country. This committee of the State
Grange is doing an excellent educational work, among the
rural population, which deserves every encouragement.

Brirp MIGRATION OBSERVED DURING THE YEAR.

The study of the distribution and migration of Massachusetts
birds in New England has been continued. Nearly four hun-
dred observers have contributed notes on birds seen through
the year. Some send in notes occasionally, some once or twice
a month, and others more often. These reports have been
filed, and the notes on migration and distribution have been
entered on maps kept for each species. Valuable records have
been noted and recorded. Notes on food and habits have
been kept. A general. summary, or bulletin of information
giving a résumé of the movements of birds, has been sent out
at the close of each month to these correspondents, and on
the 15th notes have been sent to each giving warning of un-
25

usual birds and current movements. The records of migra-
tion as collated from these observations during the year may
be summarized briefly here. The fiscal year which this report
covers begins December 1, 1919.

December, 1919.

The first half of December was mild, with a few exceptionally
cold days; but the last half was cold, with occasional light
snows and few mild days. During the first period grass was
still green in many places and a few wild flowers were in bloom.
From the 14th to the 21st, exceedingly low temperatures were
recorded, ranging from 42 degrees below zero in Maine to 10
degrees below on Cape Cod.

A Southward Movement of Wild Fowl.— The freezing of
northern waters drove the river ducks southward; many ap-
peared in the Carolinas, and winter species arrived in Massa-
chusetts waters in considerable numbers. A few Arctic and
sub-Arctic sea birds began to appear along the coast. Some
Geese, which had remained very late on Prince Edward Island,
began to fly south early in the month, and on the 24th a single
Swan was seen flying very high, moving southward over
Middlesex County,. Massachusetts. All through December,
land birds were few and far between, except in localities where
food was abundant and shelter excellent. There was a marked
absence of such northern Hawks and Owls as were numerous
in 1917-18.

About December 1 an Arkansas Flycatcher was taken on
Cape Cod and a Crested Flycatcher was seen from the 8th to
the 14th in Essex County. A great flock of Cowbirds, a few
small flocks of Redwinged Blackbirds, and a flock of about
40 Mourning Doves remained through the month on Cape
Cod. «Evening Grosbeaks appeared in small numbers from the
northwest during the month; Siskins moved southward through
New England, and their places were taken by Redpolls from
the. north.

Movements of Grebes and Jays. — Early in the month there
was a flight of Horned Grebes, and a few stragglers were seen
until late in the month. Blue Jays and Canada Jays were re-
ported as very abundant on the 12th in northern Ontario —
26

an apparent southward movement. Brown Creepers appeared
in New England in smaller numbers than usual, and Golden-
crowned Kinglets were rare. Those northern species, the
Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks and Snow Buntings, in-
creased in numbers generally in the Provinces and northern
New England during the month. By the end of December
Crows had mostly left the Maritime Provinces and northern
New England, but three large “roosts” were reported in
southern New England.

January, 1920.

In January a single flock of Bohemian Waxwings was re-
ported in the Province of Quebec, and two from Maine. Janu-
ary was a remarkable month, — driving gales, snow, ice and
cold predominating. There were a few milder days, but
nothing that could be designated by the name of “January
thaw.” The average thermometer readings were as low as
those of January, 1918. Night temperatures averaged ex-
tremely low and there were very few bright, sunny days.
The snow varied in depth from 6 inches along the southeastern
coast to 2 or 3 feet in some of the western mountainous wooded
sections. In early December some willow catkins had begun
to bloom on Cape Cod, but late December and January were
too much for them. Peach buds were destroyed throughout
New England.

Observers of long experience asserted that they had not seen
so few birds in winter for years. Nevertheless, there were some
gatherings of land birds, principally on the southern coast of
New England.

A Southward Movement of Land Birds. — A great storm oc-
curred on the 17th, after which common winter land birds
were even more scarce than before. Many were beliewed to
have fled southward before the storm or with the cold, driving
northwest wind that followed on the 18th. Many Starlings
disappeared from Massachusetts, but there was an influx. in
New York. Chickadees appeared on Block Isiand. Robins
drifted across the Sound to Long Island; Pine Grosbeaks,
Evening Grosbeaks and Snow Buntings appeared in Massa-
chusetts in greater numbers after the storm.
27

On the coast no scarcity was noted among the water birds,
which had been driven out by the ice from most of the lakes
and ponds. Open holes in the rivers, springs and swift-run-
ning, unfrozen streams were visited night and day by wild
fowl. Murres, Guillemots, Razor-billed Auks and Dovekies
were reported.

Geese Wintering. — Canada Geese were wintering in large
numbers on the southern coast of Nova Scotia, and Geese and
Brants still remained in large flocks south of Cape Cod. Snowy
Owls appeared in the west, but very few were reported in
New England. Hairy Woodpeckers were not nearly so com-
mon in New England as during the winter of 1918-19, but
appeared in increasing numbers in some Canadian localities.

