As ee eSkeer woven s any seh NS. Fed DVR OO Pe Mae VP xr en UY: 85 Ort pero Bama wey NVINOSHLIW NX , W SMITHSONIA NVINOSHLIW NVINOSHLIW NVINOSHLINS S3lYVYdIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN indir Ui NOILNLILSNI NOILNLILSNI NOILNLILSNI RARIES SMITHSONIAN NVINOSHLINS Saluvud INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI S3INVUGIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAI INSTITUTION INSTITUTION INSTITUTION LNLILSN! NVINOSHLINS S31YVYaIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN 4 A NVINOSHLINS S31YVYUSIT_LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN NVINOSHLIWS SS aN SMITHSONIAN SMITHSONIAN Gy, “oY F es 4 », a, RARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3Iu¥vVud ” z Ag = vk no a : o” uu AN uJ =. fy 3 ce ~ XK z av tf 2 < = 4 ~~ = tc Gy x ser oc 5 faved a aan 9 5 ~ iT, 4 oa ne 2 *\ ee INLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3IY¥VYdIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN Pte = es z ie ES Bs) Ly = eo) = ree) > Sh > 4 > See WS ie i : z \s 2 = re, a ON gai op z o RARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS SSIYVUE WSs LNLILSNI_NVINOSHLINS S3I1YVYaIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTI SMITHSONIAN ‘ fi NVINOSHLINS NVINOSHLIWS SMITHSONIAN NVINOSHLIWS es as pe he a uw = tg e GTN 0 ~ a a =a a < as < 65 e ae res = E om ~ = = Oo : > ro) rad re) z= ee =z J 2 -RARIES SMITHSONIAN SER eae NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S31uVus 2 pes ‘ea s) = i 5 E = WP" emery: ce pe Hee a om i a Sis BY s BR os i cal = ba vad rad a = VINOSHLIWS S3StYVYUEIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSALINGS Salavaadit LIORAN! - S = zs = = i ad > = 5 om - > - ca ie = = peat = = E = Z a = | o = on z 7) MITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLIWS Sa 1yYVvuad rit BRARI ES SMITESORIAN ITUTION z XN: o S = < — = < ae = EG §F F = = = SW 5, 5 3 a oO = : 4 : or 9 \ Op ” . n ” y 2 S o SS B23 bd ro) = re) = 2 = S} : = 4 = = = = - =2 M = * = aed oy a = a * a = ‘/ oe MITHSONIAN” INSTITUTION. NOILNLILSNI _NVINOSHLIWS ao 1uVvuad yt BRARI ES_ SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, NONI = = ° - *, 2 = = Yy a 2 _) S red YS = 2 = JY, 2 = = : a. = © Os > E . Po | ra Q \ i sid Ie ms 64 et a D m f m YS Zz m Z ae z YINOSHLING $31 uvua 15 BRARI ES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNE _NVINOSHLINS $3 ! uv ga a. B RAR! g . ; < = < = 2 = = = z =| z z 5 = re = 5 2 5 on ” . ” 2) ie a pe ke ws = 2 = Z, = = > = > = > = 2 a 3 * = 6 THSONIAN INSTITUTION MITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Pitino =" BRARI ES SMI = 0 Zz wd ww Ys a Ww y ae _ ae ® " li = THE OOLOGIST STUDENT OF BIRDS THEIR NESTS AND EGGS VOLUME XL. 273 *ra3 ALBION N.Y. and LACON, ILL. R. MAGOON BARNES, Editor and Publisher 1923 ILLUSTRATIONS NESTS AND EGGS BIRDS Nest and Eggs and Loon...... 21 Nest and Hggs of American Dip- Sand Hill Cranes............... 1 Ele seogdsouosoondqonsasedoor 44 Voune Kineiohers eee 19 ey Eggs of Solitary Sand 53 What Are They? (Caracaras).. 73 ONS A Wao oe nO REO obabipo o> 1 P HSU eee ee 115, 117, 118 Nest and Eggs of Pink-footed Bing pedous 5 @o0se ware coc. lee ere 99) Loa Florida Jay at Nest. -se-eeeeeee 189 Nest and Eggs of Snowy Heron 117 Nest and Hggs of Ruby-throated 197 PORTRAITS Hummingbird ............---. Oriole’s ING See eaaece areal oe ois 163 Karl A. Pember in Distress at Nesting Site of Solitary Sand- Duck Hawk’s Nest......... 78 DKS isla Secs aa coo oadoduom 54 Richard A. Harlow and A. D. Nesting Cliff of Pink-footed Henderson "5.22. @ eee 128 GOOSE .....-- eee eee ee eee 37 J. Warren Jacobs.............- 193 Facsimile of Gold Medal Di- EGGS ploma: |. 24 dace coe 195 Seventy Golden Hagle Eggs.... 160 Eggs of Caspian Tern......... 175 DaNDS Ce Hees Ob Jacana... -rieer 187 Home of the American Dipper.. 42 Hees of Red-tailed Hawk...... 196 Abbott, G. A. Entitled to Credit.............. 24 Passed On. sdisc..5. 08s eee 24 Wise Wout Ig@zGl cocaccoop005e8 33 They Are Never Cured......... 24 The 45th Anniversary at Boyd’s An Alaskan) etter)... = eee 33 Greek gees. cence eee eee ee 91 Indexing the Oologist.......... 40 Not Much Architecture Here... 118 The Newsic.cce es. eee 52 Bob White’s Quandry........-. 134 Passenger Pigeon... ... ssseee 57 A Vanishing Grouse............ 152 The Flight of the Gulls......... 58 Kero a IVEA THESE. cor-verstesnevereiererenens 179 More Cleckley oy, A 60 Blathyi eg i.daisis 6 see sang eee 63 Barnes, R. M. The Starling....2.2.2.88. seen 63 The Sale of John Lewis Childs’ Books Received......... 10, 139,172 Lbrany sakes SR oes eee 74 178, 201 MrommCanaidanneeneeeoer ere 77 Just a Few Choice Ones....... 14 The Murrelet. .¢ 50504. e.ee coer 19 Wouldn’t You Like To Go..,... 15 Adib gietocea seo Gunne 545A doo 0NS.05 79 THR OOLOGIST 8 Oh [EDS G0 2s Se esa ae eae 80 eee SCID EL. «sf icccle where ee ole 81 Scientific Snobbery............ 81 SNOT SAD a aiey ss xc cle soars vi0's 810 87 MSC AGS. 5c cee ci nsis spe sienie' 92 “Ornithologia Americana”...... 94 TO VTING St c= xs alee 'aialee io} sees 96 Another Prodigal Son Returns.. 102 Bartranian Sandpiper Going the Passenger Pigeon Route..... 105 Tea TTRN EWS cleo c oss be eee ee ss 107 Northern New York Winter PAROMELAT NUR oa) cue ssobei cial alalete sg isle 112 Ae Newsy Letter... 22. sci. wens 142 VTE SHULLLOD s.) scope sts @ ots 5 atela) 151 etm ACD HOLL se ofsis diel awd aie! dyeiteys 151 Aadational INGOs... osc... 6 6 se ss 156 The Results of Being Too Scien- tifically Scientific............ 167 Getting Farther Away......... 168 Sinise ee ear 171 An Interesting Experience..... 184 MOET o decle ce cw cee Hn ee eae 184 Weerand BIXCrCISe <<. s.-)s5 -os <<: 186 Barker, W. H. H. Can Snakes Charm Birds?...... 122 Beardsley, R. Dates and Notes of Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawk.... 96 Benners, G. B. Wermler-CaxiGeOrmist, ......002<.. 33 Bingham, H. B. Short-billed Marsh Wren in Can- PII PNERS eRe cree eis aie. Wale ovoid cole emaio atone 79 Bowles, J. H. Changes and Additions to A. O. lie Gheck List of:1910). 3... 11 Blincoe, B. J. PMG AL DIT OSS NGSbetcnd ouais sea: syns 36 Brannon, P. A. Bird Life at Fusihatchi Country br AST aD ATIVAN eye ee a tenn 0s. s 3 45 Bryant, H. C. Commission Favors Killing of the English Sparrow......... 153 Burtch, Verdi Kinefishems” \N@St «= sececserere « 31 Chace, L. W. European Starling Appears.... 29 A Hew Bird) Proplemsia-cs o.0ss 131 Autimnh “Migrations. «he... ss 165 OFriole UMStinet...6 2 eee cree 169 Cookman, A. Collecting in San Diego, Bay Resion Gy ear 23a: chee os 90 A Day Among the Oaks, Near Mt. El Capitan, San Diego Co., alits to ctioe-s sa ae eer nae 132 Recent Expedition to Los Coro- noda Islands, Mexico........ 176 Congreve, Major W. M. The Pink-footed Goose in Its Breeding Quarters........... 98 Day, GC: S: SOUL OW Sie fa severe ote coranst ale velerenaiancgeee 92 Dear, L. S. Nesting of the Mourning Warb- TSR ek ohn Sc tne 2 cena eres 149 Decker, F. R. Rare Warblers’ Nests......... 118 Donahue, R. J. The Food of the Young Hawk. 134 The Nesting of a Great Horned WN re pe ees rer ohotaslansca hig. «eer 135 Evans, Logan I. An Annotated List of Birds Ob- served in South Florida..... 2 A Grackle’s\ WessS0n.i. «6005.3 sen 51 Graham, R. Just As the Sun Went Down... 34 Plumbeows Chickadee... - on .aa- 58 ELUnGGT Sp ilettek sc, here eneuere tavoe 64 4 THE OOLOGIST “Will Woodpeckers Flush by Pounding Tree?”............. 110 The Meeting Tree.............. 111 A Tree of Mystery............ Giles, R. I. Black and White Warbler’s Nest 181 Grimes, S. A. Birds’ Nests I Found in 1922 and HUGG AAR son estos Rue Paris ne ei Yi hc 183 Greer, T. R. Brief Notes on the Blue Gray Gniat- Cache reer ces ore 1.30 Handsaker, R. The Short Hared Owl.......... 57 Harlow, J. EH. LlinoiswNOteSsaemeeeree aoe 140 A Storm Migration............ 147 Night Singing of the Yellow- breasted Chat................ 202 Henderson, A. D. Snown Owl and Coyote........ 31 Late Mallards........ pe ts oat 31 Crane Migration at Battle Prairie Peace River District. 47 Nesting of Solitary Sandpiper.. 55 Further Notes on the Nesting of the Great Gray Owl....... 126 Return of the Magpie......... 142 Canada Notes.................. 180 Nesting Habits of Broad-winged PL a wikesuintas ciao slave ak a le 182 Houston, Austin Lropicals Birdseye vane 61 Jacobs, Warren J. Evidence of Black-billed Cuckoo, Robbing Other Birds’ Nests and Some Scientific Facts Concerning the Coloration of Bar eV H Sess eeere et coe mee 8 Not Golden-fronted Woodpeck- CIS) SPOS ts sen ee On, ae ae Stee 35 Donstebo MT.) Meee wey Mega toy: 51 How Long Will They Last?.... 118 A Carefully Prepared Scientific Collection of Birds’ Hggs of Unique Historical Importance 191 Johnson, H. H. The ‘Cowbirds.... 220 eee eee 25 The Red-winged Black-bird..... 83 Kohler, L. S. Long-billed Marsh Wren....... 85 Night Singing of the Yellow- breasted Chat....2 5. seer 108 Chestnut-sided Warbler........ December 1922 in Richfield, N. J. 109 An Untimely Death............ 110 Nesting of the Goldfinch in 1922 in New Jers@ys22 2 ose 111 KallldeersinwNa ec neeeeeee 124 Lattin, F. H. The Starling... <.202) 42: eee 22 Lamb, C. C. In Lower California............ 102 Laurent, Philip 2,000 Birds for Princeton....... 57 Leach, J. A. Australian Nature Studies...... 12 Lee, R. M. California Observations........ 27 Lewis, J. G. Experiences in Benton Co., Ark. 58 Note Book Notes............... 133 Meyers, H. E. Mexican Jacana................ 186 Miller, R. F. Nesting of The Cooper Hawk in PHIL} eo ad cae ee oe ee 61 The *Carnages. oes . os sce cette 16 The Florida Gallinule in Phil. ins Winter:< sae) esac wore 111 The Loon in Penn. and N. J. in SUMIMEN 65.'c see uso ancker eateries 112 THE OOLOGIST 5 The Unusual Nesting Site of the Chipping Sparrow............ 152 ate Swallows at Phil.....:.... 166 Fish Hawk Kills Robin?....... val More, L. L. IPDS GEVELEIONS!.. «.5.0 vx cee 6 acrerate p's « 30 McMullen, T. E. ToGo WV ALDIO?D. <5 oc ccieie se geen 201 Morse, G. W. Friend Morse Emulates “Ye RMR E ET ibe och ahar a! eter oid al Ss) cvorar er’ 152 Neff, J. A. Owl Sits on Broadway......... 60 reac Cardinal Weersy: co. . s/s. 148 Notes: from: Ozark Mt..::....<.. 161 The Woodcock in Missouri..... 179 Ozark Apartment Houses...... 201 Neilson, James A. Wheat Land Wyoming Birds... 70 Notes on Killdeer in South- Bastern WYOMING. 1... 26k 2.6 13 Screech Owl’s Eggs............ 156 Notes on White-throated Swift. 158 Nicolls, O. C. C. VIRGTIS CATIG VV AT. © vic. +o sue ccrese, 6's 48 Patton, F. A. Nesting of the Richardson PeI CON Ea W Ki. atics.c «0,5. sc wieiere als Pahrman, C. F. Red-shouldered Hawk.......... Peabody, P. B. Haunts and Habits of Yellow- SEDAN eee iets wicte eee arses wee Concerning Datas Bronze Grackle Mass Meetings. 192 The Birds That Come and Go... 123 Checkmating the Parasite...... 141 Pember, K. A. DUCK -hAwWKiana.2 esi orto. eens Ut Falco Percgunus Anatum...... 82 Perry. eh Db: Acadian web ly Gatehers cae. 4-041. 80 Peters, A. S. Bird Notes from Ward Co., N. Dakotart sa. ca osetia ee 108 Rambling in N. Dakota........ 106 Prilebr, Ay G: Cinclus Mexicana-Am. Dipper.. 43 Pilquist, G. E. Pileated Woodpecker........... 107 Pierce, H. F. Walldeer-in} ONIO: 23.5. c.cae eae ee 141 Price, Ligon My First Colleeting. jes. sch: 129 Raine, Walter The Bhtte 'GOOSCO. 666.2 se eee oe 142 Rowe, M. S. The Piasa Bird, an Indian PGGL ONG es ON Sul atdiore s\oaveteraretene e 137 Redick, K. T. Spheniscus Demersus.......... 114 Short, E. R. The: Starling ja Gtie whan: 22 Short, E. H. Two Notable Records.......... 108 Strong. T. A. No Idlers Among the Birds..... 43 Strong, W. A. Batre: Sets «2 scces.crootersteraetre 64 Wild Ducks Make Oakland WOERTINOUIS 9 oete are eter ol at attchetadehastoteee Tee 88 6 THE OOLOGIST Trapping the Feathered Ma- rauders of the Fields........ 136 Stoner, H. A. Sparrow Hawk’s Bill of Fare.... 105 Stuart, EH. T. Jr. Trip to Delaware.............. 59 Shallenberger, J. K. land Maw eke wigs sec. 0 cee eee 106 Shufeldt, Dr. R. W. Nesting of the Caspian Tern and the Snowy Heron........... 174 Vos Burgh, Geo. W. H. SPring hc ea See 100 Birds Like Old Homes......... 137 From the Page of an Old Diary ISTS ities Ub ee 143 Series of Eggs of the Killdeer.: 154 Bank Swallows................ 159 A Long-winded Whippoorwill... 166 Ornithological World........... 166 Wilson, H. S. A Montana List............... 151 Williams, R. W. Further Notes on the Birds of Smith AP. Goochland Co., Virginia..... 15 Don Jose C. Zeledin........... 167 Widman, O. Snyder, L. H. The Monarch Butterfly........ 183 Systematic Bird Study......... 170 Wood, James . Winter Residents at Northville, Swot Wy Mich. (1.5 oe 29 PAI UM'S Peru cna Ae eo, etapa ae 96 Wolf, L. R., Lieut. Strode, Dr. W. S. A Perfect: Day 052) oe 48 California Roadrunner.......... 146 Ruby-throated Humming Bird.. 181 Wright, C. F. An Hasterner Gone West...... 59 Tabor, E. G. Swans ./oc0..2.) oe eee 104 Our Loon Plates, 4-0. s45s2 oe 24 Young, D. T. Tufts, R. W. Notes from Benton Co., Ar- A Belated Swallow... ......... 36 kansas, The Land of a Million A Unique Bird Tragedy........ 47 Birds: 2.2: :20ees cas eee 31 BIRDS Ani, Groved-billed .............. 67 : Meadowlark ................005 96 Albinos Robin (eet. ee es See . 96 COOL: Bai. ee ee Eee 96 ADIN GA “shi.2 ss ete eee setines 3, 46 THE O01 0GIST 7 PATI GRGAL S.:6 crocs eR ee eh twas dpe 198 Rea ESIST UREN eS tte ci cioe ahs cue ayetaterecieceus 198 ATHELICAM «55.0200. 8, 45, 65, 71, 100 [Less Sie! ee ee oni 3, 65 Blackbird ...22, 29, 31, 33, 48, 60, 100 MT ECTONOU. os sic Arete ae 620d o's gee ere 68 Brewer’s ..28, 68, 102, 132, 141, 151 Redwing ...17, 25, 28, 45, 46, 58, 59 68, 71, 83, 100, 104 131, 132, 135, 151 PVCu P sy LOLTIG AS ss. sie so 5 0s oye 6 Redwing, Northwestern........ 68 Redwing, Thick-billed.......... 68 Redwing, San Diegan......... 27, 68 Redwing, Sonoran....... 68, 102, 153 FERRI cteda a tine 's, 2 ioin(s 1s AN RIRLORLO SIS = 104 Yellow-headed ........ 27, 28, 68, 71 102, 104, 151 EMI! .2.'. 2.5 8, 18,.25, 48, 45, 46 58, 59, 63, 70, 100, 131 140, 165, 166, 167, 183 WS 000) 2 ee 70, 72 SOMETIME copes. cans ord is uatis i's she etejeie 28, 70 Seat COLOR) a okra e ate lerew ole lec Rterae's 70 FESCUE ee 5 or skal cfare) overdo s 6, 25, 68, 79, 83 104, 141, 166 Bobwhite ........ 15, 30, 46, 59, 65, 71 134, 135, 161, 183 MAINO PPEL EU cheteter ct s)isse) «\'c\'ehs “e's 0 she 0 4, 65 RUDI MINES 2 RIE 6 Rois. /aite ene. oie @ oda 4, 0.00. cies 143 Witch Oe Oe ee 46, 58, 68, 140 MATAR etal ts ttc SealetetaNe fee e's sjace, os 68, 72 BEAD rwetetees ais chee cnees = cos, « ak 28, 72 RarOUTMG Cbsscanenetsictarels al. sira,fa 's\,01 186 RAMESH ULC Ms co apstaicieiars c\sielare, coe tohe 186 SHOTEADIULCG: oc cca vee 3 soe) fue sys 34 RES HRESEVAG cicxcye-c,s , che cis teva syeisrelenets 91, 176 LAWS Lace. ss 9, 38, 60, 76, 129 Broad-winged ...... 16, 55, 126, 127 129, 182 Cooper’s .... 16, 38, 60, 61, 66 76. 926103, 134, 1407" 151 Matis. s ace ose 33, 66, 76, 82 PANTER EMEP IS) Sy cyccks aosavcidsr svete: ove el atm t71, U8 MEQEELVUE sca ayerace. es 6 se = 127, 151, 182 BEMIS RBar + execs se! 15a shane) She, ares 66, 153 Marsh'- ss... 5, 46, 59, 60, 66,- 71 104, 106, 109, 201 MPs MAIYNRES cs chiccc ata Bhs ast ievexs foyer « in leieae 66 Merlin... Richardson... .s.< -<...s 106 URE FE Oe ne Ae eR se ty beeen 66 RE LOTS ava ciais ayarcie sistaysiiass-omwahe 104, 107 Brainiac: Malconete. a. « .33.iahe sano ads Seb lbs Grasshopper ss.5.. kee 7, 104 Grasshopper, Western.......... 72 Tear cos Said See ee UBS ark Western... ss. 5 soe oe 72, 153 LANCO I sat oe cuss. Pere eee 68 Dusley,. ‘Seaside. 432. .c.2.. 5 eee 102 INGIS OMAN. en atic oe Ree eee 141 SAWAWAy <6 on ce 17, 25, 46, 79, 83, 166 Shanp-tailed is aac cctdactaacee 68 SONG eases 17, 25, 63, 100, 106 109, 131, 141, 166 S Wants. i.0 ite lotto 17, 68, 166 ELOGS SAR it ty Met e Aor 8 109 Tree; Western’ 632.555 54 24 ee 33 Savana: "Nevada... ..0.5..0.00. ilil Viespergi i) Sean in eas 3S Sle 140, 166 Vesper, Western ::: 3.622262... 72 White-crowned .......... 7, 100, 102 White-throated ...... 17, 50, 59, 140 Western, Grasshopper. ........ 12, Mellow-erowned =. =n 33 Pines’ Wiwodecen tse ae te ae 183 Starlinion Ae ee So oe eae Mie 22a HURODEA Gee tres ree 29, 46, 63 Stilt Blaek-necked! %))./.1./.).).catenee 2 29 SNOW HAKG iar. sayelersi: crear 45, 180 Siskin 1B Daley Mere tak 9 irs tees een 47, 68 12 SovallOw: sac ooo oe ce ele ene 25, Banke 2223 eees 7, 68, 72, 91, 151, 162, 164, 165, 166, Barn ee." ie ASB, 1s 103, 140, 165, Chimneys nee oe- eee 45, CUES OR EERE Te 35. 58s 2, 92; Rough-winged ..... 7, 45, 46, 68, 162, AMES) Sonos 25.28, 36, 68, 12, alot: White-bellied .............----- Si AUT Pe ENR eRe ue ie EO LIES Coase DiiouOL clOlc 16, Beret tinct cers ee eee alot roel meets Chimney ....... 6, 10, 25, 46, 121, 158, 162, White-throated ............ 158, Shifln) sodocseoonesonoddqoo ome 33, \WWADTSENIES™ Book oboodonoueecocded (ANNIE page ceo do0udlcGacDo ddd LOUIE: GaoooonodosoUnOooUuda Serial (2) Rae aeenerecd eee Gham aronona ecerarciore iid c Summer .......... 7, 45, 46, 92, WWESTOTIG sate ereteeuencictorvenetoreie telettehe NG TM tetsre Cassese camels elaketvatenes 2, 46, INT CEU sw aad bso Ene ced es ol ebeleerolonewel IBIaCKk ieee 27, 29, 64, 149, 151, CHRON sacodsosasecoo0d0c 74, MOA tid Sess A Ra ears eer 30, Dauasher: eecies. sckasecie 43, 147, (CRibiOImiK, Ss5 50s cose o do 69, Brown ....7, 17, 45, 46, 58, 72, 100, 104, 166, Curved-billed ...........-...... SIGNS), Se aula ceca ore rere aid i bids oc SEnMeLUS Mes reer eae ie a euaevee sere MONIC) 8s Bor oeieereachne eee aic enmiora crcio'd o DAU Clemente te takai tetuter ark cusnofrene fai eventos STA OOh a aa Anon. c's ee nec On 70, GTR ES Ae ere o.o Gd augioo Oo Red-winged ........ Ee Rat OSG WOO die soinialc .%: 4 vic cccreyoreeeaein rors 176 ING ak CPA Sarees ok hie oe eee a Wie Teetarsta vole Srasiarcioncee eons ie Oo WESTGI Mo eicie a oo sa Sacer ono 29 Western; HOUSG: io oe on oe 695) tz Western Winters. ccicck cack eh 69 Yellow-throat BOLO ttc a cckey eo ta tee alee 103 LONI ames resist vccate ersiencin eine. ciate i Maryland! = tts. een 69, 131, 140, 164 INOPUBBEM. etn. s Geli oe aoe 69; 72 NUL ee ere ore sae sal aPakenelote ave Pea 103 WIGSUERIN Ts 3. ci cla camerece me tererate 72, 151 FOREIGN BIRDS PAT Gey MOUS Na espareete chy s ee atatete ol i ataremen xe HEV,.CAUCB OR art scdecayevists oxatorn lave niavarets 62 Goose, Pinkfooted! :.cs.i. 56s oc 98 SUSE IME fic asd x a's Sc" aw arate a 62 RIEU PUTTN ss raewatteyers aes bikes «alee. ioe 63 WE CRW, ies syarenc: cal ccastata, vineke oie asereears 62 PUROVORENIVG 6 Fai5 Saas ad apis akan ets x Si 63 (ig a | a Ne gen aan aan mae ge 61, 62 PAT OCICS todiostate vcs. ncieien sale ee ok 62 POTEGMEDY 2 5a. ya c,ayee ee Re eay%, Sasa entra ed 114 MOUGAN | Sasreniels rersretenateta ave eee ertne 62 PUREST 9's cu ydie grat wate st wtrdig pete. aa wore 63 MNO Sem tevecyslctaticccrste sta vo rnekoearare o 63 WiOOd DECKER 2. occ s Se.5s seyneseen sd elacare 61 Tel Be ‘Be. =f tte 7 ¢ e ‘gd Seed ty * ~ “4 ve é 43 “ = . onan ws } wo i 7 ¢ . ‘ - a fy TA Piped ‘ " < veg « . Sy ‘ ‘Se \ t Pee ae ee F Peay ' 7 Bs & ; . se eve? J aed we © eee Owa ¥ eae wee ey ee az z © © «Fe 0/06 See ete y eee oe b ‘ $1: Oi 2 Have Sa. + oe ‘gat vn at a's io ae - gta S ih AWS: LS ee ae | 4: bre "y ae tet} 0 a ‘ . < * I 4 ' c ¢ ‘ fie’ a ee aie ‘ by Le ae ‘ 1 « ' sire Ls ; a - 4 Sah aa eres? " lao vay PaaS in FES : je F ol i ore ve ve Jue rue be ee a ¢ A wwe ieee Pi 4.0 8 . . wis se¥ ge | Bihels aie < eo tponeae een © Ure 1 Ue OE M4 nome inres nA ote os - ake nal primer iy. i ee rag rienonaee ’ a iar aE? ‘ Py ae Me ry ie wink ‘ Aen Case eD faeinee > THE QOOLOGIST. BIRDS--NESTS--EGGS TAXIDERMY Voie kb, JNO; 1. AMBION ON. Yi. oSAN?s 219295: WHOLE No. 429 Ae > y ~ Daas ef | ‘shh <“9na] Muse - THE OOLOGIST BRIDE SPEROIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Wanted, Exchange, for each 26 words for one issue; eaeh additional word 1 cent. serted for less than 25 cents. For Sale, Htc., inserted in this department at 35 qents No noticé ifn- We will advertise the skins, nests, eggs, or mounted specimens of North Amer- iean Birds for sale for persons having a lawful authority under the law to deal in the same. These columns are for the use of those desiring to make bona fide exchanges of such specimens for scientific collecting purposes only.—HDITOR. FOR SALE or EXCHANGH—Butter- flies of New Hngland for California Butterflies. T. Love, Collector, 105 Grove, Lynn, Mass. FOR EXCHANGE—Stamp collection —ahbout 5000 stamps. Will exchange for common sets. Write. Johnson Neff, 1110 Paquin St., Columbia, Missouri e DATA BLANKS—I will print 500 Standard Data Blanks with your. name on them for $1.50 postpaid. Hdward S. Coombs, 233 Washington St., Malden, Massachusetts. FOR SALH—Many complete volumes of The Oologist, and rare and out of print bird publications, cheap for cash. A. H. Schytze, Austin, Texas. Box 302. WANTED — University of Wyoming bulletin No. 55. The Birds of Wyoming, by Prof. Knight. Will pay cash or ex- change. James A. Neilson, Wheatland, Wyo. WANTED to hear from _ collectors having sets of eggs or Bird Skins to dispose of. Cash or exchange. C. F. Pahrman, 1011 Fourth St., La Porte, Ind. JOHN LORANG, Genesee, Idaho. Col- lector of Idaho Birds eggs, also Bird and Animal Skins for mounting pur- poses. For sale or exchange. A black Squirrel Skin Mounted. For Disposal, Over 150 back issues of the Young Oologist and Oologist. Half of them: prior to 1900 and including ten issues of the rare Vol. 1, 1884. Fred M. Dille, Valentine, Nebraska. FOR SALE—Auk, 1918 and 1920, vol- umes complete, $1.50 each, prepaid. Wilson bulletin, 1920 volume, 90c. Bi- ological Bulletin 17 and 389 also. Fred Pierce, Winthrop, Lowa. In addition to eggs in sets IT am making a cosmopolitan collection of singles. Must have accurate data thor- oughly identified. Offer skins, eggs, or cash. A. W. Hanaford, R. R. 9, Box 1210. Los Angeles, Cal. “Beginners Luck’’—A eollection of 75 varieties, eggs in sets, at a bargain. Common and not common; a good start for a collector. Also a Woodpecker and sapsucker, group of fifteen varie- ties, very reasonable. and prices. Fred Dille, Valentine, Nebr. FOR SALE or BXCHANGHE—After two years and a half in storage, I have now unpacked my library, bird and mammal collections, and have for sale many duplicate books and O. & O. pub- lications. Also will exchange bird and mammal skins from this section and sets of raptors, finches and jays. Harold H. Bailey, Miami Beach, Zoo’l Park and Museum of Natural History, Miami Beach, Florida. Send for lists ~ FOR SALE or EXCHANGE for Eggs —Birds of Eastern Canada—Taverner,; Birds of New York, two vols.—Haton,; Birds of a Maryland Farm—Judd; Com- parative Oology of N. A. Birds—Schu- feldt; Book of Birds, 250 col. plates— Henshaw; Catalog of Birds of Kansas —Goss; History of Birds of Kansas— Goss; Check list of Birds of New York —Farr; Birds of South Dakota—Over and Thoms; Key to Land Mammals of northeastern N. A.—Miller; Catalog of Birds of Kansas with description of nests and eggs—Goss; Raptorial Birds of Iowa; A Portfolio of 106 col. plates of Birds of Fuertes. Lieut. L. R. Wolfe, 26th U. S. Infantry, Plattsburg, N. Y. I have for EXCHANGE sets of eggs of the following species, A. O. U. Nos.: Pe Gee IRE Aa, al, PH. Al, Bs, 29, 30, 30a, 31, 31a, 32, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44, 47, 48, 51, 53, 54, 58, 59, 63, 65, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 80, 81, 81.1, 83, 86, 86a, 104, 106, ae alle alba alilby, alalayal, ilil/, 20), 2, 127, 128, 132, 134, 135, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 150, 160, 167, 169, 172, 172a, 172¢, 174, 178, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, Gils IES alate alo ale, LEN, RS, INL. Barnes, Lacon, Ill. Get a CATALOG Before they are All Gone They ave going bery fast. Less than 100 copies are left. THE OOLOGIST. Vou. XL. No.1 ALBION, N. Y., JAN., 1928. WHOLE No. 429 Owned and Published Monthly, by R. M. BARNES, Albion, N. Y., and Lacon, IIl. TAKE NOTICE. SUBSCRIPTION 50 CENTS PER YEAR Examine the number on the wrapper of your Oologist. If it corresponds with the Whole No. above it denotes that your subscription expires with this issue. Remember we must be notified if you wish it discontinued and all arrearages must be paid. Entered as second class matter December 21, 1903, at the post office at Albion, N. Y., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. Sand Hill Cranes, 10 Days Old. June 10-22. Warner Lakes, Oregon—A. G. Prill. 186 To Hee AN ANNOTATED LIST OF BIRDS OBSERVED IN SOUTH FLORIDA The following is a list of birds ob- served by the writer during the period from November 1920 to July 1922 in- clusive, during my tour of duty at the Army Air Service Station at Carlstrom Field, situated about seven miles south and east of Arcadia, Florida. These notes are not the result o: painstaking study but rather the casual notes jotted down while on brief fishing or hunting trips, and in- spired by the abundance of bird life or perhaps more accurately the facili- ty of observation afforded by individ- uals of the species noted by reason of their numbers and their seeming lack of fear at the approach of humans. The localities visited are included between the 28th and 26th parallels of north latitude, and from the Gulf coast on the west at Punta Gorda to the western shore of Lake Okechobee on the east; comprising Fisheating Creek, Charlotte Harbor, Sugar Bowl City, Peace River, Caloosahatchee River, Prairie Creek, and various other small marshes and streams, included in the counties of DeSoto, Polk, Lee, Punta Gorda, and offers a typical cross section of South Florida. De Soto County which is representa- tive of all the territory visited has much typical Savanna landscape, ex- tensive stretches of level flat land covered with wild grasses and low growths of Saw Palmetto, with many flats or small marshes which are covered with pools of shallow water in which marsh vegetation grows abundantly, these pools or marshes are bordered by tall clumps of sage grass, and support cat-tail rushes, blue flags, water lilies, and pickerel weed which makes good breeding sites for Rails, and hunting grounds for Herons, Ibis, etc., and usually to one side of these O70 EE OFGIINS: th marshes is found a clump of oak, ald- er, myrtle and willow in which the Night Herons find refuge. On the open prairie the most strik- ing features of bird life are the Sand- hill Cranes, Florida Burrowing Owl, and Southern Meadowlark. Occasional “islands” of pine forest varying from a few acres to several Square miles invade the prairie and break the monotony of the flat level grassland. “Hammocks” or clumps of live oaks, cabbage palms, and other arboreal growth are a distinctive feat- ure of this country. Along the rivers and smaller streams are belts of forest, composed on the outer edge of pines, and an inner zone of palms, tupelo, oak and cypress, the different trees predominating accord- ing to the nature of the soil and other conditions so that one finds groves composed exclusively of palms in one place and in others nothing but cy- press. The pine forests are open and light with a carpet of grass and saw palmetto, while the palm groves have bare floors or little growth and the tupelo and.cypress are usually swampy with little or no undergrowth; inter- spersed among these are thickets of alder, myrtle, scrub oak and green- brier. The larger trees are all hung with streamers of Spanish moss which gives the cypress and pine groves a splendid cathedral effect, while the presence of air plants and trumpet creepers in the trees along the streams remind one that this is the tropics. 