Marston's Mills, Barstable Co., Mass. 1871 October Buffled grouse! the latter are much tamer here than at home frequently lying well out in open cover: upon shooting one down in a little glade in the woods a small hawk (Acipara?) stooped down apparently to pick it up when I shot him with the other barrel. The Quail on the Cape are all destroyed on the same winter of 1866-7 and the past year 500 were brought from Chicago and let out and from them came the present stock. Colaptes auratus and Sturnus, oragna are abundant; the farms as at H. Harris's broods in ice boxes. Landore, etc. we can frequently study them from the old weed grown fields and rye stubbles. The third day Oct. 26 being very windy we had but poor sport killing by Quail only and two Buffled grouse. Capriflora cuspidata is found on the island of Marshon's lighter five miles off and quahog grains have been turned out here but have not been either harmed from. I shot a Pelus albus that probably came from the North as its feathers were rather stained and two Brachypterus Cox, that I startled from a sandy beach over the shore. Bubo Virgin is common and breeds here; Goots do not fly in a peregratorial migration here as on the East coast but bed down during the Autumn in the Vineyard sounds. Shad shoot many ducks with deep trained gallops to drift back and forwards on the shore. Some thirty years ago Captain Baxter shot two large wild white Swans on a pond that he showed us: this out bears any nicer. Oct. 21st left for home this morning.