The great flock of Cowbirds on Cape Cod had disappeared
late in December, but smaller flocks of 50 to 100 birds re-
mained during January, and a few were noted on Block Island,
Rhode Island, and Long Island, New York. Large flocks of
Red-winged Blackbirds were seen on Cape Cod early in the
month, a few Catbirds and some Rusty Blackbirds in other
parts of Massachusetts. Bohemian Waxwings were noted in
numbers in Ontario and Quebec. One or two Mockingbirds
were seen near Boston during the month, and Red-breasted
Nuthatches were scattered through the eastern’ Canadian
Provinces and south to southern New England.

February.

Winter reached its climax during the first week of February,
which began with the lowest temperature of the season, and
ended with the greatest snowfall. On February 1 temper-
atures as low as 40 to 54 degrees below were reported in
northern New England. On that day immense flocks of Snow
Buntings appeared in northern Vermont, and great flocks of
Evening Grosbeaks moved southward. In some of the valleys
of northern Vermont snow was reported 7 feet deep. Snow-
storms continued until in Massachusetts the snow varied in
depth from 2 to 5 feet, according to locality and exposure.
This succession of storms lasted generally until about the 12th
and proved very destructive to bird life. Along the south-
28

eastern seaboard rain and snow with a final coating of ice
made it almost impossible for birds to find food.

Birds destroyed by Storm and Cold. — Individuals of even
the more hardy species, such as Redpolls and Siskins, perished.
Bob-whites in some northern and western sections of Massa-
chusetts were destroyed; even Ruffed Grouse were found dead,
apparently from starvation and cold.

Great Blue Heron and Cowbirds Wintering. — Notwithstanding
the severity of the season a Great Blue Heron was observed
on Cape Cod during January and another in February. Sev-
eral White-winged Juncos were reported. A flock of Cow-
birds continued to come to a feeding place on Cape Cod,
others were reported from Rhode Island; but Rusty Black-
birds and Red-wings which had been noted in January did not
appear on the February reports. Bohemian Waxwings were
reported from three different localities in Maine, but not from
southern New England. Early in the month a spring move-
ment of Robins apparently had started in the south, but this
did not reach New England.

Winter Land Birds moving Coastward. — After the storm of
the 12th winter birds from the north increased in southern
New England, scattering along the coastal region from Essex
County, Massachusetts, to central New Jersey. High shifting
northwesterly and northeasterly winds seemed to have driven
some into the interior and others toward the coast. At the
end of this storm period birds were more scarce than ever over
a large part of the hill country of New England, but had be-
come more numerous on the coastal plains. These condi-
tions continued for about two weeks.

March.

‘Probably no winter since the twentieth century came in took
a greater toll of bird life in New England than the winter of
1919-20. Perhaps the greatest mortality occurred during and
after the storm which swept into southern New England on
the 5th and 6th of March, and continued in some of the
northern sections until the 7th. High northerly and easterly
gales were accompanied at first by rain, followed by sleet
and snow, with rapidly falling temperature. When the skies
29

cleared these shifting gales were succeeded by cold, piercing
northwesterly winds of nearly hurricane force. The storm was
regarded in some localities as the “worst blizzard within the
memory of man.”

Bird Mortality. — After this storm birds of even the hardiest
northern species were found dead in the snow, some of them in
sheltered places, even under cover, apparently in splendid con-
dition, and with stomachs full of food; others with empty
stomachs and emaciated frames. Hardy birds, like Grebes
and Loons, were cast up dead on some of the southern New
England shores. For the first time in the writer’s experience
dead Snow Buntings were reported. When the storm ended,
the few species of small winter land birds still left in Massa-
chusetts seemed to have decreased much in numbers. Gold-
finches had practically disappeared. Most of New England
was now buried under from 3 to 6 feet of snow. Railroad
trains were stalled for days; a large number of trolley lines
were completely blocked and moved no more cars until spring.
On the 13th rain swept Cape Cod nearly clear of snow, but
the same storm added more in the interior. Deep snow con-
tinued throughout New England during the first half of the
month. Then came a sudden change. Soon hylas were
heard peeping, snakes were seen. By the 23d bullfrogs and
aquatic beetles were reported; the 23d and 24th seemed like
summer days. From the 26th to the 28th butterflies and
moths were seen.

The Northward Movement begins. — During the month the
early bird migration had progressed very slowly up the coast
to the middle Atlantic States. Snow and cold on the 14th
arrested this movement and only a few stragglers reached
southern New England.

The First Great Bird Wave. — From the 16th to the 19th
more stragglers began to filter into Massachusetts, but the
great bird wave of the month came from the 23d to the 25th,
when multitudes of early land birds were moving northward
from Florida to Maine. From the 27th to the 30th a great
movement took place. Holboell’s Grebes came in numbers.
Many flocks of Ducks and Geese were *flying north from
March 27 to 30. The Great Blue Herons known to have
30

wintered in Massachusetts probably died or disappeared on or
before the 6th of March, but on the 28th the first spring mi-
grant of the species was reported. About that time Ospreys
appeared. The main flight of Red-winged Blackbirds began
to arrive in Massachusetts on the 22d. Grackles had reached
Maine by the 30th. Evening Grosbeaks decreased at this
time in Massachusetts but increased in Maine. During the
blizzard of March 6 Snow Buntings had appeared in immense
flocks in northern Vermont. A few days later flocks were ob-
served in Aroostook County, Maine, flying northward at a
great height. Fox Sparrows appeared in southern New Eng-
land on the 23d and 24th. Tree Swallows were numerous at
Nantucket on the 25th. Despite the severe winter a single
Hermit Thrush had wintered successfully in Bristol County,
Massachusetts, and was heard singing on the 24th, and at least
one Catbird survived.

