Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 17.djvu/405

Rh I shall state the facts in full. On May 5, 1877, a nest, four eggs, and parent bird, were obtained near Bangor, Maine, which the finder believed to be the great northern shrike (C. corealis), and it was described as such in "The Oölogist." Later in the same year another nest was found, and the parent bird shot. The following year four more nests were obtained, and some eight birds procured, some being immature specimens. During this latter season (1878), I obtained some of the specimens mentioned, and was surprised to find that they were not great northern but loggerhead shrikes. Soon after this, at the request of Dr. T. M. Brewer, of Boston, I made a thorough inquiry into the facts concerning the breeding of shrikes near Bangor, and then examined all the specimens of both birds and eggs that had been procured. The result showed that there was not a single authentic instance of the great northern shrike's breeding in this vicinity—every reported instance proving that the bird in question was the loggerhead species.

Until brought to my notice, these birds had never been known to breed in New England, and I had the gratification of being the first to so report them. Minot, in his "Land and Game Birds of New England," says that "they are but rarely found as far north as Massachusetts." Since their discovery here, however, Dr. Brewer has been making extended inquiries into the breeding of the shrikes in New England, and it now appears that in several other cases, where great northern shrikes were reported as breeding, the birds have proved to be loggerheads. This was true of the specimens found at Rutland, Vermont, as stated by Dr. Brewer in the "Ornithological Bulletin" for April, 1879. These birds now appear to be regular visitants in this vicinity, and are among our earliest arrivals. About the first of May of this year (1879), I found a nest containing one egg, and on the 28th day of the same month I found another nest with six young.

All of the nests found here, so far as can be learned, were situated in rather open fields, and none were in the deep woods. The birds were not easily alarmed, and apparently cared but little for the presence of man. Sometimes they would perch on an adjacent limb and watch me, as I examined their nests, without showing a sign of fear. It is certainly quite remarkable that a bird with such marked characteristics should dwell with us long, if indeed it has done so, and yet escape notice; and the number of instances of its breeding here which have been reported since its presence was first noted is also remarkable if it is a straggler.

The author of "Land and Game Birds of New England" claims the honor of being the first to discover the nest of the golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa), which discovery he made in 1875 in a forest in the White Mountains. This nest contained six young birds, but no eggs.

Wilson and other ornithologists, believing that the European