1. A. O. U. No. 6. Podilymbus podi- ceps, Pied-billed Grebe. Often seen in small open pools, locally called “dappled Diver,” observed every month in the year. 2. A. O. U. No. 70. Sterna hirundo, Common Tern. Seen at Tampa, Ft. lone OcO EO Gl *S i 187 Meyers and Punta Gorda. Not com- mon. 3. A. O. U. No. 80. Rynchops nigra- black Skimmer. Quite a number seen at Clearwater, near Tampa, July 1922. 4. A. O. U. No. 118. Anhinga anhin- ga, Water Turkey. First seen (two specimen) Oct. 18, 1921, July 16, 1922 while motoring from Tampa to Ar- cadia in a shallow pool by a phosphate mine near Mulberry, Flordia. We saw four anhingas, two were in the water with only their heads and a length of neck showing snake-like and other two were perched cn some old piles evidently drying their feathers aftera prolonged immersion, for they sat motionless with extended wings and spread tails. We stopped beside one of the latter that was near the road perhaps ten yards from us, and watched it for some time, at length wishing to see it in flight with some difficulty we flushed the bird, but it flew only a few yards squawking a protest at being disturbed, then in- considerately flopped into the water and disappeared after a few moments. However, its head appeared above water; then some of its neck. By its motions we could tell that it was walk- ing on the bottom of the pool with its body submerged and head and neck sticking out. 5. A. O. U. No. 120a. Phalacrocorax auritus ciccinatus, Florida Cormorant. This species seen at Punta Gorda April 1921 and Tampa July 1922. GaeaAn. ©. U. No: 125. Pelecanus erythrorynchos, White Pelican. Quite common along the coast. 7. A. O. U. No. 126. Pelecanus oc- cidentalis, Brown Pelican. Quite com- mon along the coast, but not so tame as the White. 8. A. O. U. No. 128. Fregata aquila, Man-o’-war-bird. First seen May 30 1921. Afterward seen in large num- bers at Crescent Beach near Fort Meyers. I saw this bird do a tailspin in approved airplane fashion. 9. A. O. U. No. 134a. Anas fulvigula maculosa, Florida Duck, resident May 14, 1921. The enlisted men of the Medical Department at the Field cap- tured five downy young of this species in one of the drain ditches on the Field. 10. A. O. U. No. 139. Nettion caro- linense, Green-winged Teal. Quite common in fall migration. 11. A. O. U. No. 148. Dafila acuta, Pintail. Common in migration. 12. A. O. U. No. 144. Aix Sponsa, Wood Duck. A pair of these beautiful Ducks were killed near the Field by a local hunter in the winter of 1921-22. 13. A. O. U. No. 148. Marila marila, Scaup Duck. Many seen at all times of the year at Punta Gorda. 14. A. O. U. No. 184. Guara Alba, White Ibis. Many seen. (5s 2 O.. Us No. dss. SMycteria Americana, Wood Ibis. Often seen. A huge flock seen near Lake Okechobee, Dec. 1920. 16. A. O. U. No. 190. Botaurus len- tiginosus, Bittern. Often seen. 17, “A. Os U. No, 1912 Ixobrychus exilis, Least Bittern. One seen April 1922. Hs.” A. “Os UW. Nov 4294p. ‘Ardea: herodias Wardii. Ward’s Heron. Very common. 19. A.O. U. No. 199. Herodias EKeretta, Egret. Few seen at intervals. 20. A. O. U. No. 199: Hydranassa tricolor ruficollis, Louisiana Heron. Often seen. Zt. AS Off Up Nor 200 hlorida caerulea, Little Blue Heron. Common. Po AS (©) Ui. Noy 201k” Butormdes virescens virescens, Green Heron. Many seen especially in the late sum- mer. 23. A. O. U. No. 202. Nycticorax nycticorax naevius, Black-crowned Night Heron. Common about all the 188 marshes. 94. A. O. U. No. 203. Nyctanassa violacea, Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Not so common as the foregoing species. One seen feeding at the kitchens of the soldiers mess in the spring of 1922. 25. A. O. U. No. 206. Grus mexi- cana, Sandhill Crane. Abundant at all times. Called “Sandhill Whooper” locally and sought for food. 26. A. O. U. 207. Aramus vociferus, Limpkin. Several seen. 27. A. O. U.No. 208. Rallus elegans, King Rail. Several seen. 28. A. O. U. No. 212. Rallus vir- ginianus, Virginia Rail. One seen. 99. A. O. U. No. 218. JIonornis mar- tinicus, Purple Gallinule. Several seen in 1922. 30. A. O. U. No. 219. leata, Florida Gallinule. in 1922. 31. A. O. U. No. 221. cana, Coot. Okechohbee. 32. A. O. U. No. 230. delicata, Wilson’s Snipe. in the winter. 33. A. O. U. No. 254. Totanus me- lanoleucus, Greater Yellowlegs. Sev- eral seen Dec. 1920. 34. A. O. U. No. 255. Totanus fla- vipes, Yellowlegs. Many seen. Gallinula ga- Several seen Fulica ameri- Huge flock seen near Gallinago Many seen 35. A. O. U. No. 261. Bartramia longicauda, Upland Plover. Many seen. 36. A. O. U. No. 263. Actitis ma- cularia, Spotted Sandpiper. Few seen in the winter of 1920-21. 37. A. O. U. No. 270. Squatarola squatarola, Black-bellied Plover. Two seen in fall of 1921. 38. A. O. U. No. 2738. Oxyechus vo- ciferus, Killdeer. Abundant in the spring on the prairies. 39: A. O. U. No. 289a. Coliuns vir- ginianus, Floridanus, Florida Bob- white. Very abundant at all times; THE OOLOGIST the shooting season finds many hunt- ers afield all through the season and many are the limit bags brought in but for all the slaughter the number of birds seem to remain the same. One covey of about 20 birds lived in the va- cant lots across the street from our house during the autumn of 1921 and fed in our yard afternoons, often be- ing seen crossing the paved street while motor cars were passing. 40. A. O. U. No. 310b. Meleagris gallopavo osceola, Florida Turkey. This noble game bird is still found in slowly diminishing numbers, diminish- ing because of the fact that many are killed during the summer months, when fledglings. At this age the young poults may be broiled and are very good cooked in this way. I was in- formed by one hunter that he killed 77 young turkeys in the summer of 1921. June 20, 1922 while motoring from Fort Meyers to Arcadia via “The Woods Road” we came upon a pair of old Turkeys and eighteen young feed- ing in an open space in the cypress woods. The old Turkeys were apparent- ly not much alarmed and moved off about twenty yards where they stopped and stood motionless observ- ing us intently, the young fully feathered and perhaps half grown, continued to feed among the bunches of sage grass apparently unconscious of our presence. The old birds stood this about five minutes and then did a regular movie ‘fadeout” but the youngsters were in sight about fifteen minutes before their quest for food took them out of range of vision. 41. A. O. U. No. 316. Zenaidura macroura carolinensis, Mourning Dove. Very abundant at all times of the year and hunted in season as a game bird. They congregate around fields of grain and in chufa fields in huge flocks and it is there that the sportsmen go to tee Oren kL Org ii Si shoot them. They furnish very good sport as they fly very fast and require a direct hit to come down. Their flesh is considered very good to eat and for this reason they are hunted. 42. A. O. U. No. 320. Chaempelia paserina terrestris, Ground Dove. Very common at all times of the year. 43. A. O. U. No. 325. Cathartes aura septentrionalis, Turkey Vulture. Very common at all times and every- where. Not so tame perhaps as the next species, but to be seen associat- ing in flocks with the Black Vulture. uly 27, 1922 one of these birds swooped down in the pine woods back of the house where we were living at the time and rose almost instantly with a four foot black snake in its beak, hold- ing the writhing snake firmly by the head the Vulture rose quickly to a few hundred feet altitude and swept away followed by two other Vultures who had seen him make the capture. 44. A. O. U. No. 326. Catharista uruba, Black Vulture, ubiquitus. Asso- ciated with the preceding species, they act as scavengers for all refuse of any kind that is left exposed for any time. On the open range these birds are found feeding with the Tur- key Vultures and Caracara. 45. A. O. U. No. 327. Elanoides forficatus, Swallow-tailed Kite. Three specimen seen June 20, 1922 in a cy- press swamp while motoring from Fort Meyers to Arcadia, and judging by their actions and the presence of a nest in a nearby tree I assumed that they were nesting there. These birds at this time gave us a wonderful ex- hibition of their flying ability, ‘‘zoom- ing,” side-slipping, and rolling, all the time uttering their cackling notes. 460° A. O:- US Nor sal? Cireus* hud= sonius, Marsh Hawk. Very common. Seen nearly every day skimming over the prairie in search of food. 47. A. O. U. No. 332. Acciptervelox, 189 Sharp-shinned Hawk. One seen in Ar- cadia chasing Sparrows. 48. A. O. U. No. 337. Buteo bore- alis, borealis, Red-tailed Hawk. Often seen circling over the woods. 49. No. 339a. Buteo lineatus alleni, Florida Red-shouldered Hawk. Seen along nearly every ditch or crawfish pool hunting food. One set of two eggs taken in April 1921. 50. A. O. U. No. 342. Buteo swain- soni, Swainson’s Hawk. One seen in the spring of 1922. 51. A. O. U. No. 357. Falco colum- baris columbaris, Pigeon Hawk. One seen. 52. A. O. U. No. 360c. Falco spar- verius paulus, Little Sparrow Hawk. Many seen at all tines. ips As Os Ul, INO. ears cheriway, Audubon’s Caracara. seen nests in January. 54. A. O. U. No. 364. Pandion haliaetus carolinensis, Osprey. Many seen. One nest seen near Punta Gor- da in 1921. Three nests occupied in same locality in 1922. All huge nests in dead pine trees on borders of a small stream called “Shell Creek.” 55. A. O. U. No. 365. Aluco pratin- cola, Barn Owl. One seen near Okecho- bee Dec. 1920. Polyborus Often 56. A. O:-U:,.No..368a, “Strixavaria alleni, Florida Barred Owl. Several seen at different times. bis AL Os We No: 3isa.— Otlussasio floridanus, Florida Owl. Common one nested in porch pillar in Arcadia. 58. A. O. U. No. 378a. Speotyto cunicularia floridana, Florida Burrow- ing Owl. Nests in every available place on the prairie. Several nests on the flying field in the summer of 1921. 59. A. O. U. No. 387. Coccyzus americanus americanus, Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Often seen in the vicinity of orange groves. 60. A. O. U. No. 390. Ceryle Alcy- on, Belted Kingfisher. A conspicuous 190 Object near every ditch and pool where minnows are to be found. 61. A. O. U. No. 3938b. Dryobates villosus auduboni, Southern Hairy Woodpecker. One seen in our yard in Arcadia. 62. A. O. U. No. 395. Dryobates Borealis, Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Several seen in our yard in Arcadia. These birds would come and thorough- ly inspect the pine trees in our yard, beginning at the bottom of the tree and working upward, then when finished with a tree they would fly to another where the same performance would be repeated. 638. A. O. U. No. 405. Phloectomus Pileatus, Pileated Woodpecker. A pair seen June 20, 1922. 64. A. O. U. No. 406. Melanerpes erythrocephalus, Red-headed Wood- pecker. Seen in all localities visited this noisy bird always in evidence. 65. A. O. U. No. 409. Centurus carolinus, Red-bellied Woodpecker. Often seen in the woods. G6 PAGO! > W. INo; 412: auratus auratus, Flicker. Often seen in all localities. Frequently the Flick- ers came down in our yard in town and spent some hours digging in the ant hills that infested the ground. Colaptes 67. A. O. U. No. 416. Antrostomus carolinensis, Chuck-will’s Widow. Many heard. 68. A. O. U. No. 420b. Chordeiles virginianus chapmani, Florida Night- hawk. A great many of these birds were seen at all times of day. 69. A. O. U. No. 423. Chaetura Pelagica, Chimney Swift. A few seen in Arcadia. 70. A. O. U. No. 428. Archilochus colubris, Ruby-throated Hummingbird. One seen in Arcadia June 10, 1921. 71. A. O. U. No. 444. tyrannus, Kingbird. pecially around towns. 72. A. O. U. No. 445. Tyrannus Often seen es- Tyrannus tT HE. © 0 CL O.GuItsS st dominicensis, Gray Kingbifd. One seen July 16, 1922 at Clearwater Beach. 73. A. O. U. No. 452. Myiarchus crinitus, Crested Flycatcher. Quite often heard and often seen . One pair tried to nest in one of the downsprouts of the house where we lived in Ar- cadia. In May 1921 three attempts were made but the occurrence of rains brought their plans to naught each time. On their first attempt the nest was completed and egg laid. The second time four eggs were laid when a rain washed nest and eggs out. The third trial got only as far as the com- pletion of the nest when it was washed out. The patient birds then gave up that place as an undesirable location and after a time departed from that neighborhood. These birds built their nests out of dried grasses and of course the usual lining of snakeskin. 74. A. O. U. No. 461. Myiochanes virens, Wood Pewee. Few seen. 75. A. O. U. No. 477a. Cyanocitta cristata florinicola, Florida Blue Jay. Often seen especially in town. 76. A. O. U. No. 479. Aphelocoma cyanea, Florida Jay. One seen on Fisheating Creek Dec. 1920. 77. A. O. U. No.- 488a. Corvus brachyrychos, pascuus, Florida Crow. Often seen. 78. A. O. U. No. 490. Corvus ossi- fragus, Fish Crow. Few seen. 79. A. O. U. No. 494. Dolichony- xoryzivorous, Bobolink. One flock of 20 seen near Carlstrom Field, May 12, 1921. 80. A. O. U. No. 498c. Agelaius phoeniceus floridanus. Florida Red- wing. Colonies nesting in every suit- able marsh. 81. A. O. U. No. 501c. Magna argutula, Sturnella Southern Meadow- lark. Seen everywhere and at all times. Very tame. 82. A. O. U. No. 506. Icterius Spur- ieee OLOlLTO Grits it iur, Orchard Oriole. Few seen in win- ter. power Aw OL UL NO. 5bida,” Quiscalus quiscula aglaeus, Florida Grackle. Many seen at all times of year. 84. A. O. U. No. 513. Megaquiscal- us major major, Boat-tailed Grackle, called “Jackdaw” by the inhabitants. Very abundant. 85. A. O. U. No. 529. Astragalinus tristis tristis, Goldfinch. A large flock of these little beauties alighted in our yard one autumn afternoon in 1921. 86. A. O. U. No. 546b. Ammodram- us savannarum floridanus, Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Often seen and heard on the prairie. Sipe OL WU. No: 554. Zonotrichia leucophrys leucophrys, White-crowned Sparrow. One seen Jan. 20, 1921. 88. A. O. U. No. 587a. Pipilo ery- thropthalmus Alleni, White-eyed Tow- hee. This noisy fellow could be often heard whistling his loud call from every wayside bush or noisily scratch- ing among the leaves and undergrowth. 89. A. O. U. No. 598d. Cardinalis cardinalis floridanus, Florida Cardinal. Very often seen, especially about brier thickets. 90. A. O. U. No. 610. Piranga rub- ra, rubra, Summer Tanager. Seen in woods. 91. A. O. U. No. 611. Progne subis subis, Purple Martin. Many seen, mostly in towns or around houses. 92. A. O. U. No. 612. Petrochelidon lunifrons lunifrons, Cliff Swallow. Many seen in spring and fall migra- tions. 93. A. O. U. No. 613. Hirundo ery- throgaster, Barn Swallow. Common. 94. A. O. U. No. 616. Riparia ri- paria, Bank Swallow. Found nesting along Fisheating Creek. 95. A. O. U. No. 617. Stelgidop- teryx serripennis, Rough-winged Swal- low. Many seen in spring and fall migrations. 191 96. A. ©. Us. No. 622: vicianus ludovicianus, Loggerhead Shrike. Abundant. One pair nested in a pine tree in our yard in Arcadia in the spring of 1922. OAc tO: “US, Nos 7658: cerulea, Cerulean Warbler. fall of 1921. 98. A. O. U. No. 681b. Geothylipis trichas ignota, Florida Yellowthroat. Often seen and more often heard usually in low places. 99. A. O. U. No. 683. Icteria virens, virens, Yellow-breasted Chat. Few seen in thick woods. 100. A. O. U. No. 703. Mimus Poly- glottos polyglottos, Mockingbird. Very abundant. Seen everywhere and at all times. EO An Os. UL NG: carolinensis, Catbird. Common. 102. A. O. U. No. 705. Toxostoma rufum, Brown Thrasher. Few seen in Tall of.t921- Lanius ludo- Dendroica Seen in 704. Dumetella 103. A. O. U. No. 718a. Thryo- thorus ludovicianus Miamensis, Flor- ida Wren. Few seen in Arcadia. 104. A. O. U. No. 722. Nannus, hiemalis, hiemalis, Winter Wren. One seen in oleander bushes in our yard in Arcadia in fall of 1921. LOba A OF Wa eNon, 125.5 elma todytes palustris palustris, Long-billed Marsh Wren. Few seen in marsh near Sugarbowl City Oct. °1921. 106. A. O: U. No: 727b. Sitta caro- linensis atkinsi, Florida White-breast- ed Nuthatch. Several seen near Sugarbowl Oct. 1921. 107. A. O. U. No, 729. Sitta pusilla, Brown-headed Nuthatch. A small flock seen Oct. 18, 1921 near Sugar- bowl. 108. bicolor, seen. 109. A. O. U. No. 736. Penthestes carolinensis carolinensis, Carolina Chickadee. Few seen in Arcadia not noted in other places. AS OE MUSING. Toa. Tufted Titmouse. Baelophus Several 192 110. A. O. U. No. 748. Regulus sa- trapa, Golden-crowned Kinglet. One seen in our yard in Arcadia Oct. 20, 1921. iii AS TOW. NON wba 2oliontila caerulea caerulea, Blue-gray Gnat- catcher. A pair seen in Arcadia Sept. 18, 1921. 112. A. O. U. No. 761. Planesticus migratorius migratorius, Robin. Many seen in spring and fall. : 113. A. O. U. No. 766. Silia sialis sialis, Bluebird. Often seen at all times of year. Logan I. Evans, Arcadia, Florida. EVIDENCE OF THE BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO ROBBING OTHER BIRDS’ NESTS, AND SOME SCIENTIFIC FACTS CONCERNING THE COLORATION OF BIRDS EGGS By J. Warren Jacobs, Director Museum of Applied Oology, Waynesburg, Pa. In the section of abnormal eggs in the Museum of Applied Oology is re- corded a set of three eggs of the Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus ery- throphthalmus), one of which is )or rather was) a supposed runt about the size and shape of a Chipping Spar- row’s egg (Spizella passerina passer- ina). The set was collected June 10, 1897, by the late William L. Kells, the well known and very reliable Oologist of Listowell, Ontario, Canada, of the 80’s and 90’s. At the time of receiving this set as an example of abnormalism, I write Mr. Kells stating my belief that the small egg was an almost immaculate speci- men of the Chipping Sparrow species, which, in some manner, had gotten in- to the Cuckoo’s nest, possibly by the latter species stealing the same from a nearby nest of the Chippie, as the Cuckoo’s nest was found in an apple THE OOLOG!ST orchard wherein is usually found a nesting resort of the Sparrow. HEHvi- dence of this, I pointed out to Mr. Kells, was apparent from the fact that he blew the contents of the small egg through a small irregular hole already in the side of the shell when found. This shell puncture resembles a break made by a bird’s beak. Mr. Kell’s reply to me seemed too positive of self assurance that the small egg was of the Cuckoo’s laying, and the matter was laid aside for future investigation. Had this small egg been in the ordinary spot- ting of a normal egg of the Chippie, I could have been without any doubts of its identity, and perhaps Mr. Kells would have arrived at the same con- clusion before sending me the set, i e, that the small egg was really one of the Chippie stolen by the Cuckoo. Had the egg lacked traces of spottings of a reddish pigment I could have ac- cepted Mr. Kells’ assurance as_ to species, as the ground color was of the same shade of green as seen in its two companions—the Cuckoo’s—one of which also showed the same contour characteristics. The markings re- ferred to are of a very subdued vi- naceous, or vinaceous-pink, and seated most heavily in the form of an irregu- lar wreath around the larger end, just as the under colors are sometimes seen in the lightly marked specimen of Chipping Sparrow egg, and this alone seemed to me, was positive evi- dence that no Cuckoo laid the egg. In the twenty-five years which have elapsed since receiving this set into the Museum, I have somewhat ad- vanced my own knowledge of the facts governing the coloration of birds’ eggs, through studies. of relationship of birds and the causes of abnormalism among eggs. Mr. Kells had based identification of the small egg on the fact that he found it in the Cuckoo’s nest, and attended, together with the other two eggs, by the brooding THE: @®O 0oLo Gis T Cuckoo, overlooking or minimizing the possible fact that the markings on the small egg were composed of a color pigment foreign to the _ pro- ductive organs of the Cuckoo. This is apparent when we consider facts in relationship of birds, and the proof is conclusive when we _ realize that throughout the whole of the order— including sub-orders—to which the Cuckoos and their allies belong, no Species lays eggs spotted with any reddish color pigments. It would be against a law of nature which created the Cuckoos and sent them forth en- dowed with physical power to exact from nature certain things not in con- flict with other laws of her creation. It would not be entirely impossible to find an abnormally pure white, or nearly pure white egg of a Cuckoo, nor is it an impossible expectancy to find them abnormally deep green, be- cause nature has empowered the bird to draw little or much of these color- ing substances from her store house; but never will a reddish spotted egg be laid by any member of the Cuckoo family, for, throughout the whole or- der of relationship, no species lays normal eggs so spotted. Nature may refuse to supply suf- ficient coloring matter to enable a bird’s egg producing organs to finish off a normal colored egg, or she may provide a superfluous abundance of the normal coloring pigments to over- color a bird’s egg, but she will not give to a bird productive functions foreign to its own kind or those inherited from near relatives. No Oologist will ever find spotted eggs of Woodpeckers, nor will one ever report bluish or greenish tinted eggs of the Humming- birds. Nature forbids it. Ornithologists have brought Hawks and Owls in close relationship by grouping them in the Order RAP- TORES, Birds of Prey, but separating ‘193 them finally, by a straw, by grouping the former in the Sub-Order KAL- CONES, and the latter in the Sub- Order STRIGES, which is a union of closer relationship than Nature’s fundamental laws seem to_ permit. Delving into fundamental principles for a proper scientific determination of species will not permit a lightly passing over of the make-up of a bird’s egg from whence the bird came, and which, in the bird’s life, it must re- produce, bearing evidence of heredi- tary elements. Since nature may refuse some normal element of coloring pig- ments to a mated Hawk, that Hawk will respond with an egg which we may consider either normally or ab- normally immaculate; and since na- ture may supply another member of the same species with an over abund- ance of the pigments, we may find an egg very highly colored, even to the point of abnormally so; but nature has ordained that eggs of any species of Owl should not be spotted, hence no Owl will ever lay a spotted egg nor one showing the bluish-green tint within the shell texture as is the case with other birds of prey. The reason we sometimes find Robins’ eggs abnormally spotted is because the Robin is close in relation- ship with other birds which habitual- ly lay spotted eggs. What is true with the Robin is also true in the case of many other species; but in no wise will an abnormally colored egg of any species be found which carries the elements of that abnormalism outside its own relationship among birds of its order. The relationship of birds through facts and proofs supplied by scientific Oologists is a coming important factor in the final means of classification of birds. 194 BOOKS. RECEIVED Report of the Superintendent of National Zoological Park, for year ending June 30th, 1922. This publication consists of but fourteen pages and is a comprehensive resume of the activities of that insti- tution during the period covered and shows four hundred and eighty-two species on hand June 30th last includ- ed in which are the following: Mam- mals 490, birds 1069, reptiles 122. Something over two hundred people visited this exhibit during those twelve months. The appropriation by Congress being $125,200 for the main- tenance, and should be doubled.—R. M. Barnes. “Wild Fowl Lore” Volume 29, No. 349 January 1923, American Forestry, contains a splen- did article under the foregoing cap- tion, from the accurate and reliable pen of Dr. R. W. Schufeldt. Many North American Ducks are considered in it. It is illustrated by eleven halif-tone cuts ranging from 34% by 3% inches to full page illustrations. It is truly wonderful what an amount of read- able or reliable scientific information is found in Dr. Schufeldt’s publi- tion, and we are proud to list him as a friend and contributor to The Oologist.—R. M. Barnes. The Murrelet, State Museum, Uni- versity of Washington, Seattle, Wash- ington, Volume 3, No. 3, September 1922, of this splendid mimeograph serial, is at hand and there are few if any bird publications that are here which are more welcome. This is a fine bird publication filled with fresh notes direct from the ob- servers in the field. To peruse it gives the readers the real thrill from the wilds. It is not over technical, THE OOLOGIST but its contributors are men of known scientific ability for writing interest- ingly and accurately all things which interest the average ornithologist, and which the ultra-scientific closet natu- ralist seems to have so little interest in.—R. M. Barnes. “Transactions of the Academy of Science, St. Louis,” XXIV, No. 8. This publication of seventy-seven pages consists of “Hxtracts of the Diary of Otto Widmann,” and covers the following subjects: Nesting habits of the Purple Martin, How young birds are fed, Where the Martins roost, The Crows winter roost at St. Louis, Our birds in winter, The Chimney Swift, Birds of the Ozarks, Reminis- cences of a visit to Branson and White River, spring 1906. This little publication is typically Widmann in its splendid delineation of the bird subjects treated and ac- curacy of statement. It is splendidly gotten up mechan- ically and the contents are up to the best standard. Mr. Widmann and the Society are both entitled to congratu- lations upon this production.