A Durable Barn Swallow's Nest

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52 The Wilson Bulletin-March, 1928 13. November 14, 1927. A flock of eight or ten Starlings flew south, flying low over the fields west of Bondville, Champaign County. Record by A. S. Hyde. 14. November 16, 1927. Two Starlings in with a flock of about twenty Bronzed Grackles were seen in the residence district of Urbana. Record by A. R. Cahn. 15. November 19, 1927.

Three Starlings were seen flying south over the Brownfield woods region. Record by A. S. Hyde. 16. December 3, 1927. Three Starlings were seen separately in the forestry preserve. The birds were very tame and were approached to within twenty feet and examined for over ten minutes with high power binoculars. Record by A. R. Cahn. The only previously published records from the territory covered in this note are those of Prof. Frank Smith (Illinois Audubon Bulletin, Spring, 1322), who reported seven Starlings from Urbana on February 19, 1922. There were no Starlings seen by anyone connected with the University between this date and the first of the records offered herewith, in spite of the fact that bird students were constantly in the field. The note by Mr. Hunt (Auk, xliii, p. 239) reporting four Starlings from Oak Park, Illinois, for December, 1925, is the most recent record for the state which the writer has come across. It would seem, then, as if the Starlings were beginning a more determined effort to extend their range into Illinois, the results of which should be carefully watched by bird students.- A. R. CAHN, University of Illinois, Urbana, lil. The Fall ; Bird Migration in Ohio.-The high tide of the fall migration in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. is between September 15 and October 1. With a sparrow wave in October, any night between the above dates the call notes are to be heard, unless we have a night wind in the S. E. to S. The most favorable nights follow several warm days, with S. E. to S. S. W. winds changing to cooler N. W. to N. wind; and if cloudy the birds fly much lower and their call notes are more distinct. On some of the more favorable nights there are but few in- tervals in which call notes are not to be heard. The call notes of the birds, and the few occasions when we have seen them transit the moon, indicate their traveling in groups. Can we judge the numbers in these groups by the numbers we find in groups in the fields and woods, after an all night flight? The line of migration in Tuscarawas County, with some exceptions, is N. W. to S. E. for the fall migration, and from S. E. to N. W. in the spring migration for the ducks, geese, swans, herons and the shore birds. For the land birds we have not sufficient data to check their course. The well marked exceprions to the S. E. movement in the fall are the Nighthawks, Crows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Bronzed Grackles and Robins. Their line of migration is S. W. in the, fall and N. E. in the spring. In Delaware County, one hundred m/les west, they hold to the S. W. and N. E. line. The land, water, and shore birds hold to a North and South line, and seem to follow the Scioto Valley.-CHARLES R. WALLACE, Dela- ware, Ohio.
A Durable Barn Swallow’ s Nest.-There is a nest of the Barn Swallow (Hirundo erythrogastm) in my barn. It is plastered onto a cross-beam two inches below the hay loft floor, just out of reach of my hand and entirely impossible for cats. It was built there in May, 1915, and has been occupied and a brood of swallows has been raised in it every year since then. In 1926 two broods were raised in it by the same pair of swallows. It has never beerr’ possible to General Notes 53 catch the birds on the nest, and so they have not been banded, therefore it is not possible to be certain that the nest has been occupied by the same birds each year, although the birds have seemed to be the same, judged by appear. ante and actions and habits. Th e only thing done to the nest each year is a renewal of some of the lining. No new mud has ever been put on it. When the Barn Swallows first come to this region this nest is visited and inspected, and two birds come and go occasionally until nesting time arrives, when they take possession and resent intrusion in the barn. Even though the barn is in constant use they never seem to become accustomed to the presence of people, stock, dogs or cats. After the young have left the nest the parents remain in the vicinity, and make frequent visits into the barn and to the nest; but by the middle of August they are gone from the immediate vicinity. During the past summer, 1927, four young were raised, and there was one infertile egg, or at least one did not hatch. Never before has there been an unhatched egg. It will be interesting to see how long this nest will last. It must have been fashioned by master builders. I would like to have the recipe for the glue that holds it to the beam.-LYNDS JONES, Oberlin, Ohio. Some Bird Notes from the Badlands of North Dakota.-During part of the summer of 1918 I was doing field work in North Dakota. I was much inter- ested in the region north of Dickinson, in the hadlands of the Little Missouri Valley. The Ferruginous Rough-legged Hawks were quite common, and sat around on rocks and fence posts near a gopher burrow or a prairie dog town, waiting for an opportunity to catch one of the small animals. Marsh Hawks were also common, and hehaved in the same way as they do in Iowa. Sparrow Hawks were the most common of the hawks, and fed almost exclusively upon grass- hoppers, which were quite abundant. I saw only one Short-eared Owl, but hun- dreds of Burrowing Owls. The latter have the curious habit of sitting up on a mound in such a posture that they closely resemble the prairie dogs at a distance. Among the smaller birds McCown’ s Longspur and Sprague’ s Pipit were very interesting to me. I saw an occasional Raird’ s Sparrow that I could identify, and probably dozens that I could not. The Lark Bunting was very common, and the flocks of young and old were a familiar sight. There were a good many Magpies along the rivers, and I shot at several, but seemed to be unable! to get one without blowing all his tail feathers out. The Sharp-tailed Grouse was another interesting bird. and it was still quite common in thei badlands. Coyotes were also common. The badlands country is most interesting, but is hard on the temper to try to drive a car through it. Roads are practically non-existent, and one wanders about jumping creeks and climbing hills at random. These badlands are quite heavily timbered, in places, with such trees as ash, elm, cottonwood, burr oak, birch and aspen; while the buffalo berry (Shepherdia) fills the river bottoms with a dense tangle of brush, or low trees. The only bush growing on the hill is the “buck bush” (Symphoricarpos). Some of the “coulees” are filled with the Red Cedar, but it seems to be rather lOCal.–IRA N. GABRIELSON, Portland, Ore. The Last Days of a Certain Great Horned Owl. -Many great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus virginianus) that have been shot or trapped near my home reach my hands. On October 22, 1925, a live female of this species was brought to me. The last days of this bird are interesting, as they show the fierce