390 MASS. (Middlesex Co.) 1876. [Oct. 16] Wood Duck Archibuteo lagopus flushed two wood ducks from an old ject hole and killed the drake, cutting a cloud of feathers from the duck as he went off by charge of No. 12 being too fine to reach his life. Got back to the house at 12. B. kept on down to the School House piece and flushed six more cock making 13 in all. The country must have been full of troops to day. Small birds of all kinds were scarce to day. A few whirring half- frozen look red polls (D. palmarum) with a rather more numerous sprinkling of D. coronata were about all that I observed which were worthy of note. John Melvin started for the Cape this P.M. Tuesday Oct. 17 Last night clear and cool though without frost. Today cloudy with occasional sprinkling in forenoon beautifully clear & pleasant in P.M. Started immediately after breakfast and drove down to Balls with Bettink. Beat the ground one carefully but got up only one woodcock which B. missed. Afterwards I got a long shot at an Archibuteo lagopus and broke his wing. He was very fierce and showed dauntless courage but a vigorous compression of the lungs speedily ended his existence. Saw very few small birds except sparrows all of which still remain in abundance. The leaves in the marshes are now all down but on the upland the trees are still thickly clothed & the coloring brilliant. On th