—R. M. B. “Annals of the Carnegie Museum,” XIV October 1922. This exceedingly well prepared publication of 611 pages relates to “The Birds of the Santa Mar- _, ta Region of Columbia; being a study in altitudinal destruction by W. E. Clyde — Todd, and M. A. Carriker, Jr.,’ and describes among other things the geographical and physiographic—geo- logical history, climate-population, re- sources, echological conditions of the territory covered and a Historical Review of Santa Marta Ornithology. List of species, North American mi- grants; Life Zones of the region, and a review of the various species en- countered. The latter occupying pages - 131-583. The publication is embellish- T HES O OL O Gs TF ed with a number of text illustrations. A map of the region, also five colored plates by George M. Sutton, than whom there are few, if any better bird artists in America. The entire volume is up to the usual standard of the authors, which is equivalent oi saying that it could not well be im- proved on. We predict that for years to come this will be the standard book of reference relating to the birds of that region—R. M. Barnes. —_—_——__ > o—_ ——_ -- Changes and Additions to the A. O. U. Check-List of 1910 By J. Hooper Bowles The readers of “The Oologist,’” who are not acquainted with the A. O. U. check-list as it stands at present, may well have become somewhat uncertain owing to the discussion in recent numbers of the magazine concerning the new egg catalog. Consequently 1 will attempt to clear up matters as briefly as possible. When I wrote my letter of July 15, 1922, I had been given the hope that a committee of the A. O. U. might be ap- pointed in the fall to consider the vast number of suggested changes and ad- ditions to our list. For this reason I strongly urged that no action shouid be taken on considering valuations for the very few additions made since 1910, because a vast deal of time would be saved if all the changes could be considered at once. This was taught by experience with the catalog itself. However, no further action having been taken on new additions, etc., at the recent A. O. U. meeting, I am giving herewith all of the ad. ditions made to the 1910 check-list up to date. No eliminations, what- ever, have been made since its publi- cation in 1910, except those given here. 195 Up to date the only additions to the 1910 A. O. U. check-list may be found in the Sixteenth Supplement, which appears in “The Auk” for July, 1912. They are as follows: Shale Puffinus carneipes Pale-footed Shearwater. Gould. 253.1. Totanus totanus (Linnaeus). Redshank. 301c. Lagopus lagopus ungavus Riley. Ungava Ptarmigan. 316a. Zenaidura macroura margin- ella (Woodhouse). Western Mourn- ing Dove. The White-winged Dove is sub- divided into two races: 319. Melopelia asiatica asialica (Linnaeus). West Indian White- winged Dove. 319a. Melopelia asiatica trudeaui (Audubon). White-winged Dove. 373i. Otus asio gilmani Swarth. Sahuara Screech Owl. 379. Glaucidium gnoma gnoma Wagler. Pygmy Owl. Is found to be entirely extralimital, and the form oc- curing in the United States will be known as: 379. Glaucidium gnoma_ pinicola Nelson. Rocky Mountain Pygmy Owl. 390a. Ceryle alcyon caurina Grin- nell. Northwestern Belted Kingfisher. 393h. Dryobates villosus leucotho- rectis Oberholser. White-breasted Woodpecker. 396. Dryobates scalaris bairdi (Mal- herbe). Texas Woodpecker. Is en- tirely extralimital. The form so named in the check-list will be known as: 396. Dryobates scalaris cactophilus Oberholser. Cactus Woodpecker. 396b. Dyrobates scalaris eremicus Oberholser. San Fernando Wood- pecker. 414a. Colaptes chrysoides brunnes- cens Anthony. San Fernando Flicker. 414b. Colaptes chrysoides mearnsi Ridgway. Mearn’s Gilded Flicker. 196 This is the only one found in the United States, 414 and 414a occurring in Lower California. 414b is also found in northern Lower California. 601.1. Emberiza rustica Pallas. Rustic Bunting. 542d. Passerculus sandwichensis nevadensis Grinnell. Nevada Savan- na Sparrow. 741c. Penthestes rufescens vivax Grinnell. Valdez Chestnut-sided Chickadee. 764.1. Calliope calliope camschat- kensis (Gmelin). Greater Kamchat- kan Nightingale. No other species or sub-species have been eliminated, nor any other cancellations been made. The only other changes up to the date of this writing being in the scientific names, which may be found in the Seven- teenth Supplement, printed in “The Auk” for July, 1920. J. Hooper Bowles. Jan. 11, 1923. Australian Nature Studies By J. A. Leach, D. Sc. Organizing Tn- spector of Nature-Study and Senior In- spector of Schools, Victoria, Etc., First Edition. Critcheley Parker, 276 Flind- ers Lane, Melbourne, 1922. 800, bound 500 pp. Col. plates and text illustra- tions. The author had it in view when he undertook the preparation of this volume to supply “A Book of Refer- ence for those interested in Nature Study,’ and the task has been most satisfactorily completed. In addition to six full-page colored plates of Aus- tralian birds there are no fewer than 189 text “plates,” each one of which varies a number of minor line cuts, some of them as many as thirty. They are run in continuation with the text matter where they occur and are need- THE OOLOGIST ed to illustrate what is set forth in the text. The titles of a few of these will indicate the general character of them and we have for example, “Arv Studies” (Pl. 102); “Feathers” (PI. 149-14 figs); Eggs of Animals (23 fig- ures Pl. 89), and so on. In short there are hundreds of these instruct- ive little cuts, and they very satisfact- orily illustrate what is set forth in the text. The “Table of Contents” gives us to understand that the volume is divided into three parts, viz: Part 1, Plant Life; Part II, Animal Life, and Part Ill, General Studies, this last being devoted to Rock Studies; Shore Studies; Lake Studies; Pond Life and the rest. There is a most helpful in- dex at the close of the volume, cover- ing from pages 485 to 501 inclusive, and at its commencement an interest- ing preface. Among the statements made in the latter we read that “As the book was written with a view to helping those interested in the educa- tion of the young, technical terms have been avoided, for there is no room for such in the nature-study of children under 12 years of age.” This must not be construed to mean, how- ever, that the book was written for children of that age, for it can he effectually used by those in the high schools and colleges, for Doctor Leach says in his preface further along, that “Having had unusual opportunities and experiences in nature study as teacher, lecturer, organizer and in- spector, in addition to a wide field ac- quaintance with the Australian fauna, flora, and natural features, the author offers this volume as an Australian contribution toward the development of a subject that has assisted in bring- ing reality into schools and interest into the lives of many children as well as adults.” Now comes up the question, what THE OOLOG:8T 197 value will this book have for Ameri- can readers, American schools and American children, and the answer is not far to seek for more than four- fifths of the material described is either actually to be found somewhere in this country, or else something very similar. For example, “The De- velopment of Seeds’ is practically the same the world over as is “The Breathing of Plants;” the “Growth of Leaves;” and, indeed, all else our au- thor sets forth in this botanical side of the volume, in fact the entire mat- ter of plant life has been worked out and illustrated in the most satisfact- ory style possible, and it is truly sur- prising to note how many wild plants they have in Australia that are identi- cally the same as those we have in this country. With equal truth this applies to the Sponge Studies; Corals; Stinging Animals; Worms; Shells; Crustaceans; Insects; and in fact every department of nature up to and including the Vertebrata, while the same may be said for the admirable chapters on Soils; Water; Lake Studies; Rivers and the physical feat- ures. In fact the book can be most heartily recommended to all nature students in America, including the children in all your public and private schools. R. W. Shufeldt, Washington, D. C. November 20, 1922. —_—_——_ +e NOTES ON KILLDEER !IN SOUTH- EASTERN WYOMING Having read Mr. R. M. Lee’s notes on the Killdeer in the November issue of The Oologist, I thought if might be of interest to its readers to hear some- thing of the nesting oi that bird in this section. I shall therefore tell of a trip of some 18 miles in length taken on the first of May last. Leaving town at about noon of said date, I followed the course of the rail- road north of Wheatland down what was once known as a sand draw, now known as a seep draw since the time irrigation came into this country. Any of these seeps are favorite re- sorts of the Killdeer, and especially so during the nesting season. Here and there along the draw are large dry sand bars of sand, coarse gravel, and small boulders, where our noisy little friend loves to make his home. In the six miles of seep draw traversed I observed no less than nine nests containing from 3 to 4 eggs each, near- ly all, however, containing 4 eggs as the bird begins nesting in this locality about April 20th and by May first practically all the nests contain their full compliment of eggs. After leav- ing the seep draw, I traversed about two miles of river bottom mostly in prairie hay and in the middle of one large meadow about one-fourth mile from water, (in a hoof print in the sod, I found another Killdeer’s nest with a full compliment of eggs. This particular pair of birds were very quiet in comparison with the noisy birds that I had just left. On return- ing home across more or less cultivat- ed country, I came upon a nest in the center of an alfalfa field some three miles from water at that time but in the course of a few weeks to come within a few feet of water in an irriga- tion lateral. Still another nest was found some three and a half miles from water at the present time but soon to be near irrigation water. This nest was located on an unplowed rra‘r-e knoll in the center of an 80 acre ¢lfalfa field. I have only one in- stance of a breeding record far from water and that ina dry farm cornfield some fifteen miles from the nearest water. However, I do not doubt that the killdeer is a rather common breed- 198 er here far from water as he can be met with during the nesting season in almost any locality. But his favorite nesting place seems to be the seep draws of the irrigation localities. James A. Neilson, Wheatland, Wyoming. ——__—_r > oe——————————————_ HAUNTS AND HABITS OF THE YELLOW RAIL The attention of the readers of The Oologist is called to an advertisement elsewhere in this issue of the maga- zine, in regard to matters germaine to the above title. Inasmuch a’ this is not a matter of profit with me, but simply of getting into the hands of in- terested ornithologists a most valu- able monograph obtainable only of my- self, I trust the editor of The Oologist will, with his accustomed generosity, give place for what I am here serting down. It has been said of me, by one who knows, that “Mr. Peabody is un- doubtedly the highest, as he is almost the exclusive authority on the breed- ing habits of the Yellow Rail. (His incursions in quest of the nests of this rare bird have given us) one of the outstanding romances” of ornithologi- eal literature. -The Annual in which my monograph has been published was an edition of 800 copies only. It reaches a limited clientele of bird students; and I have felt most reluctant that the fascimat- ing account of my twenty years of Yel- low Rail study should fail to reach the hundreds of people that may never see the Annual in question. I have therefore taken the great risk of ordering a large number of sepa- rates, for which I have paid a high price, (so great the cost of paper and printing nowadays). In order, event- ually to pay out, on this proposition, I am offering copies of the separate, THE OOLOGIST which contains unique photographs, one of these by Norman A. Wood, be- ing the only photograph extant of a live Yellow Rail, for fifty cents each. But, the signed copies thus sent out will contain two inserts of contact prints of rare interest, from negatives too delicate to half-tone well; and al- so a brief note as to the unusual find- ing of 1922. I am also negotiating with wonderful Mr. Brownell, with a view to the securing, from him, of colored contact prints of the exquisite set of 1912 eggs, all capped with ma- hogany and lilac, at the apex. These will cost, I imagine, about fifty cents each, an additional cost all of which will go, of course, to Mr. Brownell. To those that may not care to afford all this additional cost, I will gladly fur- nish an insert, contact print, of this subject, for an added ten cents. The cost of the separates will thus be, fifty and sixty cents, each, prepaid. Inasmuch as no other North Ameri- can bird nests quite like the Yellow Rail, and since a large amount of other fascinating detail other than that germaine to the fugitive ‘bird in question, is contained in my mono- graph. I feel absolutely certain that readers of The Oologist will find my separate very delightful reading. Not because I have compiled it; but be- cause it really is, as has been said, “an outstanding romance.” : P. B. Peabody. JUST A FEW CHOICE ONES We have recently added to our col- lection a set of Whooping Crane’s eggs, taken in North Western Iowa in 1871, by one of the best known collect- ors and naturalists in America, which has always been kept away from the light, moisture and dust and is in a truly splendid condition. Likewise a set of Buffle-head Ducks, and last and not least 1-5 Yellow Rail Specimens of these kinds are not easily acquired. R. M. Barnes. T H-E 0:0 L°0-G-FS°T 199 WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO GO? ‘A letter received January 9th from H. Arden Edwards, of Los Angeles, California, a well known member of the Oologist family contains the state- ment among other things: “T am leaving for a two or three years trip in the South Seas.” Mr. Edwards goes on a collecting and pleasure trip. He has promised to write occasionally, and if he does we will be glad to divide such exper!- ences as he may acquaint us with, with our readers. R. M. Barnes. FURTHER NOTES ON THE BiRDS OF GOOCHLAND COUNTY, VA. In the Oologist of April, 1922 (Vol. 39, pages 62-64) appeared an article by me on birds observed in June, 1921 on and in the vicinity of the plantation of Dr. L. K. Leake, at East Leake, Gooch- land County, Virginia. Again I was fortunate enough to be the guest of Dr. and Mrs. Leake from October 24 to November 7, 1922, and naturally did not overlook the opportunity to in- vestigate the fall birds of that locality. Although frosts occurred nearly every night, the weather was mild through- out my visit and almost without excep- tion the sun shone in full vigor throughout each day. It was so mild and dry that when the hunting season opened on November 1, I heard uni- versal complaint from the sportsmen at our house, but on the other hand, a Katydid which I heard at midday on November 3 evidently appreciated the opportunity to prolong its 1922 career. In the former article I spoke of 50 species seen; in this 54 are listed, 30 of which are new; thus totaling 80 species seen on the two visits. In ad- dition, reference is made to two others reported to me—Wilson’s Snipe and Ruffed Grouse. Aside from the James River which bounds Goochland County on _ the south, the ceunty is poorly supplied with surface water and so the water birds are few in species and individ- uals. The woods, however, are exten- sive, rich in varieties of trees and underbrush. Old fields cover wide areas, but here and there more or less extensive agriculture is being conduct- ed, so that the avifauna of the region exhibits at least an average number of species of land birds. Being fond of persimmons I was pleased to find heavily laden trees scattered all over the region, in the woods, on the main roads, and standing in isolation in old fields. Dr. Leake killed a Woodcock on No- vember 2 and I flushed one a few days before on the edge of a small swamp at one end of the plantation. Andrew, the doctor’s young son, told me that he had killed a Wilson’s Snipe at this swamp last year. The moon was shin- ing brightly at 9:30 p. m. on Novem- ber 2, when I heard a Killdeer in the pasture adjoining the Leake planta- tion. : Bob-whites were abundant on and in the vicinity of the plantation, but due perhaps to the excessively dry and rather mild weather I did not see or hear one notwithstanding the dogs accompanied me on nearly every walk until the hunters brought in a few on November 1. Thereafter ‘‘partridges” were on the table almost every meal until I left, but I was told that on ac- count of the drought they were rang- ing almost wholly in the thick brush and semi-swampy section and, there- fore, were hard to find and difficult to shoot. Mr. David Leake saw a single Ruffed Grouse on November 1 and Dr. Leake told me that he sees one or two every season, but that they do not increase. On November 1 200 Messrs. Herbert Ragland and Walter Leake each killed a Wild Turkey—a male and female young of the year— and the following day Mr. Richard Harris also killed a male and a female young of the year. I was told of five other Wild Turkeys killed on the 1st in this same territory. It was as- tonishing to find the wary and much sought bird so abundant almost with- in the shadows of Richmond and only half a day’s distance from Washing- ton, but it will be remembered that Goochland County is sparsely settled and heavily timbered over a large area. Mourning Doves were not so abund- ant as I had expected to find them. A flock of about 50 came into the Harris cornfield before I left. In June, 1921 I saw but one member of the Raptorial order in Goochland County—the Turkey Vulture—and in my former article I spoke deploringly of the system of bounties maintained by the county. No doubt these boun- ties have greatly reduced the number of Hawks and Owls in the county, but I am pleased to say that the point of extermination has not yet been reached and let us hope that the au- thorities will realize their folly before it is too late. I am able to record 8 species of the Hawks and Owls ob- served on this visit. Turkey Vultures were quite abundant. I am very sure one or more could have been soaring in the air at any moment during the hours of daylight on each day I was there. Of the Marsh, Sharp-shinned, and Cooper’s Hawks, one individual of each species was seen, while of the Red-shouldered and Broad-winged Hawks two of each were observed. They were all very shy as would be expected. Near the end of my visit I heard both the Barred and Screech Owls in the woods back of the house and was told that the former is fairly THE OOLOGIST Pe numerous in that section and I am sure that the latter must be also as all the conditions favorable to its necessities are there. The Woodpeckers were represented by six species, among them the hand- some, dashing Pileated, which was fairly numerous. Often during each day I hear their loud, resonant tap- ping on the largest and tallest trees in the woodlands. Here they are called ‘“‘Log-cocks.” I have no doubt that they could be found nesting in these woods in the spring. Both the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers were seen but only one of each. Red- bellied Woodpeckers and Flickers were in fair abundance and near the end of my visit I saw one Yellow- bellied Sapsucker. As I saw no Red- headed Woodpeckers on the previous visit and none on this, I must believe that they are of rare occurrence in this region, and this is strange for all the conditions which would seem to be requisite for their existence and happiness are present. In the former article I spoke of Swifts that inhabited the office chim- ney near the house. They were there again the past summer but had depart- ed for the South before I reached Hast Leake. Their nest had fallen down to the hearth and had been preserved by one of the Leake family who ex- hibited it to me. It was unique in that it was composed exclusively of dry pine needles, glued together, of course, by the birds’ customary mucilaginous saliva. Twigs of many species of trees were available in close prox- imity to the chimney but evidently these Swifts had discovered that pine needles make a very compact, sym- metrical and artistic nest and have advantage over the crooked and twist- ed twigs usually employed. I think they were quite clever in their choice of nesting materials. THE O-0°*L-O0-G I S"T ] The North is no place for a Fly- catcher in winter. Nevertheless a pair of Phoebes was still lingering around the cow shed on the Leake plantation when I left on November 7, and An- drew told me that a pair, very likely this same one, had spent the entire previous winter at and around this shed. I often heard them chirp their familiar “phoebe” just as they do in the spring, but not quite so vivacious- ly. Blue Jays were quite abundant and seemed to delight in leisurely aerial excursions across the fields from one woodland to another, sometimes singly and at others in squads of three or more. A beechnut tree in the Harris yard was literally alive with Jays throughout my visit. A flock of up- wards of 75 Crows loitered each day somewhere around the plantation and in the vicinity. They were often in the Harris cornfield, one or more sit- ting for a time on the top of corn stubble. They were proclaimed an in- sufferable nuisance by the farmers with whom I talked. Starlings have established them- selves at East Leake. A flock of 15 or more was seen from time to time dur- ing my visit. Meadowlarks were now in flock and could be heard at intervals on the warmer days singing as they do in spring, though not so persistently. A flock of Purple Grackles was seen sev- eral times. Some Cowbirds were seen following the cattle around the Harris pasture on several occasions when I passed by. A flock of Red-wingea Blackbirds was seen. On the porch of one of the farmers» who had collected it I saw a dry and withered branch of a hickory tree containing a last sum- mer’s nest of the Orchard Oriole. 1: mention this as I believe this bird rarely nests in hickories. I may add that two winters ago I found an old 201 nest of the Orchard Oriole in a per- simmon tree in Leon County, Florida. About midday on October 30 I heard the exquisite little song of the Purple Finch and searching for the author discovered it sitting on the topmost branch of a large oak tree bordering on the main road. Afterwards I saw several others. Chipping Sparrows were remarkably abundant. I was in- terested in the fact that in an elm tree in front of the Leake home a Chipping Sparrow had built its nest during the summer 35 feet from the ground. Juncos were quite abundant and I ob- served that they sometimes utter notes hardly distinguishable from the single lisping or clueking notes of the Brown Thrasher. White-throated Spar- rows were also abundant and I found Song Sparrows wherever there were hedges and brush. I was pleased to see a number of Swamp Sparrows down in the small swamp at one edge of the plantation. Several Towhees, Cardinals and Goldfinches were seen each day while I was there. On Oc. tober 30 I saw several Savanna Spar- rows in the Harris pasture. Of course, English Sparrows were established around the barns and other buildings in this region. Several flocks of Cedar Waxwings were present during my visit and I was entertained several times by watching them swing sometimes at the ends of depending wild grape vines eating the grapes thereon. I saw but one Migrant Shrike. This bird could be seen almost any time vf the day perched on a telephone wire along the road running through the Harris plantation. He must have had a very restricted range as I always saw him within a few feet of the place where he had been seen previously. I was surprised to see any Vireo, but early on the morning of October 26 I discovered two Solitary or Blue-head- 202 ed Vireos, possibly mates, in the wil- low trees along a stream running through the Leake pasture. I watched them through my glasses for at least twenty minutes. Now and then they sang a very sweet little song much like that of the Red-eyed Vireo but more subdued. There were several other species and numerous individ- uals congregated in these willows and nearby trees and underbrush at the same time that I observed the Vireos. They all seemed to be animated by the migration instinct, though some of the Sparrows no doubt will remain in that locality throughout the winter. Of the Warblers only the Myrtle was seen and it was very abundant. I was deceived for a few moments one after. noon when I saw several small birds in the distance sallying forth from the top branches of some poplar tree in the manner of Flycatchers. I dis- covered that they were Myrtle Warb- lers. I heard Pipits only once. Mockingbirds were common. I was much pleased to find the Caro- lina Wren in fair abundance. On sey- eral mornings one or more of them de- lighted my ears just outside of the windows of my bedroom with their, to me, wild and charming ‘“chiteree, chiteree, chiteree, chit.” One of the most interesting dis- coveries made during my visit was the presence of Brown-headed Nuthatches. I saw and heard three in the pine and oak woods back of the Leake resi- dence. This must be very nearly if not quite the northernmost range of this species. Several White-breasted Nuthatches were around the planta- tion at all times. Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Tit- mice were nearly always to be seen. Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets were in the woods during the early hours: of morning, the latter THE OOLOGIST literally in enormous abundance; they were very nearly as abundant as I once found the Ruby-crowned King- lets in the hammock near the Gulf of Mexico in Wakulla County, Florida. Robins and Bluebirds were abundant, the latter sometimes feeding on the berries of the dogwood trees. I heard a Hermit Thrush on October 28. My visit was extremely pleasant in every way. There were many things aside from birds to engage my atten- tion and interest. For instance, I found only one red squirrel thus in- dicating that this species is not at all abundant in this section. One of the pleasantest features of my visit was a bountiful stag supper given me and other visitors at the Leake home by Messrs. David and Richard Harris, bachelors who have followed the ag- ricultural profession on their planta- tion for about fifty years. The sup- per was served very tastefully by old aunt Martha, a negro servant of ante- bellum accomplishments, who has been with the Harrises for fifty years. I have never seen Quail cooked and served so deliciously as they were at this supper. The table was actually groaning from variety and abundance of good things to eat, practicaly all produced on this plantation. Robert W. Williams, Washington, D. C. 208 tHe 4OoOkoa hs Fk SYSAHSIADNIM ONNOA 204 THE COOLIOGEST EGGS Will Exchange personally taken Florida sets for books. Want the last four volumes of AUK: good books on Butterflies, Moths and Insects; also good work on Southern Botany. Tell me what you have and price and will send you list. Oscar EH. Baynard, Plant City, Florida. FOR SALE for Cash—New Jersey Minerals. Mica, Magnetic Iron Ore, Iris porphyry, feldspar, hematite, pec- tolite and many others. Also Paleozoic fossils. Excellent cabinet specimens. Louis S. Kohler, R. F. D. No.2, Pater- son, N. J. TO PXCHANGH—One King Trom- bone, Silver plated Gold bell, Highland FOR SALE—Skins and Mounted Specimen of Skunk, Civit Cat, Opossum, Horned Frogs, Jack Rabbitt, Swamp Rabbit, Armodillas and Squirrels. Ra- mon Graham, Box 215 Poly, Ft. Worth, exas. WANTED — Baird’s and Bachman’s Sparrows and any of the Longspurs from original collectors in full A-1 sets. Bonus in A-1 material given in exchange. H. W. Carriger, 5185 Trask Street, Oakland, Calif. BUTTEHERELIHS—Just received a new shipment of South American butterflies in papers unnamed, consisting of Papi- lios Heliconias Catsopilias Calagram- mas, ete., which I will sell in lots of 25 Hach lot mixed for $5.00 post paid. contains one Morpho cypres, one of the most brilliant of South American but- terflies; dealers charge $2.50 to $3.50 for the specie alone. A. J. Potter, Hast Killingly, Conn. 1-3t FOR EPXCHANGH—A-1 sets 261, 278, 305, 308b, 331, 367 and others for well mounted specimens of 327, 331, 332, 333, 337, 387a, 342, 343. Also have finely mounted 334 will exchange for some of the above. Hlmer Langevin, Crooks- ton, Minnesota. : FOK SALE or low pitch, new in case. For first class sets. HE. A. Wheeler, EH. Randolph, N. Y. FOR SALE—Ornithologist and Oolo- gist, Vol. VIII to XVIII inclusive; Bul- letin Cooper Club, Vol. I, 1-2-5; Condor, Vols. III and IV complete; Osprey com- plete file excepting 2 numbers, Vol. I, and 3 numbers of N. S. Bent’s Life His- tories of N. A. Gulls and Terns. Many odd numhbers of various Ornithologi- eal Magazines. H. H. Johnson, Pitts- field, Maine. FOR SALE for Cash— Bulletin Coop- er Club & Condor, Volumes 1 to 6 in- Hxchange—Mounted clusive, complete, except No. 6, Vol. 1. Birds, Skins, and Hggs in sets and Oologist, Vol. XI, (1894) complete; Vol. Singles. Jesse T. Craven, 5315 Roose- X (1893) complete, except April, July velt Ave., Detroit, Michigan.. 1-2t and November. W. B. Sampson, WANTED—Bent’s Diving Birds For North San Joaquin St., Stockton, Cal. Sale—Nelsen’s Smaller Mammals _ of North America, bound in library buck- FOR SALE—Ridgway’s “Birds of ram, 59 colored illustrations by Fuer- tes. Also bound-1916 Bird-Lore. Fred J. Pierce, Winthrop, lowa. Middle and North America.” Vol. 4 & 5 (half leather), Vol. 6, 7 & 8, (Paper). Theodore R. Greer, Aledo, Illinois. EXCHANGE PRICE LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS’ EGGS We have just published this work which it took a Committee of well known Oologists, who were elected by The Oologists of North America for that purpose, nearly two years to complete. It is a Volume of two hundred pages, well illus- trated, by half tones, showing the advance methods that now obtain in Oology. It contains the following special matter. 1. An introduction. 2 A history of Birds’ Hgg Catalogues. 3. A history of this Catalogue. 4. Prices in this Catalogue. What they mean. 5. Directions for collecting and preparing eggs. 6. Copy of Standard Data Blank. 7. Illus- trations of proper way to mark eggs. 8. Illustrations showing proper cabinet arrangements of specimens. 9. Report of the Committee of Twenty-five on prices. 10. Names ‘both common and scientific of all North American Birds and Prices adopted for the exchange of specimens of eggs of each. 11. Advertise- ments. No Oologist can: afford to be without this work in his Library. The issue is limited to 500 copies, all of which are rapidly being exhausted. Paper bound copies $1.00. Cloth bound copies $2.00. R. M. BARNES, LACON, ILLINOIS. A GOOD RESOLUTION SUBSCRIBE FOR 1923 THE OOLOGIST THE WILSON BULLETIN A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY Paying particular attention to Field Studies of Birds in Middle North America. Now in its 28th year. 64 pages or more of readable matter with illustrations. Indispensable to all active field workers. $1.50 per year, 40 cts. per copy. ficial Organ of THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB Address GORDON WILSON, Secretary, 1434 Chestnut Street, Bowling Green, Kentucky. A Biboliograph of scarce or out of print, North American Amateur and Trade Periodicals, devoted more or less to Ornithology. Listing 147 sep- arate publications. Price 25 cents. R. M. BARNES. Lacon, III. 1923 Subscribe for “The Oologist” for 1923. It is the only Bird Journal in North America devoted to the interests of those making collections. It is not too scientific to be popular and not too popular to be ac- curate and scientific. Subscription price per annum fifty cents. Address The Oologist, Lacon, Illinois. THE OOLOGIST. BIRDS-NESTS--EGGS TAXIDERMY VoL. XL. No. 2. ALBION, N. Y., FEs., 1928. WHOLE No. 430 THE OLO>EO°GsS ti BRIBDF SPECIAL ANNOUNOBMANTS Winted, for each 25 words for one issue; eaeh additional word 1 eent. serted for less than 25 cents. We will advertise th ican Birds for sale for pers in the same. i axchanges of such specimens for DATA BLANKS—I will print 500 Standard Data Blanks with your name on them for $1.50 postpaid. Edward S. Coombs, 233 Washington St., Malden, Massachusetts. FOR SALE—Birds and Nature Maga- zine bound in double volumes as _ fol- lows: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 13-14, and volume 11 single. Covers slightly worn but in good second-hand condition. Write W. H. Over, Vermillion, So. Dakota. 2-3 I have some 5000 Indian Relics, most- ly arrows, a few tomahawks, etc., if will exchange for Mounted Specimens or bird eggs, or will sell same for cash. Cc. BE. Pilquist, Dardanelle, Ark. FOR SALE—Large collection of birds’ eggs and nests, mounted birds, shells, corals, sea curios, minerals, carvings, nuts, Ceramics and Indian curios. Must dispose of same at once. H. H. Lutman, Painted Post, N. Y. ie WANTED—Back numbers of Orni- thological magazines, especially Condor, also any books on Ornithology or Tax- idermy. Ege cabinet also wanted. Write, giving prices. James Suthard, Madisonville, Kentucky. WANTED to hear from _ collectors having sets of eggs or Bird Skins to dispose of. Cash or exchange. C. F. Pahrman, 1011 Fourth St., La Porte, Ind. JOHN LORANG, Genesee, Idaho. Col- lector of Idaho Birds eggs, also Bird and Animal Skins for mounting pur- poses. For sale or exchange. A black Squirrel Skin Mounted. FOR SALEH—Auk, 1918 and 1920, vol- umes complete, $1.50 each, prepaid. Wilson bulletin, 1920 volume, 90c. Bi- ological Bulletin 17 and 89 also. Fred Pierce, Winthrop, Iowa. In addition to eggs in sets I am making a cosmopolitan collection of Singles. Must have accurate data thor- oughly identified. Offer skins, eggs, or cash. A. W. Hanaford, R. R. 9, Box 1210. Los Angeles, Cal. “Beginners Luck’—A collection of 75 varieties, eggs in sets, at a bargain. Common and not common; a good start for a collector. Also a Woodpecker and sapsucker, group of fifteen varie- ties, very reasonable. Send for lists and prices. Fred Dille, Valentine, Nebr. FOR SALE or BEXCHANGH—After two years and a half in storage, I have how unpacked my library, bird and mammal collections, and have for sale many duplicate books and O. & O. pub- lications. Also will exchange bird and mammal skins from this section and sets of raptors, finches and jays. Bo ee feealley iow Beach, Zoo’l A a useum 0 atural Miami Beach, Florida. EGE: Exchange, For Sale, Etc., inserted in this department at 35 gents No noticé in- e skins, nests, eggs, or mounted specimens of North Amer- ons having a lawful authority under the law to deal These columns are for the use of those desiring to make bona fide scientific collecting purposes only.—HDITOR. FOR SALE or EXCHANGH—Butter- flles of New England for California Butterflies. T. Love, Collector, 105 Grove, Lynn, Mass. FOR SALE or EXCHANGE for Eges —Birds of Hastern Canada—Taverner; Birds of New York, two vols.—EHaton; Birds of a Maryland Farm—Judd; Com- parative Oology of N. A. Birds—Schu- feldt; Book of Birds, 250 col. plates— Henshaw; Catalog of Birds of Kansas —Goss; History of Birds of Kansas— Goss; Check list of Birds of New York —Farr; Birds of South Dakota—Over and Thoms; Key to Land Mammals of northeastern N. A.—Miller; Catalog of Birds of Kansas with description of nests and eggs—Goss; Raptorial Birds of Iowa; A Portfolio of 106 col. plates of Birds of Fuertes. Lieut. L. R. Wolfe, 26th U. S. Infantry, Plattsburg, N. Y. I have for EXCHANGE sets of eggs of the following species, A. O. U. Nos.: 18; 4,16, 1, LON 2 Gone eo ee 29, 30, 30a, 31, 31a, 32, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44, 47, 48, 51, 53, 54, 58, 59, 63, 65, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 80, 81, 81.1, 88, 86, 86a, 104, 106, 107, 114, 114.1, 115, 115.1, 117, 120, 125, 127, 128, 132, 134, 135, 188, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 150, 160, 167, 169, 172, 172a, 172c, 174, 178, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, 191, 192, 194, 194b, 196, 199. R. M. Barnes, Lacon, I1l. Get a CATALOG Before they are All Gone They are going bery fast. Less than 100 copies are left. THE OOLOGIST. VoL. XL. No.2. ALBION, N. Y., Fes.. 1928. WHOLE No. 430 Owned and Published Monthly, by R. M. BARNES, Albion, N. Y., and Lacon, II. TAKE NOTICE. SUBSCRIPTION 50 CENTS PER YEAR Examine the number on the wrapper of your Oologist. If it corresponds with the Whole No. above it denotes that your subscription expires with this issue. Remember we must be notified if you wish it discontinued and all arrearages must be paid. Entered as second class matter December 21, 19038, at the post office at Albion, N. Y., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. Photo of Nest and Eggs of Loon taken June 9, 1921, on floating bog, in Cran- berry Lake, St. Lawrence County, N, Y., by Ernest G. Tabor, of Meridian, N. Y. 22 THE OOLOGIST The Starling. The Huropean Starling is showing up in small flocks throughout our state and to such an extent that it promises to become a menace to the interest of our farmers and fruit grow- ers. I have heard within the last two or three weeks of not less than a dozen flocks of this bird, and I presume it would be safe to say that there are fully hundreds of these flocks in as many localities of the state. In Or- leans County they were reported to me as a new species of the Martin. From Wyoming County the press re- ports large flocks of “black birds,” citing the same as an early harbinger of spring. Here at Albany a flock of eight “Robins” has been seen. This situation prevails to a greater or less extent throughout the state. In each instance, when followed up, the “Mar- tins,” “Black Birds” and “Robins” have _ proven to be the Starling. I wrote Short in relation to the same about two weeks since and am compiling a little material to present to the State Fruit Growers at their annual meeting in Poughkeepsie, the latter part of the month. Frank H. Lattin, Albany, N. Y. * * * THE STARLING. Sturnus Vulgaris Linnaeus. Eaton’s Birds of New York. Description: Shaped somewhat like the Meadow- lark, but with a relatively longer bill and shorter tail; general color black, glossed with iridescent purple and greenish, spotted with buff or brown- ish white; bill yellow; winter plumage with the brownish or buffy of the upper and under parts mostly obscur- ing the greenish and purple. Sexes almost alike. Female slightly more “spotted below; young plain grayish- brown. Length 8% inches. Distribution: The Starling is a native of Western and Central Europe, wintering mostly in Southern EHurope or Northern Af- rica, now introduced in the vicinity of New York City. The birds were lib- erated by Mr. Hugene Schieffelin in 1890 in Central Park. They undoubt- edly will continue to spread up the Hudson Valley and throughout the state if not throughout the country, unless their advance is artificially checked. They are largely frugivorous, being particularly destructive to cherries, currents, berries, and other small fruits, and doubtless would become a veritable pest in the grape regions of central and western New York, if they ever became abundant in those localities. The Starlings are more closely gre- garious than the Meadowlarks, the flocks frequently appearing as dense as flocks of Rice Birds. In Hngland and Northern Hurope the “clouds of Starlings” are justly famous, some- times practically darkening the sky and appearing in the distance like great storm clouds drifting over the country. Collinge—Manual of Injurious Insects. Starling—Distinctly the farmer’s friend, but when allowed to increase duly they become equally injurious. In almost every country they require thinning out annually. Saunders—British Birds. The Starling feeds principally upon worms, slugs, small molluscs, insects and their larvae; it also eats voles, the young and eggs of other birds, cultivated fruit and wild berries. Newton—Dictionary of Birds. The Starling is about the size of a Thrush, and though at a distance it appears to be black, when near at hand its plumage is seen to be brightly THE OOLOGIST 28 shot with purple, green and steel-blue, most of the feathers when freshly grown being tipped with buff. These markings wear off in the course of the winter, and in the breeding season the bird is almost spotless. The worst that can be said of the Starling is that it occasionally pilfers fruit. The congregations of Starlings are indeed very marvelous, and no less than the aerial evolutions of the flocks, chiefly to settling for the night, have attracted attention from early times, being mentioned by Pliny. The extraordinary precision with which the crowd, often numbering several hun- dreds, not to say thousands, of birds, wheels, closes, opens out, rises and descends, as if the whole body were a single living thing—all these move- ments being executed without a note or cry being uttered—must be seen to be appreciated, and may be seen repeatedly with pleasure. * * = The Starling. The Starling, as far as reported to me, have invaded New York State along two routes. First, from the original Long Island colony up the Hudson Valley to above Newburg at last advice; second, across New Jersey and up through eastern Pennsylvania by way of Broome, Steuben, Yates and Ontario counties clear to Lake Ontario. Thir- teen pairs were bred in Yates County in 1921, probably more. Sixty spent a month to six weeks in Monroe County, west of Rochester, from No- vember, 1921, to January 15, 1922. Two hundred pair bred here (Chili, Monroe County) last spring, where I could keep them under observation. None here now, evidently too severe weather. From the agriculturists’ stand I consider them about on a par with the Grackle (Crow Blackbird) with these noted exceptions: As far as I know they do not pull corn and they will peck holes in tops of cabbage heads late in the season. Like the Grackle during the nesting season, they prob- ably, I would even say certainly, do more good than harm. Their harmful career begins after mid-July, when they become gregari- ous and damage grain, fruit and even vegetables. In this stage they are worse than the Grackle and stay in- definitely as the season is open enough for them. They attack the later berries, plums (ruining the Japanese varieties, Red June, Worden, Burbank, etc., if left alone) and will peck (and ruin for anything but drying stock or cider) the red faces of apples of at least these varieties: Duchess, St. Law- rence, Twenty Ounce, Baldwin and probably others. They do not damage Greenings materially as far as I can see and I could not detect any of their work on Blush, Pippins or Russets or Talman’s. The summer varieties generally rot when pecked. Most of the Baldwins heal up, but the black, dry and irregular scars spoil them for packing. I have not in reach for observation bearing trees of the newer fall va- rieties such as Wealthy, Gravenstein, etc. If you wish further amplification on these points, I will try to fill the bill. I am not sure what the young are fed on, but as they appear to get it from the ground in meadows and pas- tures, I judge it is of an insect nature. So far have noticed no damage to cherries. Later—January, 29, 1923. Just mailed you re-Starling, and on my way home saw fourteen in a Spy tree tearing rotten apples open, pre- 24 THE OOLOGIST sumably for the seeds—thermometer 18 degrees and snowing. Hvidently they are getting acclimated. Ernest R. Short. Our Loon Plate. Am enclosing a photo taken by my- self of the nest and eggs of the Loon on a floating “cranberry bog,” or small island in the south inlet of Cranberry Lake, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., on June 9th, 1921. The picture is taken from the boat, as it was some 20 or 30 rods from the shore to this bog, and could do no other way than work from the boat. Trusting it may interest you, I am sending a print of it to you. EH. G. Tabor, Meridian, N. Y. Entitled to Credit. Attention is just called to the fact that the article. entitled “The Dis- covery of the Breeding of the White Ibis in South Carolina,’ appearing in a late issue of the Oologist, was writ- ten by Mr. Alexander Sprunt, Jr., under a misapprehension. All of the facts and circumstances therein are both true and accurate; however, it was Arthur T. Wayne, Charleston, South Carolina, who first -made this interesting discovery, and who had written an article on the subject, but the article he wrote did not get into print as early as Mr. Sprunt’s article, through no fault of either Mr. Wayne or Mr. Sprunt. R. M. Barnes. Passed On. A letter from our old friend Frank I. Harris, of LaCrescent, Minn., brings the sad news of the passing of Whit- field Harrison,. pioneer resident of LaCrescent, Minn., who died at that place January 22nd. He was born in England, November 15th, 1854, came to LaCrescent from his native land at ‘the age of 16 years, and has resided there ever since. Mr. Harrison during all his years of residence was a well known student of Natural History, and a collector of North American Oology. Many writings of his will be found published in the amateur bird maga- zines of twenty and thirty years ago. He leaves a widow and one daughter and in his passing our friend Harris loses a neighbor and an associate of more than fifty years, with whom he made numerable hunting and fishing trips. It was our pleasure some years ago at LaCrescent to be entertained at his home, and he and his wife, a more charming couple it would be hard to find—R. M. B. They Are Never Cured. A letter from Frank H. Lattin, founder of The Oologist, and now and for many years past, a Member of the General Assembly of the State of New York, advising us of the receipt by him of a letter from one of his former subscribers, reading in part as follows: “About twenty-five years ago I used to read a magazine, The Oologist, pub- lished by you; if it is still published, or if you are still interested in birds, etc., send me such literature as you have. I want my son to become a student of nature and out-of-doors things, also.” Mr. Lattin adds that during the past two weeks he received five applica- tions for catalogues and price lists of specimens and supplies. Four of these came from the older boys of twenty- five or more years ago, two of whom he had not heard from for some twen- ty-five or thirty years. All of which shows that when once inoculated the true Oologist never recovers.—R. M. B. THE -OoUL OG Ss T 25 THE COWBIRD. By H. H. Johnson, Pittsfield, Me. Those who succeed in taming the wild bird, experience a certain amount of pleasure in the confidence it shows in coming to be fed. One can but feel even greater pleasure in the same amount of tameness and confidence shown by a wild, free bird, who coming when food is plenty, is not hunger tamed. I have always tried to encourage the birds to use my farm as a summer home, especially to nest around the house. Since the year 1921 is typical of other years, I will enumerate those who nested in the immediate vicinity. The Phoebe nested above the door of the ell, a pair of Tree Swallows in a nest box situated about six feet from the home of the Phoebe. A Bluebird occupied a hole made by a mortise in one of the supporting posts of the shed, this nest being about six feet from the ground. The Barn Swallows, as usual, had many nests in the barn. A Robin built a nest and reared a brood inside my workshop, the House Sparrow made use of one of the boxes placed on the house for the Swallows. Chimney Swifts had nests in two of the three chimneys. Besides these already named there were nests of the Flicker, Kingbird, and Chipping Sparrow in the apple trees around about the house. Nests of the Song and Savanna Sparrows, Grass Finch and the Bobolink, a second pair of Tree Swallows and Bluebirds, all situ- ated within a eight-rod circle of the buildings. There were other nests, such as the Yellow Warbler, Red-wing Blackbird and Kingbirds on the banks of the river some fifty rods distant.. When I was about one-half way through with my haying this summer (1921), there appeared on the field a female Cowbird. At first I thought it to be harmed in some way and unable to fly and thus keep out of the way, but upon trying to catch the bird I found it was not. Although she would not allow one to catch her, the bird would at once return to where I was at work load- ing hay when pursuit was stopped. It was my thought that at the end of the day the Cowbird would depart and I would see it no more, but no, the next day there she was bright and early, ready to do her part in the haying operations, and for many days there after, or until the haying was finished she was my companion in the field. Both in the forenoon and after- noon, taking part in the various oper- ations of cutting, curing and hauling in of the crop. She became such a constant attendant that we named her “The Boss.” She usually appeared in the morning when I made ready to go to the field and would follow as I proceeded to the place of operations for that day. In changing from one field to another, as I often did in my haying, I would sometimes commence work in the morning one-half mile distant from where I ceased the pre- vious afternoon, but regardless of the place the Cowbird would appear at the new field, showing that she must have been watching for me. The Cowbird would follow me as I made the rounds of the field, allowing me to get but a short distance ahead, then flying to catch up; often she would alight just ahead of the cutter- bar, obliging me to keep constant watch lest she be cut by the machine; then I would have to bring the team to a quick halt and drive her out of the standing grass. Sometimes in- stead of alighting on the ground she would perch on the back of one of the team and take a short ride. 26 THE OOLOGIST As the field of standing grass be- came narrow she would fly across, alighting just ahead of the horses, and being nearly stepped upon, for she showed no sign of fear of either the team or clash and clatter of the mow- ing machine. It was the work of hauling in of the crop that the Cowbird appeared to take the most pleasure; there was more stops and we were not constantly moving away; then she had a chance to be near (under foot), and if the day be especially bright and hot she would rest underneath the load in the shade; there I would pass her grasshoppers to eat from off the fork tine. Often I would have to drive her off a bunch of hay before I could place it on the cart. She would follow the load of hay nearly to the barn, there await the unloading. In going to the field to load again the Cowbird would make short flights to keep up, sometimes even alighting on the cart for a rest. The reader has no doubt decided that the cause of the Cowhbird’s attach- ment to us during our haying oper- ations was the chance to catch the bugs and grasshoppers we disturbed, and while the bird did catch and eat many such, yet he should also remem- ber that there were just as many in other fields that had been cut over, where we were not working; there- fore this tameness was not caused by hunger. What became of this Cowbird I do not know—since after cutting the hay on the home place I commenced on another several miles distant and thus lost sight of her. Food habits—The habit of the Cow- bird feeding among cattle, usually close to the head is well known by most observers. Their food consists of seeds, grains, berries and insects; grasshoppers, grubs and worms are eaten in large quantities. The grains eaten are loose or waste grains; they do not destroy growing grains. AS mentioned above, the Cowbird which attended me through the haying season, would eat grasshoppers until it could hold no more, but as digestion progressed it was soon up and at them again. Judd includes the Cowbird among those most actively engaged in consuming weed seed; also included among which are the least injurious to crops. Beal in his summary of the results of the examinations of 544 stomachs of the Cowbird reports that 20 per cent. of the Cowbird’s food consists of insects which are either harmful or annoying; 16 per cent. is grain, the certainty of one-half being waste. More than 50 per cent consists of nox- ious weed seeds, the destruction of which is a benefit. Breeding habits—How many eggs does a cowbird lay? Who knows? Here is a chance for our Ornitholog- ical scientist to earn fame for himself without making two Cowhbirds grow where only one grew before. In- stances are known of seven eggs of the