April.

April was a month of cold, snow and driving rain with
sweeping gales, scant sunshine, and but few days of vernal
warmth. Migrants were much delayed or driven back by
northerly winds; also, the birds were drifted inland by easterly
gales, but they still pushed on. No great bird wave was
recorded until late in the month, when spring flowers were seen,
butterflies appeared, and woodchucks and chipmunks were
_ noted. After the 15th toads, hylas, wood-frogs, turtles, snakes
and bats were reported in southern New England. On the
19th there was a strong northward movement of birds, but
on the 24th a high northwest gale again checked the advance.

A Retrograde Movement.— During this gale a retrograde
movement of Swifts, Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows was
observed in Massachusetts and Connecticut localities. From
the 25th to the 26th the forward movement was resumed.
During the month Blue-gray Gnatcatchers appeared in unusual
numbers in the middle States.

Northward Flights of Hawks and Other Land Birds. — On the
24th, 25th and 26th great flights of Hawks were observed in
Massachusetts.

In April the large Northern Hairy Woodpecker had left
bl

northern Ontario, and the smaller or more southern race had
appeared. An immense flight of Sapsuckers was reported in
the west. Late in the month the numbers of Evening Gros-
beaks thinned out, and Pine Grosbeaks practically disappeared
from Massachusetts. Goldfinches remained scarce, but many
were reported from the south. The delayed migration of Fox
Sparrows reached immense numbers in southern New England,
but the great majority passed northward early in the month.
The Red-breasted Nuthatch was extremely scarce, and Black-
capped Chickadees were much less common than in February
and early March, while Golden-crowned Kinglets, as last year,
appeared to be very rare.

There was an early flight of Kingbirds on Cape Cod and
Marthas Vineyard this month.

May.

The first fourteen days of May were mainly cold with snow,
frosts, much cold and rainy weather, and northerly or easterly
winds. During this time many of those land birds which feed
chiefly on the ground moved on to their northern breeding
places, but arboreal birds were slower in coming. The migra-
tion of the month was peculiar. The weather was generally
cold and backward from the southern States to New England.
During the colder periods, with east and northeast winds and
much rain, there was little evidence of forward movement,
except as the birds worked northward in the daytime, feeding
as they moved along; but when the wind shifted to the south-
ward, with fair, warm days and clear nights, the northern
migrants made great leaps over wide spaces.

The Spring Movement of Warblers. —On May 6 the weather
moderated and a south wind brought several species of War-
blers to northwestern Massachusetts that were not recorded in
the eastern sections until later, where most species were re-
ported as late and few in number. On the 17th rains and
easterly winds gave place in southern New England to fair,
warm weather with southerly breezes. On that day and the
next, a great flight of Warblers and other land birds appeared.
It reached New Hampshire on the 18th. The temperature of
northern Maine at this time had attained the maximum of
32

the month, as from 80 to 88 degrees were reported. A Warbler
flight was noted in the Province of Quebec. Another warm
wave on the 27th and 28th sent forward most of the northern
migrants. A large number of species was observed, but a
comparatively small number of individuals. Eight Blue-gray
Gnatcatchers were noted in eastern Massachusetts.

Passenger Pigeons reported. — Reports of Passenger Pigeons
came in with the opening of spring and continued throughout
the summer. While it is not impossible that there are a few
Passenger Pigeons left, it seems extremely improbable. The
only “Pigeon” that has been produced for identification thus
far has been the Mourning Dove.

Nighthawks were not reported during the month in large
numbers. Goldfinches continued scarce during the most of
the month, but began to come in numbers in the latter part
of the period, and continued to arrive in northern New England
and the Provinces until June 1. The migration of Juncos and
other Sparrows extended well into May. Crossbills remained
on Marthas Vineyard all the month. Many birds were late
in coming, and the flight continued into the month of June.
The extremely warm weather and southerly wind that pre-
vailed during the last days of May greatly accelerated the
progress of migration. Northern migrants were heard passing,
night after night.

June.

June in southern New England gave us only short periods
of fine, warm weather; low temperatures, clouds, fog and rain
predominated; local tempests with torrential downpours oc-
curred, when branches of trees were torn off and large trees
blown down. The high winds, together with cold rains, de-
stroyed many birds’ nests and young birds. In some places
these storms were destructive to young game birds. Floods
locally overflowed the nests of Bitterns, Rails and Sandpipers,
. while high tides and raging seas along the coast swept away
the eggs of gulls, terns and Piping Plovers.

The Migration continues. —The migration of straggling
northern transients among the land birds continued until about
June 10. Many Sandpipers and some Plovers were still mi-
grating the first week in June, and individuals were seen later
3d

on the coast of Massachusetts. In the early evening of June
7 many small birds were heard migrating in Massachusetts
and Maine.

