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May, 1911 MY AVIAN VISITORS: NOTES i?ROM SOUTIt DAKOTA 103 Here is an account, published by me in 151ird-23ore, vol. w?, of a May snowstorm and its effects upon the bird-life of the region where it occurred: "The following notes relate to observations made at Grass Creek, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. On May 3, 1905, a cold rain prevailed all day, coming from the north. In the evening the rain-storm changed to a snow-storm,. which continued all night, all the next day, and into the succeeding night. It was prac- tically a blizzard. Western Lark Sparrows had arrived on May 1, and the storm rendered them very uncomfortable, to say'the least. They huddled close to the south sides of the buildings, seeking shelter, and looking for food where the ground was bare. I threw out crumbs of bread to them,?many of which they picked up. They slept under the door-steps and in a stable well sheltered by a hill, as well as in spaces among cord-wood in the wood-pile. "The Horned Larks did not appear to mind the storm greatly, at first, but ulti- mately they began to flock with the Lark Sparrows. They did not, however, so far as I could ascertain, eat any of the crumbs that I had thrown out. But the cold had made these birds, as well as the sparrows, almost fearless of me. "A White-rumped Shrike had killed a lark and thrown the body over a wire on the fence, thus enabling him to hold it easily. He was eating the decapitated car- cass, and returned to it after I had frightened him off. "When the snow had nearly disappeared I saw a large number of the sparrows and larks feeding. together. A shrike flew over them, a few feet above the ground. The larks nearly all took alarm and flew aw?ty, but the sparrows fed on unconcern- edly with the few larks that remained. "The flocks of blackbirds that had previously been with us disappeared while the blizzard was in progress and did not return until it had cleared; but a single Bronzed Grackle,accompanied by a male cowbird, sought at times for food about our doors, during the storm. "The morning after the storm had ended I saw a Say's Pewee at one of the windows of the house in chase of a fly that was on the outside; and afterwards I saw him trying to secure one or two of these insects that were on the glass within doors. When the storm was raging I had seen him upon the ground, searching for food as ordinary[ground-dwellers do." Say Pewees (3'ayornis sayus), by the by, are often apt to receive their full measure of winter and rough weather, as they usually arrive in spring at the com- mencement of the third decade of April, or sometimes sooner, and individuals have been known to tarry until near the end of September. At Lake Creek; Mallards (Anus plalyrhynchos), Pintails (Zlafla acula), Canada Geese (15Iranlacan?denss), and Snow Geese (Chen hyperboreus) often winged their way through the air overhead. Various sandpipers, during rainy spells, frequently ventured into the dooryard at that place; the most familiar of these were the Least (Psobia rninutilla) and the Baird Sandpiper (Pisobia bairdi), and the Upland "Plover" (15Iarlramia longicauda). Curlews (Nurnenius ameri- canus), ofttimes whistled in the meadows. Sandhill Cranes ((]rus mexicana) flushed from the swamps, floated in the sky like boys' kites, sometimes spending hours in the air before venturing to earth again. Indeed, some persecuted birds must of necessity believe that the earth is no .place for them at all. The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herod/as), too, was met with now and again, and the Bittern (15Iolaurus lenliginosus) could be heard "pumping in the fens." More than this, he frequently approached very close to the houses on the marsh. When winter reigned, the Short-cared Owl (Asio flamrneus) and the Marsh Hawk (Circus hud- $onius), a-mousing in the meadows, were an essehtial part of the snowy landscape.