Cowbird being found in one nest, but whether they were deposited by one female is not known. Bendire sets the number that might be the produc- tion of one female at 60 to 100, but has no proof. Bendire also cites the nests of some 90 species in which the eggs of the Cowbird have been found. The Cowbird lays its eggs in nearly all of the smaller birds’ nests; in this locality preference being for those of the Yellow Warbler and Red- eyed Vireo. The Cowbird will some- times throw out the eggs of the right- ful owner to make room for its own. Hifrig—Auk Vol. XXXVI—reports finding Cowbirds’ eggs in the nests of the Meadowlark; one nest containing two of the Cowbird and four of the THE OOLOGIST 27 Meadowlark outside of nest. This is one of the largest birds whose nest is used to deposit its eggs by the Cowbird. The Baywinged Cow- bird occasionally builds a nest of its Own, incubates its own eggs and cares for its young as any respectable bird ought. A good description of the nest- ing habits of the Cowbird is given by Coues in his “Birds of the Northwest,” page 185, to which I would refer the reader. Mating habits—The Cowbird is per- haps the only species of the Avian family which practices’ polyandry, caused no doubt by the fact that the males far outnumber the females. Nearly everyone who writes of the Cowbird has little to say of its good in the bird world; fault is found with its gross and confirmed habit of using other bird’s nests as a home and al- lowing some other bird to act as a wet nurse for its children. Yet this “black sheep” has some good points; it is not all bad; it is all in the point of view. CALIFORNIA OBSERVATIONS. During the season of the spring and summer of 1922 we, the family and myself, made many trips through the country surrounding Tulare, Cali- fornia, for a radius of about thirty miles. Starting out in April we covered the country west of town first, then later we took trips through other parts and on one occasion went onto the plains west of Kings River, in Kings County. Early trips were more for observa- tion than anything else, but we picked up a set or two of California Shrike, and an early Red Shafted Flicker, also a set of California Jay, which had been deposited before the willow tree in which the nest was located was in leaf. On this same trip we were digging after the nest of a Burrowing Owl, or as we know him locally, “Billy Owl,” and as the children were returning from a nearby stream where they had been prospecting, Flossie found the nest of a Kill Deer out in the open field. Among the willow trees in Cross Creek and about 75 yards from the main traveled road we found a colony of Black Crowned Night Herons which contained many nests, and we took perfectly fresh eggs from these same nests on two different trips, proving that this family raised at least two broods in this locality this season. Our visits were just two weeks apart, and on the second there were no sign of young, only egg shells where they had hatched out. West of here, about 15 miles from Tulare, there is a piece of overflow land and several trips to this place were productive of much enjoyment, as there were several kinds of water birds, and among them the noisy Black Tern and Black Necked Stilt. As we would near the pond they would set up a cry that seemed to us could be heard for a mile, and this was incessant until we had departed, after rambling around their abode for a while. Here we saw Mallard Ducks, one pair of Yellow-Headed Blackbirds, Black Tern, Black Necked Stilts, Coots, Pied Billed Grebe, and the ever present Kill Deer, and on one visit a Spotted Sand Piper, also many San Diegan Red-wing Black- birds. The pond in one place was spotted with the nests of the Black Tern, quaint little bunches of grasses and offal, floating on the water, and surmounted by the unvarying quota of three darkly spotted eggs. On a visit to the before mentioned Cross Creek on April 22 we found the nest of an Arkansas Goldfinch ready for occupancy, but it contained noth- ing, and we must have been viewed 28 THE OOLOGIST with trepidation, for another visit later disclosed the fact that the nest was deserted. Another nest of this same species in a plum tree in our back yard, about 25 feet from the house, was filled with four beautiful eggs, and the mother could be seen from the ground on the nest. One day we missed her, and as the nest was not occupied again we concluded that some cat must have taken her from the nest. Eventually the eggs disap- peared, but we could find no trace of shells. This season we found two nests which were the “lowest down” of any of these varieties we have ever found. One was that of an American Crow, built in a button willow tree about ten feet from the ground, in a field prob- ably a mile from the nearest house. The other was that of a Western Red Tail, built in a paradise tree, which stood in a field along side of several others, and this nest was about 15 feet up. During our rambles we discovered the first Baltimore Oriole on April 19. These beautifully colored members of our birdland nest in this vicinity, usu- ally in colonies in cottonwood or pop- lar trees, though another favorite place is the willows that border our irrigation ditches or an old deserted orchard. They invariably hang their neatly woven nest of horsehair on the outmost and frailest limbs that they can find. About April 28d we found the nest of a Wren, ready for the lining. This was situated in a cavity in a large willow tree where a big limb had been blown off in times gone by, and this had rotted and the heart of the limb had been cleaned out after rotting, making an ideal place for such a fam- ily, having a nice roomy abode inside with a small opening, the only draw- back being its proximity to the ground, being situated not more than three or three and a half feet from the ground. About this same time, on this same stream, we found the nest of a West- ern Bluebird in an old Woodpecker hole in a willow tree, about nine feet from the ground. It is about this time that the Road Runner starts housekeeping, also, and we found on this same trip a nest just completed, and containing one egg. It was built on an old fallen tree, and was only about five feet up, in a fork of a limb projecting from the fallen tree. This bird is frequently seen around here on the open country stretches, but does not come in near the more thickly settled parts. It makes a pretty sight when it gets a start ahead of you in the road and leads off. When you crowd it too closely with a machine it will sud- denly turn into a field, and throwing its tail up in the wind, make a quick stop, raising the feathers on top of its head while it views its follower with curiosity. They are not very wild as no one ever molests them. During the past summer we have observed here the following birds, which are listed as we saw them, and not in the order in which the cata- logue is made up: Mocking Bird, Western Meadowlark, Mourning Dove, English Sparrow, Bullock’s Oriole, California Shrike, Barn Swallow, Phoebe, Tree Swallow, Burrowing Owl, Brewers Blackbird, Cow Bird, Red- wing Blackbird, Yellow Headed Black- bird, Western Red Tail Hawk, Black Crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron, California Jay, Crow, Willow Goldfinch, Arkansas Goldfinch, House Finch, Western Bluebird, Lazuli Bunt- ing, Road Runner, Red Shafted Flicker, Arkansas Kingbird, Kingbird, Western Horned Lark, Screech Owl, Sparrow Hawk, Coot, Canvas Back Duck, Mallard Duck, Black Necked THE OOLOGIST 29 Stilt, Black Tern, Common Teal, Kill Deer, Sandpiper, Western Wren, Tow- hee, Western Magpie, Kingfisher, Pied Billed Grebe, Turkey Vulture, and this winter we were honored one noon by having a party of about twenty Jun- coes for dinner in our back yard as they passed through. Ren M. Lee, Tulare, Calif. European Starling Appears. I first saw the European Starling in April, 1922. It attracted my attention by its whistled note, and then I saw it fly straight across the garden and swoop into a sweet apple tree. Its plumage looked dark gray to me, and I noticed it had a short tail and white bill. All together I realized a stranger had appeared in our midst. It came a number of mornings, always alone and repeating its whistled note. Last fall a number of dark birds gathered from time to time in the top of tall locust trees lining our streets and we called them Blackbirds. Cold weather came on and still we noticed these birds. All through December they continued to congregate there and fill the air with their calls, two or three times a day. On the 12th of January, 1923, I counted thirty, and a short time after the flock left the locust and came into the sweet apple tree, where the lone Starling first appeared in April. Here they feasted a few minutes on frozen rotten fruit. At close range they looked like young Robins. Their breasts brown, striped with cream color; head and shoulders of male dark, with tails rather short and bills conspicuously white. In size, a little larger than the English sparrow. They proved to be thirty Starling instead of thirty Black- birds. introduced into New York a number of years ago, and the range of their spreading has been watched by the ornithologists, and our governmental surveyors at Washington, D. C. In a bulletin issued by the Bureau of Biological Survey in 1913, of “Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard,” with color plates of each, the Starling is not mentioned. Chester A. Reed, curator in orni- thology, Worcester Natural History Society, in Bird Guide of 1915, says: “They are spreading to other localities in Connecticut and about New York City.7 In answer to my report on them to the Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, D. C., the acting chief replied: ‘From your description of the bird and its habits we have no hes- itancy in saying that it is the Euro- pean Starling, and is therefore an interesting note on the occurrence of the bird in that region.” This region being exactly on the boundary line between New York State and Pennsy)- vania. It will be interesting to watch far- ther the life of this bird from whom much has been feared; for its disposi- tion has been quarrelsome and domi- neering, with a tendency to drive out the song birds. Leda W. Chace, Lawrenceville, Tioga Co., Pa. Winter Residents at Northville, Mich. Thinking that the following may be of interest to readers in the Oologist, I am sending a few notes taken during December and January, 1923. I have found Blue Jays and Crows very common, and Black-capped Chick- adee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, common in the woods. The Barred Owl and Great Horned Owl are not uncommon, al- though not often seen, The Screech 30 THE OOLOGIST Owl is plentiful and the American Long-eared -OWl is seen occasionally; there-is. a report that a Snowy Owl was-seen near Plymouth, Mich., about four miles from here, but this is a rare occasion, as the Snowy Owl but rarcly visits this region. The Bob-white and Ruffed Grouse are common, and I observed a male Brown Creeper for the first time, al- though it is recorded as not uncommon in Michigan. I have also observed the Purple Finch for the first time since 1919. In the winter of 1920, the Evening Grosbeak visited this region for the first time; even the oldest residents here had never seen the bird before. It was here in great numbers all through the winter, in flocks varying from one dozen to two hundred. How- ever that was its first appearance and it has not been seen since. James Wood, Northville, Mich. OBSERVATIONS. The Gulf of Mexico is on the south and east of Texas and Wilbarger County is one of the counties just across the Red River from Oklahoma, just a few hundred miles from the Gulf, and no large body of water closer in these parts, and gives us—a dry stream about ten months in the year, being merely a run off for ex- cessive rainfall. Pease River, running entirely across Wilbarger County, empties into the Red River about eight miles east of Vernon, the county seat of Wilbarger County, and it is a fact that had these rivers been filled with beer instead of water, Vernon would not be so much, as Pease River has nothing on “Red.” The general makeup of both rivers is low banks, wide beds, being nothing more than sand wastes, with sand hills irregular On both sides, These rivers have water holes scattered along and these ranging in depth from a few inches to several feet. Along in April and first days of May nearly all of the small waders are along these holes and by the hundreds, and mixed with the waders, Least Terns are plentiful. Being so far from any water of any size, it did not occur to me the Terns could be breeding in such a locality, but three years ago, while just ob- serving the birds at one of these water holes my attention was centered on the fishing of the Terns. Taking an individual I watched him dab down in the water, rise up and head north; the next one observed did the same, and so on until several had headed in the same direction. Immediately I headed north and in less than a mile soon located a colony of about fifty pair of Least Tern on a sandy stretch in the bend of Pease River, nests— yes, one for every pair, three eggs in each nest. This colony would not cover over three or four acres—some nests would be comparatively isolated, while others would be eight or ten feet apart. Stranger still, in this colony were as many nests of the Snowy Plover— three eggs in each nest—as there were of the Tern. No attempt at nest mak- ing is made by the Terns—merely scratching out a small hollow—while the Snowy Plover invariably placed small stones around their nest, re- sembling the tell tales of the Rock Wren nest entrance. L. L. More, Vernon, Texas. THE OOLOGIST 31 Kingfishers’ Nests. On page 10 of the new “Exchange Price List,” in the account of the tak- ing of a set of Kingfisher eggs, the writer seems to doubt the finding of fish bones in a kingfisher’s nest. Now I have examined many King- fishers’ nests and in the greatar part of them there was no attempt at nest building, the eggs laying on the bare earth in the enlarged end of the bur- row. However, I found many nests where there was an accumulation of fish bones around the eggs; this was usu- ally in nests where the eggs were partly incubated. May 16th, 1885, I found a nest with four eggs, incuba- tion commenced, where the eggs were laid on a few dead leaves and fish bones. Verdi Burtch, Branchport, N. Y. Snowy Owl and Coyote. While on a trip to Mounville on January 24th, 1915, my partner noticed a coyote with a rabbit in its mouth, crossing a field. A Snowy Owl swooped several times at the coyote, making it drop the rabbit twice. Perhaps the Owl had been the origi- nal captor of the rabbit, but at any rate jthe Coyote remained in jpos- session. A. D. Henderson, Belvedere, Alta. Late Mallards. On December 16th, 1922, late in the afternoon, while I was admiring a flock of Ruffed Grouse, browsing in a clump of willows, I happened to glance upward and saw three Mal- lards flying northeast. I had not seen a duck since Lake Nonne froze over on November 18th and I suppose the nearest open water would be at som« rapid on the Athabasca River, towards which the birds were flying. A. D. Henderson, Belvedere, Alta. Notes From Benton County, Arkarsas, the Land of a Million Birds. Unusual conditions prevail in this vicinity, due I believe to the cxtremely mild weather conditions that have so far been experienced. Robits are still seen in large flocks daily, while last year the last one had gone before Christmas, and the first returned on the 24th of January. At this season of the year net as many birds are seen in the fruit and shade trees as during the sprirg aud summer months, but in the big woods, brush lands, along the spring branches and small streams they are fourd by thousands. The tall timber finds large flocks of Flickers, numerous kinds of Woodpeckers, ranging in size from the busy Downy to the great Pileate{- the harsh cry of the Blue Jay and the caw of the Crow also announce their pres- ence. The brush lands claim wost of bird box, by using a small white pine the Red Birds, Wrens, Tom-Tits, Chick- adees, Robins and various Sparrews. Along the creeks, in large numhers, we have Cowbirds, Blackbirds, Cedaer- Waxwings, Juncos and numerous others of our feathered friends in smaller numbers. * * = My First Set. According to the usual way of things, as I understood them, my first set of eggs should have been English Spar- row or at most Jay or Robin; how- ever my first set consisted of three Crested Flycatcher eggs, taken from as eccentric a pair of birds as I ever heard of. This is the way it happened: One morning, having nothing else to do, 1 had with the assistance of a neighbor boy, constructed a four-room 39 THE OOLOGIST box secured at the grocery store, and by nailing two partitions at right angles in the box four medium sized rooms were constructed; I next cut four round holes allowing easy access to any of the rooms; we finished by adding two porches with slanting roof, fastening one end of a sturdy pole to the box we then proceeded to nail the other end to a fence post in the chicken yeard, between the chicken house and a large red oak tree. AI- though we anxiously watched the new house for several days, it showed no signs of being occupied, so we practic- ally forgot it until one afternoon about three weeks later we noticed straw protruding from one of the lower holes; promptly getting a step-ladder we looked into the box and saw a rather bulky nest made of nondescript material. The nest contained one egg, which we took to be English Sparrow; it was rather dark in the nest and we did not touch the egg; before de- scending the ladder we noticed that the upper right hand hole also con- tained an about half-made nest. We did not look into the box again until the third day after our first visit, and were surprised to find the nest that was started on our previous visit com- pleted and containing one egg; we took each egg out of the two nests, looked at them and returned them to their original places; in doing this we noticed a medium sized snake skin in or at the side of one nest, and I re marked to my companion that the bird must be hard up for building material if forced to use snake skins for nests. We did not know what kind of bird occupied our box, so hid nearby and waited to see; after waiting patiently for half an hour, during which time we often heard the pair of birds call- ing each other, but did not see them until suddenly the female flew to the top hole and went in and stayed as ong aS we watched. The next after- noon we looked again and to our sur- prise found a third egg laid on a few grass roots in a different room from either of the other eggs. Our identity of the bird not being positive, we looked in our bird books for descrip- tion of bird and eggs, and when we read the following description of the eggs it fitted them so exactly that we were sure they were Crested Fly- catcher eggs (the strong personality of the bird is stamped even upon the eggs. Where is any to match them for curious crazy coloring? The artist had purple inks shading all the way from the deepest chestnut-purple to the faintest lilac. With a sharp pen he scratched the shell from end to end with all his colors till it was covered, then finished it off with a_ few wild flourishes and crosswise scrawls.) We took the three eggs and blew them, using a pin to make a hole to empty the contents. I still have one of the eggs and I have since found that it is a typical specimen of the Crested «lycatcher. This peculiar in- sident aroused my interest in birds and eggs, which has been growing ever since. David T. Young. Bentonville, Ark., Jan. 8, 1923. Werner—Taxidermist. I am very much interested ir the supplement to the October Oologist by Reger, of Norristown, Pa., particu- larly as I knew Mr. Werner intimately, and went on a trip to Texas with him in 1884 and helped him collect some of the birds Reger now has in the collee¢ tion he obtained from the Werner es- tate. Werner was an artist in the lines of photography and taxidermy, and he commercialized his work only because he was compelled to in order to live. He often lamented to me that he was compelled to sell the creations THE OOLOGIST 83 of his artistic hands. He was a gen- ius, but too retiring and diffident for his own good. At the time of his death he was in Atlantic City, N. J., where he had been for a number of years, and his ambition was for the city to build a museum and take over his collection for the benefit of the public. But the politicians did not see it that way. Poor Werner, this collection was his life work. G. B. Benners, 278 S. 23d St., Philadelphia, Pa. USE YOUR HEAD. A Woodpecker pecks a great many specks Of sawdust when building a hut; He works like a nigger, to make the hole bigger; He’s sore if his cutter won’t cut. He don’t bother with plans of cheap artisans, But there’s one thing can rightly be said; The whole excavation has this expla- nation— He builds it by using his head. Gerard Alan Abbott, Glasgow, Ky. An Alaskan Letter. An Alaskan letter, dated September 30th, 1922, from one of our Alaskan collectors reached us January 8th, ane contains, among other things: “T came to town last week and go back to camp tomorrow. I walked in and led a pack horse. It is sixty miles and took four days to come in. Came over the mountains, as the shorter trail would mire the horse. One day we saw ten to twenty thous- and Ptarmigans, and I thought of you and a camera. They were mostly L. Lagopus, but some were Mountain or Rock Ptarmigans, mixed with them. Of course the country could not sup- port such numbers for long, but they will move from there soon, as the ray snow is now nearly covering the ground. I saw them on the mountain tops. As you know I raise reindeer, and we have two thousand in one herd. We should have about seven hundved fawns next spring, and we must move from place to place to keep with the herd. The range is what naturalists call Alpine Arctic, and below us, some three or four miles away, is often much less and poorer timbered coun- try, called Hudsonian Zone; neither of these places are sandy, gravelly or grassy and none of it is heavily tim-— bered. It is from one to three thous- and feet altitude. My range is Tunda, or at least moss covered, and often considered barren land. It is typical of the treeless north. Of nesting shore birds we have Phalarope, Snipe, Plover and several Sandpipers, also Hutchin’s and White- fronted Geese, and the little Brown Crane, while the Swans nest on the lower ground. The Alice and Varied Thrushes and Robin are common as is also the Harlequin Duck. We have some Green Winged Teal, Pin-tailed, Mallard and Scaup Ducks, Red Breast- ed Mergansers, and also the Pacific Loon, and Holboell’s Grebe, and rarer a Curlew. Blackbirds are only too common. Long Spurs are abundant, also Horned Larks, the Pipit and Snow Bunting, and high up in the rocks the Rosy Finch. Also Rough-legged Hawk and Western Alaska Red-tailed Hawk, Duck Hawks, Horned Owls, and the Golden Eagle are not found here, but are common in some places on the coast, also Myrtle Blackpoll and Yel- low Warblers, Black Capped Warblers, Western Tree, Gambells and Yellow Crowned Sparrows. I believe timber line here is about 2000 feet. It is a low and swampy, 34 THE OOLOGIST grassy country at the mouth of the river, which can be reached from here in two days, where many Ducks, Cranes, Gulls and shore birds nest. The Short-billed, Bonaparte’s Gull and Arctic Terns being among them, and a few Red Phalarope.” How many of our readers would enjoy a spring collecting experience in such a territory. R. M. Barnes. Just As the Sun Went Down. I gave up deer hunting for the day and decided to take my shotgun and go to a water hole and watch for some turkeys not far from camp. A wind mill furnished water that ran into this hole in the ground. A small wooden tank was near the mill and had a pipe running into it. The wcod- en tank was about six feet long and one foot wide; this would run full of water as the wind ran the mill. Then the tank would run over and fill up the water hole I was watching. I hid in the brush in shooting distance. Armadillos would come, get a drink and go. All animals that came to water while I was there would drink from the water hole. All birds would drink from the wooden tank. No big game showed up and I think several thousand Doves drank from the tank while I lay hidden in the brush. I got up and went to the tank, and to my surprise it was empty. The birds that had watered there in one hour’s time had drank it dry, and it was half full when I first went by it. A Dove does not drink much, but you can tell what a bunch of Doves watered there to drink the tank dry. At times you could holler as loud as you pleased and you could not hear yourself for the racket that the thousands of Doves made as they flew in, flopped around, drank and made it away to their roosting grounds. I think every state in the United States must have been represented at that Dove water- ing hole. Now the sun is down and the moon has begun to peep, so I made a bee line for camp. I had walked a short distance and to my right I heard a roar. It sounded like the lions that roar in a cage at a circus. I knew what it was, and slowly walked along, watching every opening. To my sor- row, I was loaded with Turkey shot only. Another roar came from the brush and another, then the panther came into sight; he was not in shoot- ing distance and funny, but it’s the truth, I was glad of it, as I was not armed properly for such big game. The panther saw me, but kept his distance; he was going the same course I was, but several hundred feet to my right. Now and then he would roar to let me know he was still com- ing. As darkness fell I lost sight of my friend Mr. Panther. I came to a gate not far from camp and saw a light flash at this gate. I was glad to see it. It was Mr. Anderson, one of our party. He was loaded with Tur- key and was waiting for my father to arrive at the gate before they went on to camp. Father soon arrived with a big gobbler, and I said did you all hear that blood-curdling racket over there? Mr. Anderson laughed and said no. But my father spoke up and said yes. So we came to the conclus- ion that the panther did not want any- thing to do with me because I did not have any fresh meat, and he was slip- ping on my father, who had passed in a short distance of him with a wild Turkey. As it was too dark and we were loaded with Turkey we did not look for the panther. I can say one thing truly, there is one panther in the Blue Mountains that would be in my shop right now if I had of had a Winchester instead of a shotgun and bird shot. The rest of the party har- THE Oo LOG Il S'T 35 rassed me for not shooting the panther with bird shot, but the ranch owner who was lighting a cigarette by a coal of fire raised his head and said, “Ye better be doggone glad ye didn’t shoot at him with them bird shot. Why that would made the ole boy ready to fight instead of run.” Ramon Graham, Ft. Worth, Tex. Not Golden Fronted Woodpecker’s Eggs. On page 86, 1914 Oologist, the late E. J. Darlington described a set of eggs (five) secured from the collection of the late Wm. B. Crispin, and asked, “What are they?” The set was taken by F. B. Arm- strong, Tampico, Mexico, and accred- ited to the Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. Mr. Darlington describes them as pale cream color, two marked with reddish and lavender spots, while the others are almost plain (unmarked). While eggs of the Sulphur-bellied Fly- catcher are like those of the Crested Flycatcher, as pointed out by Mr. Dar- lington, these eggs were more like those of the Martin (Purple?). His description, however, placed them as far away from Martins’ eggs as they appeared to be from the Sul phur-bellied Flycatcher, inasmuch as all were creamy white and showed more or less markings. I have examined hundreds of nests of the Purple Martin with flash and mirror in the hope of finding at least one breaking away from the regula- tion type of immaculate, but in a total of three or four thousand eggs thus examined, not one showed any trace of markings. Other Swallows, such as Barn, Cliff, etc., frequently lay pure white unmarked eggs, but I say, a marked specimen of Purple Martin egg will be an abnormal wonder—not an impossibility, however. Now, apparently, Mr. Darlington ob- tained satisfactory authenticity from some Texas man who pronounced the questioned eggs Golden-fronted Wood- peckers’ (see Oologist, 1915, page 64). Mr. E. H. Short, of Chili, N. Y., saw the eggs, as did also Mr. E. J. Court, National Museum, Washington, D. C., but neither could name the species; Mr. Court stating that they certamly were not eggs of the Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. Sometimes I have wondered if Mr. Darlington was taking the identifica- tion seriously, by the Texas man who said the eggs were a typical set of Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Mr. Armstrong sent me eggs of the Golden-fronted Woodpecker, but they are real Woodpeckers’ eggs. The Golden-fronted Woodpecker never did, and cannot lay spotted eggs. Biological laws governing the separa- tion of orders and the coloration of eggs forbid it. But, on the other hand, the Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers will produce eggs graduating all the way from the normal specimen, through ex- tremely lightly marked types to ab- normally faintly marked and the rarer phase of abnormalism—pure white. A pure white egg of the Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, or any of the Crested species, retaining its normal shape, will very closely resemble normal eggs of the Purple Martin. I firmly believe Mr. Armstrong knew what he was doing when he accredited the eggs to the Sulphur-bellied Fly- catcher. Mr. Armstrong furnished me many sets of abnormal eggs, and there can be no question of authenticity. Why he allowed this set, valuable to a stu- dent of abnormal eggs, to get into hands where even museum bird doc- tors could not name the species, I do not understand. J. Warren Jacobs. Waynesburg, Pa., Jan. 12, 1923. 