Waxwings, Vireos, Cuckoos, Nighthawks, Purple Martins,
Goldfinches, Wood Pewees, Black-poll Warblers, Baltimore
Orioles and Indigo Buntings continued to appear locally in
New England and Canada after June 1. The last flight of
Red-breasted Mergansers noted at Block Island, Rhode Island,
was June 4, and 20 Loons were reported off Cape Cod on
June 7. Goldfinches and Waxwings were first noted the
second week in June in some places, while a few shore birds
were reported still migrating. Among the rarer birds noted in
Massachusetts were Worm-eating and Mourning Warblers, and
several Blue Grosbeaks were reported from Massachusetts and
Maine. Notwithstanding the severe winter, which must have
reduced the vigor of winter residents, there were many reports
of large sets of eggs deposited by the Ruffed Grouse. The
spring migrations were hardly finished when a few shore birds
appeared, apparently on their southward journey, but these
may have been non-breeding birds that had remained some-
where on our shores. Great Blue Herons were reported on
the Massachusetts coast and on Long Island during the last

week of June.
/

July.

July was not far from normal generally in most of southern
New England, with only one short period of abnormally high
temperatures and a few very cool days the last week, but there
was a heavy rainfall in some localities, particularly in the hills
of western Massachusetts. In northern New England there
was a favorable breeding season for the birds, with much
pleasant weather.

Autumnal Migration begins. —On July 1 some of the shore
birds had reached Long Island, and about July 15 some of the
earlier breeders among the land birds began flocking or de-
serting their breeding places. Herring Gulls appeared in
numbers on Marthas Vineyard by the 26th, and on the 28th
five Black Terns were noted there. During this month Ruby-
throated Hummingbirds were reported as feeding on small
caterpillars. There seems to have been no considerable num-
34

ber of Egrets wandering from the south this year. The first
was noted on Cape Cod July 30.

A Few Egrets move Northward. — The hot weather of late
July and early August appeared to send more Egrets north-
ward at the time when Great Blue Herons had begun moving
southward. Egrets were reported in August, and_ several
Little Blue Herons were noted on Long Island. Experience
leads to the belief that Egrets and Little Blue Herons move
north in small numbers through the middle Atlantic States
into New York and New England after the breeding season,
particularly when the weather of July or August is exceedingly
hot. Snowy Herons are more rarely seen. Very few in-
dividuals of any of these species are noted in early spring or
in late autumn.

An Increase of Gulls and Terns. — Reports from the coasts
and islands of Massachusetts indicate that the increase of
Gulls and Terns still goes on. Herring Gulls bred in at least
three localities in Massachusetts and one in southern New
Hampshire, near the Massachusetts line, but one of the sand-
spits on which they nested in Massachusetts was nearly washed
away by the sea, doubtless destroying both eggs and young.
The number of Laughing Gulls increases and they are seen
more and more in summer along our shores at localities dis-
tant from their principal breeding place on Muskeget Island.
Common Terns now breed in large or small colonies, or in
pairs at nearly every suitable location on the coast. Roseate
Terns and Arctic Terns are increasing in numbers, and Least
Terns have settled in new breeding places, some at least on
the mainland, where formerly they bred only on islands. A
great migration of sandpipers and other shore birds occurred
during the cold wave of the latter part of July.

August.

August was nearly normal so far as weather and temperature
were concerned, with perhaps a little more rain than usual in
Massachusetts and less than usual in parts of northern New
England.

Southward Flights. — Early in the month night flights of
land birds were noted in Maine. Soon after the 15th there
35

were movements of Swallows, Flycatchers and Warblers along
the coast, and during the third week the frosts in the interior
of northern New England started flocks of Warblers toward
the south. Great numbers of birds in northern New England
began moving before September 1. The early Hawk migration
began during the last few days of August, and a great flight of
Nighthawks appeared. Bird song continued later than usual
in some places, particularly where more than the normal rain-
fall had been noted. Many northern Gulls appeared during
the month as far south as the Connecticut coast. Shore birds
were abundant in Massachusetts.

September.

September was noted for a great variety of weather and tem-
perature. There was much fair weather in southern New Eng-
land but many storms to the southward. In Massachusetts,
the first part of the month was fine and was ideal for bird
migration. During the first week great numbers of Sparrows,
Warblers and Thrushes moved through New England south-
ward. Light frosts occurred early in the month, and about the
20th there were severe frosts with heavy snow on the White
Mountains and less in Maine. The latter part of the month
was mainly clear and warm in southern New England, with
only a few cloudy or rainy days. The thermometer during
the month ranged from 26 to 90 degrees. Bird migration was
heavy throughout a large part of the month, but, nevertheless,
there were many localities where very few birds were to be
seen in the daytime, although large flights went over at night.
In other places flocks of migrating birds were seen in daylight.
These reports cover nearly every day of the month. Practi-
cally all the fall migrants and some of the winter residents
were observed. ,

Early Migration of Geese. — There was a small early move-
ment of Geese, and Brants arrived in goodly numbers on Prince
Edward Island, while Double-crested Cormorants came in
considerable flocks. During the month there was a great mi-
gration of Gulls and an unusual flight of Wood Ducks and
Blue-winged Teals in southern New England. Large flights
of Black Ducks occurred in the Maritime Provinces, reaching
36

Massachusetts during the latter part of the month. Canada
Geese also reached Massachusetts and were noted from time
to time, but were not seen on Long Island or farther south.