36 THE OOLOGIST A Belated Swallow. Friday, November 17, 1922, was cold and wintry. The ground was whit- ened, the result of a recent snow flurry, and altogether it was decidedly cheerless. I was traveling by train from St. John, New Brunswick, to Montreal, and was impressed by the scarcity of wild bird life. Not even a Funeral Crow in many miles to break the lifeless monotony of the landscape. Finally, about nine in the morning, we stopped and I noticed the sign read “Birchton.” I was told we were in Quebec. An open field lay between the train and some farm buildings one hundred yards or so away. Suddenly my attention was arrested by a small bird flying slowly across the field. It sailed along leisurely with an occas- ional familiar wing movement, and I saw that it was a Tree Swallow (lIri- doprocne bicolor). It disappeared behind the train, and I eagerly watched, hoping it would return within range of my vision so that I might reassure myself. Pres- ently it reappeared and this time passed by the window within forty yards and as it wheeled on several occasions I was able to note the pearly white breast which clearly distin- guishes this from others of the Swal- low family. On such occasions one naturally asks why should this frail bird have remained while others of its kind went south some two months or more ago? I believe that it is true that the Tree Swallow is one of the hardiest of the Swallows. It has frequently been seen feeding on berries of various kinds, either from choice or when _ insects failed to abound in sufficient numbers to sustain it. Nevertheless, it is es- sentially an insect eater and is one of the first of our summer birds to leave for the south at the approach of autumn. Possibly this might have been an injured bird, hence unable to complete the long flight, though on the wing it showed no evidence of any physical defect. Might it not be that sometimes individuals among the birds reach maturity, lacking that marvelous sense which we call the “migration instinct?” Separated from their fellows they linger aimlessly about their native haunts, eventually succumbing to the natural forces which apparently must soon destroy the frail bird I have described. R. W. Tufts, Wolfville, N. S. A Catbird’s Nest. The following is a detailed account of the materials in a Catbird’s nest taken from an apple tree in an orch- ard near Bardstown, Ky., from which a set of five eggs was collected on May 11, 1921. The lining consisted of two hundred and twenty-five small rootlets, mostly about four or five inches long. Hvi- dently these were secured from an old raspberry patch that had been plowed up a few weeks previous. Just outside the lining of rootlets there was a mixture of grapevine bark and bits of corn fodder. There were twenty-four pieces of grapevine bark, mostly about three inches ir length, though one piece was six inches long; five shreds from blades of corn fodder ranging from two to six and one-half inches in length. Next came leaves, forty-four in nun ber, all of which, except one, were from sugar maple and nearly all had the stems attached. The exception was a beech leaf. Outside the leaves were several bits of paper, as follows: _Two moisture proof papers from chewing gum; one small piece from an envelope flap; two pieces of newspaper, one about two inches square, the other was about 2} THES oo OG) St 87 three by four inches, but was doubled before the nest was torn down; the top off a seed packet, bearing the word “lettuce;” a triangular piece of old wall paper about three inches across. There was also with the pa- per a strip of cloth about six inches long and an inch wide. Then came the foundation, consist- ing of wood stems, a few rootlets, and two pieces of coarse grass. There were thirty-seven pieces of annual vine and weed stems, the longest piece about thirty inches in length, and there were ten pieces over a foot long. There were six large rootlets, the longest about sixteen inches in length and about the size of a No. 11 wire. The two bits of grass were about five and six inches long, with roots attached. The total number of pieces of ma- terial was three hundred and fifty-six. Possibly a few pieces may have been lost in taking the nest, and a few might have been broken or lost in the count, but the number is nearly cor- rect. It is interesting to note that no twigs were used in the constructicnu of this nest, in spite of the fact thaf such authorities as Alexander Wilson, J. M. Wheaton, Chester A. Reed and A. W. Butler agree that dead twigs are used by the Catbird. Also, grass is mentioned as a material used by this species by all of the above writers, except Wheaton, but in this nest only two pieces were used. In this nest there seemed to be five separate layers. First, the foundation, mainly of weed stems. Second, bits of paper. Third, leaves. Fourth, grape- vine bark and bits of corn fodder. Fifth, the lining of rootlets. Doubtless nesting materials vary greatly in different localities, and the general statements of our ornitholog- ical writers on this point cannot al- ways be taken as a basis for the country at large. Therefore, if ob- servers would more carefully study nesting materials and record the re- sults of their studies, obviously they would be worth while contributions to this interesting phase of bird study. Ben J. Blincoe. Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 3, 1922. NOTES ON COLLECTING EGGS OF THE GREAT HORNED OWL. In 1915, when I began the collection of birds’ eggs of Paulding County, Ohio, it seemed to me that of all the eggs I might take here, none would be more desirable than the eggs of the Great Horned Owl. Consequently dur- ing the season of 1915 I was continu- ally on the lookout for nests of this bird. About the middle of May, while walking through a small woods, two miles southwest of Payne, Ohio, | noticed a large dead red. oak, the trunk of which was literally white- washed with bird droppings, and upon looking up noticed in the fork a young Horned Owl, not quite strong enough to fly. Thinking that ;jperhaps there might also be an addled egg in the fork, which was perhaps thirty-five feet up, I decided to climb and find out. After taking several rests(?) along the way I reached the fork, nearly exhausted (I had no climbing irons and the tree was large). As I reached for the young Owl it attempted to fly, but dropped heavily among the dead leaves at the base of the tree. The fork was slightly dished and appeared to have been used as a nest. A single stick apparently had lodged in such a manner that it wouid have prevented the young or eggs from falling out. While still at the fork one of the parent birds flew by within fifteen feet, with a pack of 38 THE OOLOGIST Crows in close pursuit. None of them seemed to notice me until they had passed. After reaching the ground I stared up into the top of a leaning tree nearby and saw the other young Owl. After playing with the one that had fallen long enough to find out that with all his turkey-gobbler strutting and cute appearance, he was too dan- gerous for a pet, I grasped the tip of one wing, placed him on a leaning tree nearby, where he would be in no danger from dogs, and left him, hoping that he and his mate would have no other bad luck than to lay a fine set of eggs for my cabinet next year. Ncst number two was found Febru- ary 20, 1916, in a large, dense, hundred- acre woods about a quarter of a mile west of the woods containing nest number one. The female attracted my attention by flying off the nest with a swish of wings, when I was fifty feet from the tree. The nest was about twenty-five feet high in the fork of a large elm and appeared to be an old Crow’s nest with a great number of buffy Owl feathers clinging to the sides. I had no climbers, but fortu- nately a large ivy vine reached to a large branch just below the nest and I lost no time in testing it and decid- ing it would be safe to climb. Anyone who has climbed a rope for twenty- five feet knows they were plenty tired enough upon reaching the top without having to pull themselves over the beam, rod or branch to which the rope was tied; at least that was the way I found myself at the end of the vine, and as I pulled myself up over the branch it seemed to me that if I had weighed another pound I never could have made the grade. After lying on the branch and taking a long rest I rose and took a look at the two dirty eggs which lay on the heavy mat of down and feathers. I had imagined they would be white as snow, and much more nearly spher- ical than they were and though dis- appointed in this respect was glad nevertheless to get them, no matter how they looked. Mrs. Owl crouched on a branch of a tree.about one hun- dred feet away and did considerable whoo-ing. After a long rest I Slid down the trunk of the tree and started for home with my prizes. Upon ar- riving home I found the eggs very heavily incubated and requiring the drilling of large holes. Nest number three, found March 10, 1916. This nest appeared to be that of a hawk and very likely had been the home of Cooper Hawks the year before. The nest was about forty feet up in a slender dead elm near the center of the woods, containing nest number two. Both birds were seen near the nest. This tree was easy to climb without the aid of climbing irons and I soon reached the nest only te find that no eggs had yet been laid. Two days later in the afternoon found me back in the woods without much hope that the birds had re- turned. However Owl “horns” were plainly showing and twitching above the nest and a rap on the treee caused Mrs. Owl to leave. The nest was soon reached and the two snow-white eggs were in my possession. A few bits of twigs and buds had been added since I had examined the nest two days be- fore, but there were no feathers or other lining on this thick flat nest. I have always felt that these eggs had been laid by the same bird I had robbed in February and that I had done them a great injustice by taking the second set. Nest number four was found about February 15, 1917, (exact date not known); I recall that the afternoon was very pleasant and warm for this time of year and that Mr. Don Parady, HEC OC 0 Gi ST 89 of Payne, had asked me to help his boy scouts find a nest of the Horned Owl. The boys were too noisy and talked too much for us to have much luck in finding a nest. The Crows were continually harrassing a pair of the birds and seemed to be chasing them all about the woods. We were about to give it up when I noticed one of the Owls alight in a tree quite a distance away. We were soon at the tree and near-by found the down- covered nest which had been used by the Crows one or two years before. This nest was not more than twenty- five feet high in an elm and there was very little left of it except the mud, a few twigs and a little binder twine. The two dirty eggs were cold when taken and Mr. Parady informed me later that they were heavily incubated. Neither bird put in an appearance nor was heard of while we were at the nest. This nest was in the same woods where numbers two and three were found, but was quite near the north edge. Nest number five was found in some woods near a portable saw mill. It was found February 23, 1920. This was a natural cavity and was about twenty-five feet up. There were plenty of feathers about the entrance to the cavity, but very few inside although there was plenty of snow and ice inside, surrounding the eggs. Mrs. Owl left at the first rap of my climbing irons and was not seen or heard later. The day was very cold and I had a great deal of trouble hang- ing to the bark with my cold, numbed fingers. This was another foolhardy climb. The tree was about thirty inches in diameter at the base and perhaps twenty-five inches at the cavity. The cavity was very large and deep enough that the sitting bird could not be seen from the ground. Tae eggs were slightly incubated. Nest number six was found March 13, 1921, about one and a half miles southwest of Payne, in a small woods and not more than five hundred feet from a house. It was hard to believe that these Owls would use such a small woods for nesting, and it was only my curiosity that caused me to get the eggs. I had noticed what ap- peared to be an old Crow’s nest fully fifty feet up in the fork of a red oak near the center of the woods. There were no downy feathers clinging to the sides of the nest and the “horns” of the sitting bird appeared almost exactly like pieces of corn husks which might have been dragged up by a fox squirrel or a raccoon. A rap on the tree brought no results, nor indeed a series of raps with a large club. Clubs thrown at the nest brought no results and I had walked away deciding to give it up as I didn’t care to climb fifty feet for nothing. After walking some distance from the tree I decided to return and try it again. After throwing several clubs, I finally placed one so near one of the “horns’ that Mrs. Owl moved it ever so slightly, but enough to let me know that it was not a corn husk. When about half way to the nest Mrs. Owl flew off and sailed up in the top of a tree nearby, where she did a great deal of hooting until a rapidly in- creasing flock of crows drove her away. The nest was an old Crow’s nest with an addition of a few bits of moss and a very few feathers. The two eggs were very dirty and were considerably incubated, but were changed to an excellent set with small holes and a spotless surface. Nest number seven was found March 25, 1922, in Allen County, Indiana, about seventeen miles east of Ft. Wayne. This was a natural cavity forty feet up at the top of a large liv- ing sycamore in a dense and very wet 40 THE OOLOGIST woods. The tree was three feet in diameter at the base and fully two feet at the top where the cavity was so shallow that the sitting bird could plainly be seen from the west side oi the tree. A rap with the irons was sufficient to send Mrs. Owl away to be further persecuted by Crows. The diameter of the tree and the smooth- ness of the bark gave me quite a problem to figure out. I first decided to fell a tall sapling nearby in such a way that it would lodge in the top ot the sycamore and so give me easy access to the cavity. A gust of wind at the wrong moment spoiled this plan and so with the help of two boys who lived a short distance away, we Car- ried a heavy painter’s extension ladder from a barn nearly half a mile away. This proved to be too short, and so as the tree had no branches except a few up around the cavity I tied a rope belt around my waist and then tied the end of another long rope to the helt at my left side, passed the other ead around the tree and tightened it up with my right arm and wrist, wrap- ping it about my wrist as I climbed higher and the tree became smaller in diameter. I climbed in spiral fashion, as it was necessary to loosen the rope occasionally from the small protruding knots or knobs. The cavity was reached in due time and there lay two tiny downy Great Horned Owls, about the size of day old chicks, and neariy as innocent looking. In fact as 1 peered down at these little pitiful figures it scarcely seemed possible that within three more months they would develop into “tiger” birds. I descended as quickly as possible lest the nestlings might chill. The boys promised they would not kill either the young or parent birds, and I was both pleased and surprised when I returned two weeks later to hunt for a Red-shouldered Hawk’s nest to see the sitting bird ur in the cavity. Homer F. Price, Payne, Ohio. INDEXING THE OOLOGIST. A correction because of an unfortu- nate oversight on the part of our printer, the January issue of The Oologist is paged from 185 to 204. in preparing the copy for this issue it was not thus paged—it was paged from 1 to 20. This issue we began paging where the January issue should have left off and in making next year’s index the reference to the January issue will be made from 1 to 20, in- stead of from 185 to 204; you should immediately upon receipt of this issue of The Oologist, repage your January issue so that it will comply with the paging which will be used in making this year’s index, and that will be as follows: January Issue, 1923. Actual Corrected Paging Paging Tithe Page s.i2. 223 eee 1 186. 225 cea el Se eee 2 VST ae ee eee 3 USB oe ee SS eee 4 189) 3 cow SR eee 5 L900 sistas Peace. bee 6 OMe cassis. sdk cee eee 7 1:92) oie bila as eee Ree ee 8 9S). pd bees bt GE eee 9 194e° cuss see ake dae Ae 10 195: uo. Jina che th See 11 196. ssaca seem ee be ate as SeEee 12 WOR seis watchs ete J awidod Sa ee 13 198% 22 poitona Seeder eee 14 V99 ca 4%). Sa eivevnshensteteee eae 15 DOO: 2 so ceretaid ois aes hogy oi wd ea eee eee 16 P)) ee eee ERIC oot tetas & i'o.6 a. ¢ 17 QOD sions: scene sGvrahacd eieye Ia atmos rae 18 DOB ts eséveceshad ab Se Ghee ne ee 19 VAY rn er eae ES OI Oat fobs acs - 20 R. M. Barnes, rie Golo eg Tra tr EGGS Will Exchange personally taken Florida sets for books. Want the last four volumes of AUK: good books on Butterflies, Moths and Insects; also good work on Southern Botany. Tell me what you have and price and will send you list. Oscar E. Baynard, Plant City. Florida. TO EXCHANGE—One King Trom- bone, Silver plated Gold bell, Highland low pitch, new in case. For first class sets. E. A. Wheeler, E. Randolph, N. Y. FOR SALE for Cash—Bulletin Coop- er Club & Condor, Volumes 1 to 6 in- clusive, complete, except No. 6, Vol. 1. Oologist, Vol. XI, (1894) complete; Vol. X (1893) complete, except April, July and November. W. B. Sampson, 1005 North San Joaquin St., Stockton, Cal. North America, bound in library buck- ram, 59 colored illustrations by Fuer- tes. Also bound 1916 Bird-Lore. Fred J. Pierce, Winthrop, Iowa. WANTED—For analysis, 1 set each 337 and 339. Must be absolutely fresh, unblown and very carefully packed and sent special delivery parcel post as soon as taken. Write and make agree- ment now. Will give copy of Bent’s Diving Birds to the one who sends me the two sets this spring. Paul G. Howes, 91 Hope St., Stamford, Conn. Cash if preferred to the book. 2-3-4 FOR SALE—Na. History Books and Magazines. Brents “NN. AS Diving Birds.) N. A. Gulls and Terns,’ “iN. A. Petrels & Pelicans,’ Coues’ ‘“Key,” “Birds of NW.,’ “Birds of Colorado Valley,” “Ornithological Bibliography,” “Botany & Zoology Mex. Boundary,” (searee, colored plates of birds), ‘‘Con- dor,” “O. & O.,” “Osprey,” and many more; send for list. If you have Nat. Hist. literature or a collection of old Postage Stamps to dispose of, let us hear from you. Franklin’s, Box 2, Washington, D. C. WANT 20 or .410 modern double shot gun, cash or exchange. FOR SALE, very old double barrel “horse pistol.” F. M. Carryl, 1 Princeton St., Nutley, New Jersey. BUTTERFLIES—Just received a new shipment of South American butterflies in papers unnamed, consisting of Papi- lios Heliconias Catsopilias Calagram- mas, ete., which I will sell in lots of 25 mixed for $5.00 post paid. Each lot contains one Morpho cypres, one of the most brilliant of South American but- terflies; dealers charge $2.50 to $3.50 for the specie alone. A. J. Potter, East Killingly, Conn. _ 1-3t FOR EXCHANGE—A-1 sets 261, 273, 305, 308b, 331, 367 and others for well mounted specimens of 327, 331, 332, 333, 337, 337a, 342, 348. Also have finely mounted 334 will exchange for some of the above. Elmer Langevin, Crooks- ton, Minnesota. FOK SALE or Exchange—Mounted Birds, Skins, and Eggs in sets and singles. Jesse T. Craven, 5315 Roose- velt Ave., Detroit, Michigan. 1-2t WANTED—Bent’s Diving Birds For Sale—Nelson’s Smaller Mammals of FOR SALE—Ridgway’s “Birds of Middle and North America.” Vol. 4 & 5 (half leather), Vol. 6. 7 & 8, (Paper). Theodore R. Greer, Aledo, Illinois. - WANTED—By H. H. Johnson, Pitts- field Maine: Bird Lore, Vol. XXIII, 5; Vol. XXIV, all;Journal Maine Ornith. Soc., Vol. VI, 4; VII, 1; Nuttall Bulletin, all; Oologist (Utica), all; Ornith & Oologist (Semi-An.) Vols. I & II, all; Wilson Quarterly, Vol. IV, 1; Biol. Sur- vey Bull, Nos. 6, 27, 34, 35, 37, 39; N. A. Fauna, Nos. 7, 19, 22, 27; Maynard, Birds of Eastern North America; Mc- Tlwaith, Birds of Ontario, 2nd edition; King, Economic Relations of Wis. Birds. WANTED —Lepidopters from_ the West and South West, especially Splin- gidae Saturniidae and Papiloes. Wm. Jay, 12 Westview St., Mt. Airy, Phila, Pennsylvania. WANTED—Prismatie Binoculars. C. S. Sharp, Escondido, Cal. Will give sets of 349 or part cash. How about it? EXCHANGE PRICE LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS’ EGGS We have just published this work which it took a Committee of well known Oologists, who were elected by The Oologists of North America for that purpose, nearly two years to complete. It is a Volume of two hundred pages, well illus- trated, by half tones, showing the advance methods that now obtain in Oology. It contains the following special matter. 2 A history of Birds’ Egg Catalogues. 4. Prices in this Catalogue. 6. Copy of Standard Data Blank. 7. 8. Illustrations showing proper cabinet 9. Report of the Committee of Twenty-five on 10. Names both common and scientific of all North American Birds and 1. An introduction. this Catalogue. for collecting and preparing eggs. trations of proper way to mark eggs. arrangements of specimens. prices. 3. A history of 5. Directions Tllus- What they mean. Prices adopted for the exchange of specimens of eggs of each. 11. Advertise ments. Paper bound copies $1.00. Cloth bound copies $2.00. R. M. BARNES, LACON, ILLINOIS. THE OOLOGIST THE WILSON BULLETIN A QUARTELLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY Paying particular attention to Field Studies of Birds in Middle North America. Now in its 28th year. 64 pages or more of readable matter with illustrations. Indispensable to all active field workers. $1.50 per year, 40 cts. per copy. Official Organ of THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB Address GORDON WILSON, Secretary, 1434 Chestnut Street, Bowling Green, Kentucky. A Biboliograph of scarce or out of print, North American Amateur and Trade Periodicals, devoted more or less to Ornithology. Listing 147 sep- arate publications. Price 25 cents. R. M. BARNES. Lacon, Ill. 1923 Subscribe for “The Oologist” for 1923. It is the only Bird Journal in North America devoted to the interests of those making collections. It is not too scientific to be popular and not too popular to be ac- curate and scientific. fifty cents. Subscription price per annum Address The Oologist, Lacon, Illinois. THE OOLOGIST. BIRDS--NESTS--EGGS TAXIDERMY VoL. XL. No. 3. ALBION, N. ¥:, MAR.,-1923, WHOLE No. 431 AN Tw. ea Ny \) es } were SP a A gh ra an? goilal lnstitg > £S i Ww ii rine 2 (G23 7 Vv wre A aN ““4tlonal Mus? ThE Or Os OFGHies a BRIEF SPECIAL ? Istc., inserted in this department at 25 centa idditional Wanted. Exehunge, l°or Sale, for ench 25 words for one issue; each ¢ serted for less than 25 cents. ANNOUNCEMENTS word 1 cent. No noticé in- vertise the skins, nests, eggs, or mounted specimens of North Amer- eee foe sale for persons having a lawful authority under the law to deal in the same. These columns are for the use of those desiring to make bona fide sxchanges of such specimens for scientific collecting purposes only.—HDITOR. DATA BLANKS—I will print 500 Standard Data Blanks with your name on them for $1.50 postpaid. Edward S. Coombs, 233 Washington St., Malden, Massachusetts. FOR SALH—Birds and Nature Maga- zine bound in double volumes as _ fol- lows: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 13-14, and volume 11 single. Covers slightly worn but in good second-hand condition. Write W. H. Over, Vermillion, So. Dakota. 2-3 IT have some 5000 Indian Relics, most- ly arrows, a few tomahawks, etc., i will exchange for Mounted Specimens or bird eggs, or will sell same for cash. C. E. Pilquist, Dardanelle, Ark. FOR SALE—Large collection of birds’ eggs and nests, mounted birds, shells, corals, sea curios, minerals, carvings, nuts, Ceramics and Indian curios. Must dispose of same at once. H. E. Lutman, Painted Post, N. Y. eve AS WANTED—Back numbers of Orni- thological magazines, especially Condor, also any books on Ornithology or Tax- idermy. Egg cabinet also wanted. Write, giving prices. James Suthard, Madisonville, Kentucky. WANTED to hear from collectors having sets of eggs or Bird Skins to dispose of. Cash or exchange. C. F. Pahrman, 1011 Fourth St., La Porte, Ind. JOHN LORANG, Genesee, Idaho. Col- lector of Idaho Birds eggs, also Bird and Animal Skins for mounting pur- poses. For sale or exchange. A black Sauirrel Skin Mounted. FOR SALE—Auk, 1918 and 1920, vol- umes complete, $1.50 each, prepaid. Wilson bulletin, 1920 volume, 90c. Bi- ological Bulletin 17 and 39 also. Fred Pierce, Winthrop, Iowa. In addition to eggs in sets I am making a cosmopolitan collection of singles. Must have accurate data thor- oughly identified. Offer skins, eggs, or cash. A. W. Hanaford, R. R. 9, Box 1210. Los Angeles, Cal. “Beginners Luck”’—A collection of 75 varieties, eggs in sets, at a bargain. Common and not common; a good start for a collector. Also a Woodpecker and sapsucker, group of fifteen varie- ties, very reasonable. Send for lists and prices. Fred Dille, Valentine, Nebr. FOR SALE or BEXCHANGH—After two years and a half in storage, I have now unpacked my library, bird and mammal collections, and have for sale many duplicate books and O. & O. pub- lications. Also will exchange bird and mammal skins from this section and sets of raptors, finches and jays. Harold H. Bailey, Miami Beach, Zoo’l Park and Museum of Natural History, Miami Beach, Florida. FOR SALE or EXCHANGE—Butter- flies of New England for California Butterflies. T. Love, Collector, 105 Grove, Lynn, Mass. FOR SALE or EXCHANGE for Eggs —Birds of Hastern Canada—Taverner; Birds of New York, two vols.—HEaton; Birds of a Maryland Farm—Judd; Com- parative Oology of N. A. Birds—Schu- feldt; Book of Birds, 250 col. plates— Henshaw; Catalog of Birds of Kansas —Goss; History of Birds of Kansas— Goss; Check list of Birds of New York —Farr; Birds of South Dakota—Over and Thoms; Key to Land Mammals of northeastern N. A.—Miller; Catalog of Birds of Kansas with description of nests and eggs—Goss; Raptorial Birds of Iowa; A Portfolio of 106 col. plates of Birds of Fuertes. Lieut. L. R. W olfe, 26th U. S. Infantry, Plattsburg, N. Y. I have for EXCHANGE sets of eges of the following species, A. O. U. Nos:: Led) As OS ie asllO eal eaet amg PAS PAR Pll PRS 295 30; B0As Sly soilla ono Te 38, 40, 42, 43, ay Elly ES, Bal aay, Bye ais, EG), (BS, GD Oe ale 72, 74, 75, 80, 81, 81.1, 83, 86, 86a, 104, 106, OME AS SUGAS TA ALIS Mit Syste ALL 7(, ILA), il 25, 127, 128, 132, 134, 135, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 150, 160, 167, 169, 172, 172a, 172c, 174, 178, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, LONE 192 194 194, 19 Ge ailogemmEe M. Barnes, Lacon, Tll. Get a CATALOG Before they are All Gone They are going hery fast. Less than 100 copies are left. THE OOLOGIST. VoL. XL. No.3. AuBIon, N. Y., MAr., 1923. WHOLE No. 431 Owned and Published Monthly, by R. M. BARNES, Albion, N. Y., and Lacon, III. TAKE NOTICE. SUBSCRIPTION 50 CENTS PER YEAR Examine the number on the wrapper of your Oologist. If it corresponds with the Whole No. above it denotes that your subscription expires with this issue. Remember we must be notified if you wish it discontinued and all arrearages must be paid. Entered as second class matter December 21, 1903, at the post office at Albion, N. Y., under the Act of Congress of March 38, 1879. SPRING! March is here with its raw, bleak winds and chilly days— but also with its tall leafless trees in the hollows of which are hidden two or three great white spherical eggs of Bubo virginianus, or perhaps lodged high up in the fork of a high white oak on a hillside is a bushel or more of sticks and rubbish on top of which sits Mrs. Butco borealis hiding two, three or possibly four large, beautiful, whitish eggs blotched and spotted with red, brown and lavender tints. Great gobs of fresh air, ozone and good health await the Oologist in the wide outdoors. Not to speak of deep droughts of sugar water dripping from forest giants tapped by the owners. Pry ait! R. M. Barnes. Cee nc erent tt aS —— ee FACED °O°O°LE OG Sa 42 Tid “9 “V “Ad Aq 0JoYG— uobau9 ‘019g ‘yae19 SeWOYY ‘uaddig UBDINOWIY 94} JO oWOY Time oO L6G 1 STF 48 CINCLUS MEXICANA — AMERICAN DIPPER. One of the Most Interesting Birds of the Mountain Streams of the Cas- cade Mountains in Oregon. With its beautiful clear song it fairly makes the canyons ring during the breeding season. Wading, swimming or diving, in the swift water of mountain streams for food, they may be seen, along the higher streams of this range. Build- ing a dome-shaped nest with the en- trance on the side and low down, generally placed near rapid water, or water falls, where the spray keeps the moss of the nest green, also build- ing on shelving rocks or under old bridges or water power plants. Nest and four eggs taken April 23, 1922, built on a beam underneath a flouring mill near water falls. This pair of birds had been nesting there for four or five years to my knowledge, and W. L. Finley took moving pictures of this pair of birds and nest when they were feeding their young. Nest built entirely of moss, the walls of which were about two inches thick, and in the bottom of this dome-shaped nest was built a fine woven nest of small dried grass, well cupped, which contained the four pure white eggs. Dimensions of nest: Circumference, 29x28 inches; length, 11 inches; width, 9 inches; height, 8 inches; opening on side 3x3 inches. May 9 this pair of birds had con- structed a new nest within three feet of the location of the first nest, and it contained four fresh eggs; building their nest and laying four eggs in 15 days. Dm A. G. eri: NO IDLERS AMONG THE BIRDS A close study of bird life shows a most careful division of labor, observes a contributor in Canadian Boy Builder, who knows the value of our common birds and has also detected the recent popular interest in the movement in their behalf. Some birds, such as Swallows, Swifts, Nighthawks and Whippoorwills, sweep the air and keep down very small gauzy-winged pests like mosquitoes, gnats and midges; while the Kingbird, Pewees, Phoebes and other members of the Fly-catcher family take care of the larger flying insects, most of which are injurious to vegetation. To the Warblers and Vireos is as- signed the task of keeping leaves clear of larvae, plant lice, and canker- worms. Thrushes, Bluebirds, Robins, Orioles, Catbirds, Thrashers, Wrens and Tanagers pay special attention to the larger caterpillars and tree in- sects. Another family of birds has special charge of the bark; among these bird care-takers are to be found the vari- ous Woodpeckers and Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Chickadees and Kinglets, who keep up a tireless search for insects in tree trunks, preventing their destruction. Not only are there birds who work in the air and on the trees, but there are also ground-floor workers. Hid- den on the ground around the roots of trees and in the grass are insect enemies whose name is legion. Black- birds, Crows, Robins, Oven-birds, Thrashers, Ground Warblers and Flickers are well known members of the ground-workers’ gang. Other birds work in close co-oper- ation with man in the destruction of weeds by the eating of seeds. The various Sparrows and Finches are his constant co-workers. Some of the THE OOLOGIST Td “) "V Ad Aq o}04Gq— uobe19 ‘010g ‘yaeu9 SeWOYUL ‘vaddiq UueolWaWYy 94} Jo JSON 7 ie Ha Lee OO LOGS tT 46 more tender Sparrows, who have to winter in the South, leave their work to be carried on through the autumn and winter by Juncos, Snowflakes, Redpolls and Grosbeaks.—The Class- mate, T. A. Strong, San Jose, Cal. BIRD LIFE AT FUSIHATCHI COUN- TRY CLUB, ELMORE COUNTY, ALABAMA. By Peter A. Brannon, Montgomery, Alabama. The Fusihatchi Country Club is lo- cated on and surrounds the aboriginal site of Fusihatchi, on the Tallapoosa River. It truly perpetuates its name, if we are to consider it from the stand- point of a bird refuge. The word sig- nifies “Bird Creek,” in the Creek In- dian language. Aboriginal Gorgets found in the vicinity of this place show numerous applications of the figure of the Ivory- billed Woodpecker, and it is highly probable that the word takes its sig- nificance from the fact that in those days this bird was common in this region. The bird life there is almost as it was in primitive times. Observations covering the last ten years, give many reasons why the original Creek Indi- an inhabitants of this section should have called it by that name. During the period from 1913 to the present time, the writer has visited this local- ity four or five times each year, some- times oftener, and there is no place in the central part of the state that bird life is more prevalent or more diversified. The Country Club reser- vation has only been established about two years, but during the past ten years several observers have paid especial attention to the locality, and the fact of its natural beauty, as well as its attractive winged inhabitants was one factor in the selection of the point as a club. The grounds extend up Fusihatchi Creek from its mouth at the Johnson bridge, at old Ware’s ferry, for three and one-half miles, and include part of the Tenant “quarter” of a large river plantation, the bridge keeper’s house, as well as a small fish pond, a club house, a duck roost and some sage fields where quail abound. The entire acreage, though, is not large. The Pileated Woodpecker has been known to nest on the reservation for more than ten years. A pair in full plumage, secured at different times here, is in the museum of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The Summer Tanager, the Red- winged Blackbird, the Bee Martin, the Rough-winged Swallow, the Chimney Swallow, the Mocking Bird, the Cat Bird, the Yellow Hammer, _ the Meadow Lark, the Bluebird, the Wood Thrush, the Mourning Dove, the Brown Thrasher, the Purple Martin (locally called the Box-Martin), the Crow, the Orchard Oriole, the Bluejay, the Cardinal, the Shrike, the Field Sparrow, the Red-head Woodpecker, and other of the more common perma- nent residents, nest in the immediate vicinity of Sambuli Lodge, the club house. The King Rail, the American Bittern and now a small colony of Ducks are located just in the upper marshes of the lake, and the Kingfisher in the banks of the dam. The flora of the surroundings is practically unchanged from that re- ported by William Bartram, who paid two visits to the Indian town in 1777. That flora characteristic of the central Alabama sandy country, is highly de- veloped at this point. The mountain laurel and three of the azelias grow 46 THE OOLOGIST on the grounds of the club, as well as two varieties of palms and other typic- ally tropical plants. Both long leaf and short leaf pine, cypress, magnolia, bay, live oak, black jack, wild cherry, and other just as different hardwoods grow within a stones throw of one an- other. The natural surroundings of swamp grasses and shrubbery is high- ly conducive to the fauna of the region. The Chuck-Wills-Widow, the little Ground Dove, the Bob-White, and the Field Sparrow, as well as the Meadow Lark, nest within and near the pine groves, and the Crane and Water birds hatch their young not one hundred yards away. On the 29th day of April, 1922, I noted within one-fourth mile of the club house the Cardinal, the Summer Tanager (both male and female), the Red-winged Blackbird, the Bee Martin, the Rough-winged Swallow, Chimney Swift, Snipe, Killdeer, Cow Bird, Mock- ing Bird, Cat Bird, Yellow Hammer, Meadow Lark, Savannah Sparrow, Bronze Grackle, Hnglish Sparrow, Bluebird, Marsh Hawk, Mourning Dove, Brown Thrasher, Wren, Crow, Purple Martin, and I heard in the marshes nearby the American Bittern and one of the Sandpipers, as well as seeing what I took to be a Tern, and the Warblers and Vireos were keeping up a constant twitter in the swamp nearby. In passing by the edge of it, I identified the Pine Warbler, Parula Warbler, Prairie (in an open field), what I thought was a Yellow-bellied Fly-catcher, a Goldfinch and a Wood Thrush. A small colony of Green-head Mal- lards nested on the reservation in 1922. The authorities of the club pre- vented the shooting of them in the hopes that they might become estab- lished in the locality. Reports of a few nests have been made during two “or three recent summers at the head of Speigners Lake, thirty miles west of here, but I cannot verify this. The Wood Duck is quite common at Speig- ners and may have been confused with the Mallard. The Indigo Bunting, so attractive along the Tallapoosa River in other sections was not noted on _ these grounds until the late summer of 1922. The Water-Turkey is prevalent, and a reasonably common bird, in the swamp country in several directions, within a radius of five miles. Two miles away and lower on the Tallapoosa River is a colony of White Heron, and I have taken the little Green Heron and the great Blue Heron at the same place. The Blue- gray Gnat-catcher was taken by me less than three miles from here, and I have noted the Brown-headed Nut- hatch, the Kinglets and the Red-eyed Vireo just across the river from the club grounds. The Purple Gallinule and the Fior- ida Gallinule have nested on a lake two miles down the river for several years, and this year a pair of the Purple were observed here during the spring. A flock of seven wild Turkeys is nesting on Chubbahatchi Creek, not six miles away. I have records of the Robin there in May, and as they nest in Montgomery county, I have reason to believe they nest here, too. The EHuropean Starling has been taken in Hlmore and Montgomery counties during the past three winters, not five miles from here, always in January, and feed in this locality on the winter berries. . LAE OO OGTS Tt 47 CRANE MIGRATION AT BATTLE PRAIRIE, PEACE RIVER DISTRICT. I suppose the Cranes treated of in this article were the Little Brown Cranes, but the Owl, two of the most wary birds I ever shot, and which | intended to identify next morning, were served up in a stew for break- fast and I could not tell whether they were Canadenses or Mexicana by the taste. No doubt some of our learned bird doctors would have had no diffi- culty in deciding, judging from some of the stunts they have performed in this line. I found it almost impossible to ap- proach these wary birds near enough for a shot when they were feeding on the large prairies, but on some of the smaller prairies, surrounded by wil- lows, they would feed around and around the prairie in a circle and give an opportunity for a shot as they passed my place of concealment in the willows. On these occasions they looked very much like a flock of Tur- keys and probably this is why they are called “Wild Turkeys” by hunters. some In 1916 the first Cranes noted were two large flocks on April 27th. One flock was flying north and the other feeding in the slough. In the fall they were first seen on August 30th, one small flock. On September ist more were seen, and on the 3rd and 4th several flocks. On the 9th I heard them flying over and on the 15th saw one large flock. They were heard again on the 20th, and on the 22nd I saw several flocks flying over and one flock lit on the prairie. On the 27th and 28th several large flocks were seen flying south, after that none were seen. In 1917 they were first seen on May Ist, a large flock going north. On the 3rd several large flocks passed over and a flock of two or three hundred lit on the prairie. On May 5th many flocks passed throughout the day and one flock lit. I made an estimate of each flock seen and the total number seen was around three thousand on this day. On the 6th they were still coming, and I estimated the number passing at about one thousand. On the 7th only about one hundred passed and on the 8th none were seen. On the Sth one flock of fifteen passed and on the 10th one lone crane lit on the prairie—none were seen after this. In 1918 I heard a Crane on April 13th, but no more were seen or heard until the 28th, when a flock passed over. On the 29th about one hundred and fifty passed over. On May 6th I saw a flock of about two hundred circling slowly down from a great height and alight on the prairie, evi- dently to avoid a wicked looking storm which was approaching from the north. It was a most beautiful sight and we stopped our saddle horses and watched it until they reached the ground. On the 11th I saw two flocks of about one hundred and fifty and two hundred each. The last seen passed on the 15th, a flock of about one hundred and fifty. A. D. Henderson, Belvidere, Alta., Canada. A UNIQUE BIRD TRAGEDY. During the past late summer and autumn. months (1922) Pine Siskins have occurred in great abundance in Nova Scotia. Some weeks ago I was traveling by auto near Bedford and at a point where elaborate road construction was being carried on I was held up by one of the workmen, who informed me that a dynamite charge was about to we fired. He pointed to a pile of brush 48 THE OOLOGIST about 150 yards down the road which was placed in the customary manner over the charge. As I waited I heard the familiar sweet notes of a rollick- ing flock of Pine Siskins. Glancing upward I saw them coming toward me about 30 in number and straight for the ominous brush pile. Flying ac a height of about 60 feet they passed directly over it at the instant of the explosion and the air was filled with dust and pieces of flying rock. The birds appeared to be literally swal- lowed up in it and as none were seen to emerge in any direction I believed that many if not all were killed. R. W. Tufts, Wolfville, N. 8. WRENS AND WARS. Major O. C. C. Nicolls, late of the Royal Artillery, sends us the following clipping taken from the Royal Ar- tillery Magazine, and of this incident he says, “It isn’t a fiction,” and it is truly a remarkable incident. In Nieppe Forest. Yn the spring of 1918 my battery was in action in Nieppe Forest. Our guns were protected by epaulments of fas- cines, which fascines were made by the Chinese Labour Corps in the peace- ful days when the war was further east. The epaulments were carried high at the sides, to protect the de- tachment from splinters, and laths were stretched across the top to carry the green camouflage. So much for the mise-en-scene. Amongst our forest friends were two wrens, who, looking around for a nesting place, found a pair of spurs, belonging to one of our subalterns, hanging on a small branch projecting from the mass bivouac. The founda- tion of the nest was wound around spurs and branch with wonderful speed, and the subaltern had to resign himself to spurlessness. Unfortunately, we had to move our position temporarily a few days later, for some festival. On our return we found that some unscrupulous person had destroyed the nest and absconded with the spurs. Apparently our re: turn reassured the little builders, for we had hardly got our guns into their pits, when the pair were discovered constructing another nest between a lath and the camouflaging over No. 3 gun. This was serious. It is the one thing for a highly paid subaltern to sacrifice his spurs, but quite another for a 4.5-inch howitzer to give up the war; so the wrens had to take their chance. Daily and nightly the gun fired, and men scraped and cleaned and carted ammunition about the pit; but the nest was built. Every time the gun fired, the lath— which was not two yards from the breech—jumped nearly six inches. But the camouflage netting held the nest on the lath, and the eggs were laid. If the mother was ever off the nest when the gun was fired, she flew back, sat on the eggs, and held on for dear life to keep them down, as someone said. Strange to say, the whole sitting hatched out. The hun- gry, squawking little mouths became an excuse for diverting brigadiers’ at- tention from a searching cross-exami- nation on markings on ammunition. The noise, deafening to human ears, in no way stunted the nestlings’ growth. They were fledged just in time to al- low us to take the camouflage with us when we moved to St. Venant. A PERFECT DAY. Any true Oologist I believe will ex- perience a thrill of excitement when he collects for the first time the eggs of a species of which he has never before personally taken, even though the species may be one of the com- monest. Most of my collecting has ,re’ ocr oats T 49 been in the Middle Western States, and to the readers who reside in the eastern section the below described nests are perhaps frequently their most common taken, but the past sea- son of 1922 was my first residence in this locality and the below noted sets were the first of each species that 1 had eve1 collected. It was Saturday, June 17th, I had finished the usual company inspec- tion of quarters, stables and equip- ment. Saturday afternoon is a time- honored holiday in the army, so l concluded to pack up my collecting outfit and take a stroll in the hope of locating the nests of a few of our feathered friends. Leaving my quar- ters I went directly across the parade grounds toward the lake. Near the farther side there were two cedar trees and as I passed these I was just naturally curious, so grasping the low- est limb I raised myself up into the thick foliage; there not two feet away was a rather bulky nest resembling somewhat the nest of a Kingbird. As I looked a bird climbed from the nest, stood on the edge a moment and then was gone, a Cedar Waxwing; in my anxiety to see into the nest I almost overturned it. My heart took an extra beat; four beauties, grayish white with round specks of black and a few blotches of purple, and they were fresh. The nest was situated eight feet from the ground and among the thick branches of cedar. It was rather bulky, composed of twigs, leaves, grass, pieces of paper, a few strings and lined with rootlets and a few hairs. As this set was being care- fully packed I nearly convinced myself to return home, because such good fortune right at the start of a trip usually means disaster for the remain- der of the day, but I finally swung the basket over my shoulder and started along. Some time later I was slowly work- ing my way through a tangle of young saplings and small growth, then there was an open space of about twenty feet, and just on the opposite side of this a male Redstart hesitated a mo- ment and then darted into the leaves. I made a few more steps and there was the nest about five feet from the ground in the top of a small maple. Five eggs reposed therein. I was not sure of the identification, so returned to the other side of the little clearing and sat down to watch the nest. Ina few minutes Mrs. Redstart slipped down and covered the eggs, and then as I approached the nest again she and her brightly colored husband scolded at me from the top of a sap- ling a few feet away. This nest was a very neat cup, composed of plant cot- ton, inner bark of vines and _ cob- webs all woven together and about the upright forks; it was lined with root fibers and one or two feathers. The eggs were well advanced in incuba- tion, and were of a dull white color spotted and splashed around the larger end with light brown. This was a beautiful set and as incubation was ad- vanced, a lot of patient work was necessary in making a good set; the first set of American Redstart that I had ever collected. This set and nest were carefully packed and I continued on through a rather damp mixed woods, finding and photographing, but not disturbing several nests of the Wilson Thrush, Yellow, Chestnut-sid- ed and Magnolia Warblers, a nest of our little friend the Chippy, nearly filled with three eggs of the Cowbird. Then at the edge of a patch of thick brush I parted the leaves of a blue- berry bush; there was a nest contain- ing three eggs that were new to me. This nest was so low that at first I thought it was in the grass, but found it to be in the outer forks of a branch 50 THE OOLOGIST and about eighteen inches from the ground, constructed wholly of small straws and grass and lined with fine wire grass and a few fibers. The eggs were of a creamy yellow and finely specked around the large end with rich brown. I stood near the nest for several minutes, but no owner ap- peared, so I withdrew about twenty yards and lying down behind a thick push I waited for the owner of the nest. It was fully half an hour. before a leaf moved just over the nest anc there appeared a bird which I at once recognized as one of the Fly-catchers, but was not able to determine just what species. I did not collect these eggs, but returned to this spot the fol- lowing day, after I had looked up sev- eral references and was able to prop- erly identify the Alder Fly-catcher. Needless to say this set is now a part of my collection. By this time it was getting rather late in the afternoon, some heavy clouds had come up and a drizzle of rain began, but I had found the nests of three species which I had never collected before and consequently my morale was pretty high and what did a little rain matter. Some ten days previous to this I had found a partly constructed.nest at the foot of a bush in a little glade about a half mile farther on, so I decided to continue on to there. Arriving at this location there was a patch of low bushes about three feet high and covering an area of perhaps ten yards square, but I had forgotten the exact place where the nest had been, so began walking slowly back and forth across the patch, parting the bushes and watching