A Large Flight of :Shore Birds. — Many observers reported
unusual numbers of shore birds. The flight extended well
through the month. Hudsonian Curlews were more common
than usual. Upland Plovers and Killdeer Plovers seemed to
have increased in numbers over former years. Reports of
the increase of Ruffed Grouse in Massachusetts were disap-
pointing in many cases, but in northern New England and
the Provinces the reports were more optimistic.

Hawks, Nighthawks, etc. —'There was a flight of Hawks the
first week of the month, but the main movement came from
the 16th to the 19th. Great numbers of Chimney Swifts, in
flocks, appear to have vanished from Massachusetts on the
night of the 18th, as few were reported afterwards.

The main Nighthawk flight moved southward early in the
month, but stragglers continued to pass over until October. Im-
mense roosts of Starlings were reported from Essex, Middlesex
and Bristol counties, Massachusetts, and considerable numbers
in the Connecticut valley. During the month there appeared
a definite movement of this species toward the coast. Its num-
bers seem to increase from season to season. Goldfinches were
less in number in Massachusetts than last year, but abundant
locally in northern New England; and but very few Siskins
were reported. Horned Larks and Tree Sparrows arrived in
New England during the latter part of the month, but in very
small numbers. During September Red-breasted Nuthatches
arrived in the coastal region of northern New England, and
Brown Creepers were recorded south to Massachusetts. A
single Mockingbird was reported on Cape Cod. As the month
closed a southern hurricane was blowing up the coast.

October.

Copious summer rains in many parts of New England and
the Provinces had helped to develop and mature a great crop
of wild fruit and seeds. In regions where such food was
plentiful certain birds remained somewhat later than usual.
Birds and squirrels moved into regions where nuts or seeds on
37

which they feed were numerous. In many places squirrels
found so much nourishment in the abundant pine seeds that
they neglected the cornfields, doing little or no injury. Through
the eastern coast States October was remarkable for mild and
pleasant weather and high temperatures. The storm that
came the last part of September continued for about two days
into October, with gales on the Ist. Heavy rains fell in New
England and 7 inches of moist snow in Algonquin Provincial
Park, Ontario. Although these rains early in the month flooded
the Cohnecticut River, there was very little precipitation there-
after in New England until nearly the last of the month.
There was little frost in southern New England and few frosts
in the northern sections. On the 10th twenty-seven varieties
of wild flowers were gathered on Cape Cod. On the 18th and
25th an observer at St. Lambert, Province of Quebec, picked wild
flowers of at least six species. Vegetables were still untouched
by frosts in the gardens of Massachusetts and New Hampshire,
and raspberries and strawberries were being harvested during
the last week in the month. ‘Trees held their foliage as long
as there were few frosts, storms or high winds to strip them,
and the wooded hills were clothed in wonderful colors.

A Great Flight the First Nine Days. — Land birds were mov-
ing almost daily or nightly nearly all the month, but the great-
est flight occurred during the first nine days. Several Cuckoos
were reported in southern New England during the first week.
Most of the smaller passerine migrant birds seem to have
gone south long before the close of the month. Shore birds
continued to pass in some numbers, and water birds slowly
increased along the New England coast. Six Swans were re-
ported from Maine October 11. A flight of Canada Geese,
unusually large for October, was noted on the Massachusetts
coast from the 12th to the 26th, comparatively few being seen
in the interior, and many passed far out over the sea. A
flock of Snow Geese was reported. A flight of Great Blue
Herons passed Block Island, Rhode Island, on October 30.
There was a large flight of Wilson’s Snipes the latter part of
the month.

Hawks were drifting southward as usual throughout this
month, but no great wave of any species was noted. There
38

were late stragglers of many species of land birds, which, per-
haps, had been beguiled into staying longer than usual on
account of the mild weather and plentiful food supply, and
there was much autumnal singing by many species. On the
17th Pine Grosbeaks appeared in northern Ontario, apparently
moving southward. Pipits passed through New England in
goodly numbers. More Winter Wrens than are usually seen
in the autumnal migration were reported. Brown Creepers
appeared in larger numbers in northern New England than for
the past two years, and Golden-crowned Kinglets, which had
been rare for several years, appeared to have increased won-
derfully in numbers. During the latter part of the month
the number of land birds seemed less than usual.

November.

The weather of November was in general mild rather than
severe, with occasional gales and a long storm with high winds
the third week. Grass remained green, and some wild flowers
were still in bloom during the first half of the month. No-
vember was notable for a great scarcity of land birds, and an
abundance of water birds, Ducks, Geese, Brants, Gulls, ete.
Great schools of small fishes, which remained along the shores
of southern New England in October and November, brought
flights of Gulls, Cormorants and Gannets. Terns remained
later than usual, and a few were reported in November.

Great Flights of Geese and Ducks. — Immense flights of Geese
appeared passing largely through the interior early in the
month and later both in the interior and along the coast.
They were reported from every New England State and from
New York, New Jersey, and all the Maritime Provinces. In
many localities the migration was the largest seen for very
many years. The greatest flight of all came with the stormy
weather which began on the 21st and continued for the re-
mainder of the month, with only two pleasant days. Some of
the heaviest flights thus came in storm, snow, sleet and rain.
Geese wet, worn out and weighted down by sleet came to the
ground or to roofs of sheds; others alighted in poultry yards,
and some are said to have been killed by clubs. Scaup Ducks
were found dead or dying upon the ground in Maine and Con-
39

necticut, others too exhausted to fly longer were seen walking
in fields and gardens. A few Swans were reported from time
to time in eastern Massachusetts, but not elsewhere.

During the storms of the latter part of the month many
northern Ducks, such as Mergansers, Old-squaws, Golden-eyes
and Eiders, appeared. A late flight of Great Blue Herons
passed south during the stormy period. Sanderlings were still
passing in small numbers up to the 26th, and there were a
few Killdeers still left in Connecticut as the month ended.

A Scarcity of Land Birds. — One reason for the scarcity of
land birds was that most of the summer residents and fall mi-
grants had passed southward, and winter birds from the north
had not come to take their places. Only a few winter Hawks
appeared. Snow Buntings and Horned Larks had come in
more or less along the coast, but Pine Grosbeaks, Redpolls,
Siskins and Crossbills moved southward very slowly and in
remarkably small numbers. Fox Sparrows were seen in large
numbers by very few observers, many saw none, and even
Juncos and Tree Sparrows did not appear generally in their
usual abundance. One flock of Bohemian Waxwings was noted
in New Hampshire on the 14th.

A few late stragglers among the Warblers and Flycatchers
were noted this month, but the period ended with the most
remarkable dearth of land birds reported at any time in the
experience of the last three years.

An ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY.

Late in May Mr. John A. Farley began an ornithological
reconnaissance for the Division. The principal purpose of this
undertaking was to clear up some points regarding the breed-
ing ranges in Massachusetts of certain birds of the Canadian
fauna. This work was continued through June and July, as
long as the birds remained at their nesting grounds. In his
search Mr. Farley traveled over parts of Berkshire, Franklin,
Hampshire and Hampden counties. He intended also to visit
northern Worcester County, but was delayed by continued
heavy rains. While en route or later he visited and consulted
with the following persons, most of them correspondents or ob-
servers of this Division, who freely gave time, advice and as-
40

sistance: Professor W. W. McLaren, Judge Sanborn G. Tenney,
Miss Helen Hart and Mr. William J. Cartwright of Williams-
town; Miss Dorothy Davies of Blackinton; Mrs. Frank Rans-
ford and Mr. W. H. Sperry, chairman, Greylock Reservation
Commission, of North Adams; Mrs. Thomas Carne of Adams;
Miss Florence M. Pease of Conway; Miss Caroline E. Ham-
ilton of Greenfield; Mrs. Julia F. A. Browning, Mrs. George
Stanford and Mr. Emory Sibley of Rowe; Mr. Perley Carr of
Colrain; Mr. J. W. Jackson of Belchertown; Mr. R. L.
Coffin of Amherst; Mr. A. C. Bagg of Holyoke; Mr. A. A.
Cross of .Huntington; and Hon. Herbert Parker of Lancaster.

The notes secured by Mr. Farley during this trip, coupled
with information previously obtained by him and other ob-
servers of this Division, all go to prove that certain species
breed much more widely or generally in Massachusetts than
previous records would indicate. Some results of the season’s
work are shown below: —

The Northern Pileated Woodpecker is distributed in the
breeding season very sparsely through the forested regions of
western and northern Massachusetts. It is even rarer now
than the reports would indicate, as it is a conspicuous wander-
ing bird, and a single individual may be seen often in differ-
ent localities. It has nested in recent years as far east as
Middlesex County, but has not been known to nest recently in
Essex County. A nest was found this year by Mr. A. A. Cross
in Hampshire County near the Hampden County line.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was met with in the breeding
season only in Franklin and Berkshire counties, at altitudes
of 1,600 to 2,200 feet. Three nestings were noted, — one in
Berkshire County and two in Franklin County.

The Olive-sided Flycatcher may breed anywhere between
the western border of Massachusetts and the elbow of Cape
Cod. It has been reported as far east as Dennis, and is well
known in Berkshire County. It breeds from near sea level to
an altitude of 1,600 feet and higher, but it now seems to be
rarer in New England than it was forty years ago. It comes
and goes. In Rowe, Franklin County, where Mr. Farley found
six or seven pairs and two nests in June, 1918, he could not
find a single individual in 1920. This bird may be found in
41

swamps or on mountain sides. It seems fond of a nesting
location where there are tall dead trees to serve as lofty watch
towers for its hunting.

The Slate-colored Junco is abundant on Mount Greylock,
Berkshire County, and was noted more or less commonly
elsewhere, where spruce trees grow. In fact it may be found
more or less sparingly both in and out of the spruce growth
in most parts of western Massachusetts. It is widely but
sparingly distributed elsewhere in the State east to Middle-
sex County. There seem to be no records of its breeding in
Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes or Nantucket counties or in
southern Worcester County. It is most common at altitudes
of 1,200 feet or more.

The White-throated Sparrow is more common than the Junco
in the spruce regions of western Massachusetts, and where the
spruce has been cut off it remains to breed in the “slash,”
where it seems to increase in numbers. It is not confined to
the spruce regions. In northern Massachusetts the White-
throat is now noted locally clear down to the sea, where the
Junco has not yet been observed in the breeding season. There
seems to be no record of this Sparrow in summer in the south-
eastern region of Massachusetts.

The Blue-headed Vireo breeds in every county in the State,
except perhaps in Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties.
It is a white pine and hemlock bird; hence, it breeds sparingly
where there are few of these trees. Contrariwise, it is a com-
mon bird in Plymouth County and in similar country in other
adjacent counties. In this general region there is more white
pine to-day than in any other part of the State; therefore, it
breeds commonly, if locally, near sea level in southeastern Mas-
sachusetts.

The Black-throated Blue Warbler breeds both in coniferous
and deciduous woods over most of western Massachusetts,
ranging east sparingly as far at least as north central Worcester
County.

The Myrtle Warbler is much less common than the Black-
burnian or Magnolia, but it has quite a wide breeding range
over central and western Massachusetts; and as it has now
been found nesting in one locality in southern Worcester
42

County near the Connecticut line and carrying food apparently
to nestlings in another town a few miles away, it may yet be
found nesting in eastern Massachusetts, or even in Connecti-
cut: It has been noted in the highlands of western Connecti-
cut in the breeding season. This species is fond of spruce, but
Mr. Farley found two nests in white pines, — one high up, the
other less than 6 feet from the ground. This species may be
confidently looked for in the breeding season anywhere in
Massachusetts where spruces or white pines grow at alti-
tudes of 1,200 feet or more. Like the Magnolia Warbler it
frequents pasture spruces, but unlike that bird it also inhabits
white pine groves; therefore, it may be found casually in the
breeding season almost anywhere in central or western Massa-
chusetts, and its nests should be looked for as a possibility in
the northeastern counties and also in the highlands of north-
western Connecticut.

The Magnolia Warbler is a bird of the spruce regions, and
is most common in rather open country, such as pastures
where young spruces, more or less scattered, are growing. It
is likely to nest where such spruces are found, from Berkshire
County east to northern Worcester County, but has not been
noted elsewhere, or at altitudes much below 1,200 feet.

The Blackburnian Warbler is a forest bird. It is very com-
mon on Greylock, where it may be found in the tall, dense
spruces and in the adjoining mixed growth as well. But it is
also found among hemlocks and white pines in clear stands or
mixed with hardwoods at low altitudes, and breeds from Berk-
shire almost to the sea. It is an equally common bird in New
Hampshire, occurring anywhere in the white pines of the
southern and central parts of that State. In the breeding
season it seems gradually to disappear as we approach south-
eastern Massachusetts, but breeds sparingly elsewhere in the
eastern sections, principally in white pines or hemlocks.

The Louisiana Water Thrush breeds here and there, along
the banks of small streams and up their tributary brooks west
of the Connecticut River and north to the Vermont line. We
know very little of its occurrence in .the breeding season east
of the river. But the Northern Water Thrush breeds scatter-
ingly eastward in the northern half of the State to Middlesex
43

County, at least, and is also colonized’ in good numbers in at
least one locality in Plymouth County.

The Mourning Warbler is a bird of sprout-land, where timber
has’ been cut off. It is common in such lands near the very
summit of Mount Greylock, but is not confined to the top of
the mountain. It has been met with in other parts of the
range, and also well to the eastward in Franklin County, but
apparently does not range very far east in Massachusetts. It
was found in its favorite sprout-land down to 1,000 feet. A
very few individuals have been reported in summer in eastern
Massachusetts, apparently stragglers.

The Canada Warbler is widely distributed as a breeder over
most of the State, but is more common in western Massachu-
setts than in the eastern counties, where it is very local. It
seems to care little about altitudes or any particular kind of
vegetation, but in most parts prefers cool, moist places, such
as cedar swamps, for its breeding grounds.

The Winter Wren was noted in the breeding season not only
in Berkshire County, where it may be seen on Greylock and
at other more or less high altitudes, but in Franklin, Hampshire
and Hampden counties at altitudes ranging down to 600 feet.
As a rule, it was found near a brook in the woods, often in a
ravine, but it is not by any means confined to spruce or even
to coniferous trees, but is seen in mixed woods.

Golden-crowned Kinglets breed in the spruces on Mount
Greylock, and in other stands of this tree in Berkshire County,
also intermittently or sporadically elsewhere in western Massa-
chusetts. They formerly bred in northern Worcester County
in swamp spruces at an altitude of about 1,200 feet, but no
one has reported them there recently. Mr. Farley and other
observers saw them and their young this year only in Berk-
shire County.

Bicknell’s Thrush was not recognized this season even on
Greylock. It seems quite possible that the collectors have
extirpated this bird here within the past few years. On the
other hand, rare species like this come and go. It may ap-
pear next year.

The Olive-backed Thrush is a bird of the spruce and the fir.
On Greylock it was noted down to 2,500 feet, elsewhere down
44

to about 1,600 feet, and not much lower. Its breeding has
now been reported from Berkshire County east to northwestern
Worcester County. It nests in swamps where spruce and
white pine grow, and along streams shaded with spruce and
hemlock.

Formerly the Hermit Thrush was regarded, rightly or
wrongly, as absent or as a very rare breeder in most of the
State, though always more or less common on the western
highlands. Now, however, it occupies most of our territory
as a summer resident, though still rare or wanting locally in
southern Worcester County, seldom seen in the breeding season
near Boston, and not reported from Nantucket. It is es-
pecially common in southeastern Massachusetts, as in Plymouth
and Bristol counties, and on the western half of Cape Cod
(Barnstable County), where it is the forest thrush of this entire
section, being known as “Wood Thrush” by many of the in-
habitants. It prefers woods containing some coniferous trees
and seems to have been increasing in recent years.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

' A Report on the Birds of the Commonwealth.

During the service of the present incumbent, a demand has
been manifested at this office for a report giving full descrip-
tions of all forms of Massachusetts birds, with colored plates
of all the species. There is no such work extant. The two
volumes published by the Commonwealth, “Useful Birds and
their Protection” and “Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore
Birds,” having run through their several editions, are now
out of print. Reprints cannot be made unless authorized by
special legislation. There is nothing to take their place, and
they gave only a partial view of Massachusetts bird life, with
brief descriptions and only two colored plates. The Common-
wealth has not published even a list of its birds since 1863.
In recent years many other States have. put out reports on
their birds, some of them quite well illustrated with colored
plates, none, however, giving full descriptions.

The writer has had twenty-five years’ experience in learning
what the people of the Commonwealth desire to know about
our birds. With the help of many correspondents from all
45

parts of the State he has been able to collect a great amount
of information. It is purposed to embody this material in
two volumes of about 600 pages each, giving not only descrip-
tions but also the marks by which the species may be known
in the field, and notes on the life history, habits and food of
each species.

The plan proposed is to print 5,000 copies of each volume,
place both volumes in every free public library in the Com-
monwealth, and dispose of the remaining copies at a price that
will reimburse the Commonwealth for the money expended.
It is recommended, therefore, that the director of the Division
of Ornithology be authorized to prepare for printing two
volumes, of 600 pages each, on the birds of the Common-
wealth, and that a sufficient sum for the preparation of the
drawings to be used in illustrating this report be appropriated
at the coming session of the Great and General Court of
Massachusetts.

An Assistant Ornithologist.

This office was allowed $750 for an assistant during the
year 1920. It is respectfully submitted that no capable as-
sistant can be obtained for this sum. It cannot be expected
that the present director will remain in office many years. It
will be difficult to secure a man fit to fill the position, as most
trained ornithologists have work that is more congenial or more
remunerative. A capable man should be engaged immediately
to be trained to fill the vacancy which will occur before many
years. It is recommended, therefore, that $1, 500 be appropri-
ated for an assistant ornithologist.

A Plan for Adequate Protection of the Ruffed Grouse.

In 1919, after two years of great scarcity of Ruffed Grouse,
a closed season for one year resulted in a considerable increase
of the birds. At present, however, the numbers of this species
in Massachusetts are rather disappointing.

In some places where the birds were common in summer they
mostly disappeared during the shooting season. This is true
particularly of regions about the centers of population, and
also in many sections readily accessible to motor cars. On
some reservations where no shooting has been allowed, and on
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or near posted lands provided with caretakers, the birds are
now more common, also, in some parts of western Massachu-
setts many birds are left over.

Reports on the present numbers of the Grouse are contra-
dictory. One man finds no birds, while another, near at hand,
finds many. There are sections where very few young birds
were reared in 1920, and others where many were raised, but,
,on the whole, the increase of the year was disappointing.

More than 95,000 hunters were licensed last year to kill
Grouse in this Commonwealth. The species has been killed
off or driven out of large sections in many States. With the
increasing number of hunters, motor cars and automatic guns,
the clearing of more and more land, and all the accessory ad-
verse influences due to modern civilization, the Grouse cannot
stand continuous shooting year after year if we are to rely alone
upon the number of birds that the woods naturally produce.

Artificial propagation never has been a commercial success
with any woods Grouse. To increase this species more pro-
tection will be necessary. There is a complete remedy for the
decrease of this bird which can be applied whenever it be-
comes necessary. Whenever the sportsmen of Massachu-
setts are willing to practice sufficient self-denial, we may have
the Ruffed Grouse almost as plentiful again as it was in the
early decades of the nineteenth century.

The remedy is a closed season for two or three years. Wher-
ever such a law has been enacted and enforced the decimated
birds have increased wonderfully. Recently, after such a season
of forbearance in Michigan, Ruffed Grouse became so remarkably
abundant that they were common in places where they had
not been noted at all for many years. After a similar closed
season in Minnesota, more than 500,000 birds were killed, ac-
cording to the tabulated reports of the sportsmen as returned
by them individually to the game commissioners.

There is a disadvantage, however, in leaving the protection
of this bird entirely to the legislative body. The Legislature
meets before the breeding season and has no means of knowing
what the year’s increase will be or how much protection will
be required. The Department of Conservation could ascer-
tain the facts after the breeding season and before the hunting
47

season, and would then be in a position to know whether the
species required additional protection, and could give protection
when most needed if it had the power to do so. Legislation
might be enacted giving the Department of Conservation
the right to declare a closed season on the Ruffed Grouse
whenever, after due investigation of conditions throughout the
Commonwealth, such closed season might seem necessary to
protect and preserve the species.

EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH,

Director.