for the bird to flush. The whole area was soon covered, but no bird had been flushed nor could J find the partly built nest. It seemed quite evi- dent that the nest had not been fin ished, but as usual I was curious to know just how it had been constructed, of what materials and perhaps to learn of what species. I could not get any wetter than I was, so down I went in the wet bushes on all fours and began to search every square foot of the ground, having no idea of find- ing a set of eggs, but only to locate the old nest. After some minutes search it was found. There almost under my hand and just the same color as the wet leaves and grass quietly sat a little sparrow on her nest. Very gently I moved my hand over and covered her, then raised her from the nest; she did quite a lot of squeal- ing and biting, but soon settled down. The nest contained four richly spotted eggs, but I could not identify the bird. After a very close examination I found her to be a female White- throated Sparrow in immature plum- age; the white throat and crown stripes were practically absent and the only marks of certain identifica- tion were the yellow spots in front of the eyes and the small patch of yel- low on the bend of the wings. This bird was banded with Biological Sur- vey band No. 25327, and released. The nest was in a depression and sunk even with the surface of the ground and at the foot of some small bushes. It was composed of dry grass, dead leaves and bits of moss. Lined with fine wire grass and a few hairs. The four eggs were fresh, in color light greenish blue, heavily blotched with rich red brown. This was my first personally taken set of White-throats, and you may be sure that I prize it highly. After carefully packing this set and the nest, it was beginning to get dark and I started for home, hungry, wet and tired, but never have I enjoyed a more perfect day. Lieut. L. R. Wolfe, 26th U. S. Infantry, Plattsburg Barracks, N. Y. Pere OvOVL 0 Gus Tt 51 A GRACKLE’S LESSON. An amusing instance illustrating the seeming analogy between the motives and incidents in the lives of humans and birds so often observed by us, came to my notice one summer day some years ago. We often see actions of birds that seem to us to show clearly their reas- oning or lack of reasoning so very like that observed in humans that we won- der if the processes of evolution are not much more rapid than generally thought, and if we are not much more closely related to our bird and “beast” neighbors in point of time than we think, so that we have not yet lost the habits and processes of reasoning that actuate the lower(?) animals. It may be that our neighbors imi- tate our habits from association with us; or else as is more probable, we read into the instinctive acts of birds and mammals the same actuating mo- tives that we would experience and credit them with the same labored and time-consuming process of reason- ing that we would employ in similar case, whereas their actions are the result of instinct and impulse and per- formed on the spur of the moment, without any conscious reasoning at all. But, be that as it may, it is enter- taining to see the similarity in ther actions to ours, and in this particular case I speak of, the outcome so well demonstrated and pointed the moral of one of our oft-told parables that I thought it worth recounting. A Flicker family had their home in a cottonwood stub, standing in our yard. The entrance was about fifteen feet from the ground. I had been keeping pretty close track of their affairs, so one day when I judged the eggs must be hatched, I rapped sharply on the stub, as a preliminary to ascending to the nest, to cause the mother to fly off. Mother Flicker very promptly left her newly hatched babies and taking her station on a branch near her door began to abuse me in Flicker language, and intermittently to call for her mate. A male Bronze Grackle, whose fam- ily was in a tree some distance away, and who was engaged in a hunt for food for his incubating mate, heard the Flicker’s outcry, and recognizing her evident distress, being moved to sympathy because he had family cares, too, stopped, and perching be- side the Flicker lady joined with her in soft “‘clucks” of sympathy for her and harsh “‘churrs” of abuse for me. This went on for several minutes, when, the head of the Flicker family, hastening to his distressed mate’s aid, arrived on the scene. A quick survey of the situation convinced him that, since I was a familiar object in that vicinity and apparently harmless, the Grackle must be the offender, and 30 with no delay he went into action. After chasing the misguided sympa- thizer for a quarter of a mile or s0, he returned, and finding his mate at home again, the Flicker celebrated his victory with loud chirps, to which his mate responded with soft checkles of approval, never explaining to her mate his mistake, but applauding his valor and promptness in responding to her appeals. To me this pointed moral to the old saw so often referred to in our comic papers about the inadvisibility of in- terfering in a “private fight.” Dr. L. J. Evans, 704 First St., Ft. Myers, Fla. DON’T DO IT. I was much amused in reading Colo- rado Pedioecetes’ Altona Farm article in the December Oologist. He cer- tainly uncovered some “halo” spots in the present-day ‘“lime-light” ornitho- logical “science.” 52 THE OOLOGIST Some allusions he makes reminds me of a little dialogue I overheard at a meeting of the A. O. U. some twenty years ago, just about the time the A. O. U. began expanding its finances by enlarging its associate membership above the 300 mark by caging the new arrival ‘“lime-lights,’ with- and without university labels (former pre- ferred), who, feeling a “chesty” pride in the elevation, and hearing the con- stant babble of “buwd” clubs every- where, start on a “daddy-long-legs” scramble over the heads of the old “300”, grabbing for the biggest wires possible to land them right side up somewhere above the associate rank. The dialogue referred to took place immediately after the introduction of the wives of two somewhat known ornithologists of rank above associ- ate membership, and was thus, except that I use the name of Meriden for convenience and to illustrate the grace with which these dainty creat- ures handled the English language: “Oh, ar’ the’ many buwds about Mewiden, Mrs. So-and-so?”’ “Oh, yes, the’ ar’ a gweat many buwds about Mewiden, Mrs. So-and- forth.” : And so thus, the rare bit of scientific information was settled, but not being a party to the conversation, nor clothed with any right to stand and listen, I cannot say whether Crows, Magpies or just plain Passer domesti- cus made up the list of abundance. Anyway, this all reads like a Christ- mas bird census; but let me protest against the ordinary “Quismas Buwd Census” occupying the valuable pages of the Oologist. What matters it if “Gawge’” did see more birds than Jose- phine? Or if “Fwank” and “Gwace” did have a “glo’ious time” in getting lost from the rest of the “buwd pawty’’? Or, why grin if some bright “lime-light” did report fat and plump ‘lJarvae-eating Warblers” frolicking in zero weather 2,000 miles north of their Christmas home? The most of us get from 35 to 50 pages of these Christmas lists in bird lore, and the fad bids fair to spread over more pages. We want the Oologist for what it’s for today, and for what it stood for in yore, while a bunch of the present day “big fellows” were still in their orni- thological swadling garments and eager to read, and yea, to contribute to the pages of the little magazine. Vive La Oologist! Oh, it’s all right to go out and ob- serve the birds on Christmas, and any- thing new or unusual is well worth recording, but when you get back home just sit right down and write, for the Oologist, some short article of your past experience, like Miller’s “Late Nesting of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo,” or the preceding article; or the next one. Or, if the day has been a good stimulant, then some longer article of a more technical character; but don’t push the good old Oologist into the fad of an annual “peek-a-boo” day of mere figures and fancies. J. Warren Jacobs. Waynesburg, Pa., January 13, 1923. THE NEWS. There is a dearth of short crisp news items relating to Oology. It is your fault, Mr. Reader. Ye editor cannot tell of rare, unusual, or inter- esting finds unless you write them to us. We want news relating to birds, nests and eggs. Send us the results of your exploration of meadow, tim- ber, swamp and mountain this season —not literally, but figuratively, by writing a post card or short note of every unusual observation. Editor. Tee OO. LOG IST, EGGS Will Exchange personally -aken Florida sets for books. Want the last four volumes of AUK: good books on Butterflies, Moths and Insects; also good work on Southern Botany. Tell me what you have and price and will send you list. Oscar E. Baynard, Plant City. Florida. FOR SALE for Cash—Bulletin Coop- er Club & Condor, Volumes 1 to 6 in- clusive, complete, except No. 6, Vol. 1 Oologist, Vol. XI, (1894) complete; Vol. X (1893) complete, except April, July and November. W. B. Sampson, 1005 North San Joaquin St., Stockton, Cal. WANTED—For analysis, 1 set each 337 and 339. Must be absolutely fresh, unblown and very carefully packed and sent special delivery parcel post as soon as taken. Write and make agree- ment now. Will give copy of Bent’s Diving Birds to the one who sends me the two sets this spring. Paul G. Howes, 91 Hope St., Stamford, Conn. Cash if preferred to the book. 2-3-4 FOR SALE—Na. History Books and Magazines. Brent’s “NN. — — - — “TIMING A SCREECH OWL” Lots of us wonder, well, how long will it be until there will be a full set. I timed the Screech Owl as follows. Found Screech Owl in a hollow tree March ist. Went back March 24th, found one egg. I said to myself, “Well, I will come back, let’s see. Yes, the 28th for a set of five.” Back again the 28th, but only two eggs. Back again the 31st but only three eggs. This sounds like to me it took Mrs. Owl seven days to lay two eggs. Back again in April, still 3 eggs, collected, all fresh. Ramon Graham, Ft. Worth, Texas. bE eg Bee alt THE MURRELET The Murrelet, Volume IV, No. Alp January, 1923. This most interesting little publication came to our desk, filled from cover to cover, as usual, with real fresh, crisp bird news. In- cluding among other things, Avafauna of Minindoka County and adjacent territory, by B. W. Davis. Haunts of the Swainson’s Warbler, by Thomas D. Burleigh. Birds of the Bellingham Bay Region, by J. M. Edson, besides numerous pages of shorter articles and miscellaneous bird notes. R. M. Barnes. pe pee EE SHORT-BILLED MARSH WREN IN CANADA I have just been thinking of a short trip I had last summer, about three miles from home to an old wet meadow or pasture of about fifty acres in ex- tent; the time was about the first of June. On entering the meadow, I flushed a Savanna Sparrow and found a nest with five nicely colored eggs, and a little farther on a Bobolink’s nest with six eggs, while looking closely in the rank marsh grass I heard a sound which I took to be the song of a Long-billed Marsh Wren, and on getting a little closer to the bird I was surprised to see it was a Short-billed Marsh Wren. I spent fully a half hour looking for the nest, as this species is very rare in this local- ity; in fact I have never heard of anyone finding them nesting here. My patience was at last rewarded by finding a well woven nest of green grasses, within two inches of the ground, in thick, coarse grass, well hidden. It contained six pure white eggs, but sorry to say they were chipped and about to hatch. However, I looked for more nests, but found no more with eggs, although I visited the meadow three or four times after. In all, I found seven nests, but no more with eggs. I suppose they were decoy nests, like the Long-billed Marsh Wren delights to fool us with. I look for- ward to finding a set or two for my collection this summer. I also found three sets of Bronzed Grackle, placed en rafters in an old barn on the prem- ises, while pine and spruce trees were growing near by. H. B. Bingham, Barrie, Ontario, Canada. April 5th, 1923. ———— ee —— ———— —— — —— WHY? At the sale of the John Lewis Childs Library, in New York City, March 26th and 27th, a fully paid-up subscription to “The Birds of Cali- fornia,’ Format de Luxe Patron Loan Edition, including the two parts al- ready issued, by William Leon Daw- son, was sold at auction, for fifty dol- lars. R. M. B. 80 THE OOLOGIST A PRIZE It-is not the practice or the poiicy of-the Oologist to offer prizes or prem- iums, however, we are authorized to offer a premium of a duplicate post- card illustration, similar to the one published in this issue of the three young birds in a nest to ail of our subscribers who successfully guess, be- fore the next issue of the magazine, what. these birds are. : The Editor. ACADIAN FLYCATCHER In. looking over some old record books of the years that have gone by (when collecting was good), I found opposite the Acadian the word “Hr- ratic,’ written. So I said to myself I will write this up; so I went over all the old records I could find, and to my amazement I found several of my books were missing, as I will show later on. This interesting specie arrives with us about the 15th of April, and com- mences to build early in May and up to late in June; the reason I use the word, erratic, is because it is a wan- dering bird; some years you will find them quite common, then again sev- eral years may elapse before you see or find them again. Where they go, or where they come from I am unable to say. Most of our breeding birds come back to the old breeding ground every year, but not so with the Acad- jan. The nest is built along lonely roads; it is a very loose affair, made of weed- flores placed between the fork of a drooping limb at a height of 4 to 30 feet, and some are so high that you can’t get them. The nest is such a frail affair that the eggs can be seen through the bottom. In a period of over 36 years, my records show the following, 1887 to 1892, I took no eggs—1893-94-95-96-97-99 and 1900 all my records were lost, so the following years are as I find them on my books: 1§01, May 19th, 1/3. 1901, May 24th, 173. 1901, June 8th, 1/2. 1902, June 8th, 1/2. 1902, June 21st, 1/3. 1903, May 31st, 1/3 1903, June 3rd, 1/3. 1903, June 11th, 1/2. 1904, May 13th, 1/3. 1904, May 21st, 1/3. 1904, May 28th, 1/3. 1904, May 30th, 1/2. 1905, May 19th, 1 /2. 1905, May 23rd, 1/3. 1905, June 20th, 1/2. 1906, May 16th, 1/3. 1906, May 26th, 1/3. 1906, May 27th, 1/3. 1906, June 3rd, 1/3. 1906, June 18th, 1/2. 1906, June 30th, 1/2. 1907, May 12th, 1/8. 1907, May 26th, 1/3. 1907, June 1st, 1/3. 1907, June 16th, 1 2. 1907, June 27th, 1/2. 1908, May 20th, 173. 1908, May 31st, 1/3. 1908, June 3rd, 1/3. 1909, May 30th, 1/2. 1910, none. 1911, none. 1912, none. 1913, May 20th, 1/2. 1914, none. 1915, none. 1916, none. 1917, none. 1918, June 15th, 1/3. 1918, June 28th, 1/2. 1919, none. 1920, none. 1921, June 18th, 1/2. 1922, none. I have found that the same condi- tions exist in Camden County, further THE OOLOGIST 81 south, where the birds were plentiful once, but are now gone. Why they come and go as they do I can’t say, and I would like to hear from brother oologists what, if any, experience they have had with them. It seems like they are breeding farther north more plentiful than formerly, as I under- stand that they are common around Columbia, South Carolina. Troup D. Perry Savannah, Ga. 2S SS SSS KARL A. PEMBER The Boston Sunday Herald, of Janu- ary 28th contains a write-up of the egg collection of our friend Karl A. Pember, of Woodstock, Vt., in which it is disclosed that he is the County Clerk of his county, and that he keers his collection of birds’ eggs, the result of thirty years strenuous collecting, in the Court House. This write-up is illustrated by a number of half tone photographs of Mr. Pember and some of his experi- ences in his collecting. vice bs: —_—_—_—_—_ Oe SCIENTIFIC SNOBBERY A subscriber to the Oologist writes us, among other things, “You will note I have discarded all Latin names. Mr. X, of the XX, while he agrees with me that Latin names are being overdone, says he must have them jin order that the XX be quoted. Now I wonder who decides that? Not the common every day man, I am sure; but at any rate I do not think I give a c—, whether I am quoted or not. Mr. X also says XX that he cannot see why it should not be just as well for one to use the English names as given in the A. O. U. Check List, as the Latin.” The above is a fair sample of the feeling existing and growing every day among the ordinary bird students of the country. We suppose that if some person should suddenly come upon a colony of nesting birds of some of the varieties in the A. O. U. Check List, whose nidification secrets are at this time now wholly unknown, and should publish his observations, giving com- plete detail and thorough information as to the time, place, location and sur- roundings, as well as accurate de- scription of the materials of the nest and of the contents, including eggs and young, as well as a thorough expost- tion of the actions of the birds in the vicinity of their nests while building, incubating, feeding and defending their young, and this should be pub- lished by some person who was either not familiar with the last accepted scientific name, which may not have been in use more than a week, because they change with extreme rapidity, this supposed bit of scientific informa- tion, wholly new to the world, would not be quoted, referred to, or regarded simply because of the failure to attach to it some scientific Latin jargon that 90% of the people of the country could neither read nor understand. That condition of affairs apparently is now arrived at. We have no quarrel with Latin or scientific names, and possibly under- stand them as well as many who feign to make use of them, but we dissent entirely from the doctrine that un- stable Latin scientific names, which are continually subject to change, and are changed, should take precedence over good old fashioned every day English. And the rule suggested by our correspondent is evidently an ef- fort to smother scientific knowledge or at least place all of the obstacles possible in the way of the ordinary every day man, acquiring any part of it or receiving any benefit from it. It is too snobbish in principle to be en- dorsed or used by either real scientists or red-blooded men. R. M. B. 82 THE OOLOGIST FALCO PEREGRINUS ANATUM How many of you ardent oologists ever actually looked into the eyrie of the American Peregrine Falcon—and saw there a set of four beautiful eggs —and finally got them, brought them home, blew them successfully and placed them among the other treasures of your egg collection? That’s a fair question, isn’t it? Well, I wish some of you would answer it, without the aid of a personal question- aire. This Falcon is certainly uncommon. It is quite a thing to locate a pair of the birds, even. But it is this very rarity and difficulty that ought to add zest to the pursuit for a real live oolo- gist. I don’t know how many active col- lectors are on “The Oologist’s” list of subseribers, but there must be many, and all of them ought to be. I know that four of them have enjoyed the experience suggested in the question above. I’d like to hear more about it through these columns. It is cer- tainly worth writing about—and worth reading. How many can not only answer “ves” to the above question, but can say they have repeated the perform- ance? How many have done it more than twice. How many have collected nine sets? Have I done it myself, you ask? Oh, yes. I collected nine sets personally last season, and hope to do as well this year. But I’d like mighty well to read about you other fellows’ experience along this line. The taking of my first set of Duck Hawk’s eggs in 1922 was accompanied by some rather interesting features. Having been down in Massachusetts, visiting Mr. R. L. Coffin and his Duck Hawks, I was returning home on the train, late in April. It was a fine spring day and I decided to stop off and visit one of my pairs of Duck Hawks and try and locate their nest. The year before these birds had fooled me and I was anxious to land them, if possible. So I got off the train, got on a trolley for a couple of miles, got off the trolley and walked a mile, trundling suit case and overcoat; branched off the road into the woods where I could change my clothes in peace and quiet; did this, and finally reached the top of the cliff, which I call the “Delta” location. This cliff is about 800 feet long and from one to two hundred feet high. A fringe of trees runs along the top, and a strip of woods fills the space be- tween the foot of the cliff and the highway and river. It is a beautiful and sightly location, but one that would hardly be suspected as the abode of Falco Peregrinus Anatum. It was, however, for no sooner had I reached the south end of the cliff and showed myself than Mr. Duck Hawk flew off the cliff below me, with a great clatter and cackling. I gradually worked my way along the cliff, exam- ining as carefully as possible the whole area as I went along. Nothing occurred until I had nearly reached the other end and was fast losing hope, when Mrs. Duck Hawk flushed and joined her mate in the air, both flying up and down the river, well away from the cliff face, and scream- ing and cackling no end. Peeping over the highest sheer point of the cliff I saw about 15 feet below. me on a narrow shelf three very darkly and heavily marked eggs. Beauties they were; one of the finest sets I have. You who have experienced this thing will know how I felt at this time —I hardly feel capable of expressing it adequately myself. However, I took a good look at them, calculated how to get them, and started back well satisfied with the luck thus far. George met me with the THE OOLOGIST 88 flivver. After a while we went back to the location, and as I looked over at the nest, to my surprise, I saw Mrs. Duck Hawk on the nest. There we were, comparatively close together—and both quite surprised. The bird scram- bled off the shelf and launched again into the air with much racket. As I looked again at the eggs, I could see only two on the shelf, and I thought probably the bird had knocked one off in her hurried departure. But this wasn’t so, for when we got to the nest there were the three eggs safe and sound, but one had been rolled back out of sight under the ledge. I wish I had a picture of that Duck Hawk, surprised on the nest shelf— it would be a fine example of bird ex- pression. Surprise, fear, challenge, courage—all there in wonderful inde- scribable combination. I have never been so close to one before or since. Karl A. Pember. a eB 9 et oh a THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD By H. H. Johnson, Pittsfield, Maine. The land west of my barn slopes gently down to low ground, a swale, and this low land drains into the river a few rods distant. Birds that fre- quent low, wet ground are often found in this swale, such as Rails, Bitterns, Swamp Sparrows, Black Ducks, Red- winged Blackbirds, but excepting the Blackbirds and Sparrows, none have been found nesting, the swale being near to a highway and is also cut over each year for the hay it produces. The higher land or slope is used for the growing of crops and grassland. Here the birds which prefer the more dry ground for nesting make their homes: Birds such as Grass Finch, Song and Savanna Sparrows, Bobo- links, Meadow Larks, etc. In the spring of 1920 this slope and as much of the swale as would permit of cultivation was prepared and plant- ed to corn. Since the time for the planting of corn and the hatching and feeding of the young of the Crow to a large extent coincide, it behooves the farmer of this State of Maine to devise various ways of protecting the sprout- ing corn from those ‘imps of darkness,” the Crows. Sometimes the seed is soaked in water in which copperas has been dissolved; some use an 0] of tar with which the seed corn is coated; others string common twine over their planted fields, stakes being used to hold it a short distance above the ground; still others stand effigies of themselves or their wives in the corn- fields, using cast-off clothes of various members of the family to create the likeness. But the sagacious old Crows, their intellect no doubt sharpened by the experience of former years and the continued calls of a number of hungry young, disregard all these ex- pedients and following down a corn row, the sprouts of which are just peeping through the ground, will pull them up in order to reach the grain from which each sprout springs. If the seed has been coated with oil of tar it is dropped, but if uncoated or un- soaked seed is found, the grains are carried to the young; in any case the fields suffer to a considerable extent, and it is almost useless to replant here with the expectation of a crop, our growing season is so short. It so happened the season of 1920 was chosen by a pair of Red-winged Blackbirds in which to build a nest and rear a brood of young in the swale at the foot of the cornfield. I found the nest when preparing the ground for planting, June 3rd; the eggs, four in number, being partly incubated. The Red-winged Blackbird in this lo- cality customarily builds its nest in a low willow bush or a bunch of hard- hack, a low growing shrub; a shrub 84 THE OOLOGIST which thrives in our meadows; the nests being two or three feet above the ground or water in which the bushes may stand, the nest being at- tached to and hanging between several stems of the plant. These nests have some depth and the rim projects on the inside some- what, thus protecting the eggs from being thrown out when the wind is blowing hard. This particular pair had chosen a tussock of grass as a nesting site, and the nest was not so deep on the inside as commonly made; it more resembled a Song Spar- row’s in construction . _The young hatched about the same time that the corn in the field began to show above the ground. The Crows, no doubt, noted this sprouting corn as soon as I, and soon began to frequent the field, much to my disappointment, as I had taken special care in coating the seed with oil of tar, even going so far as to try some of the prepared seed by feeding it to my hens in order to see if they would eat it, which they would not. But one day a Crow hap- pened to alight near the nest of young Red-wings, and right there and at once war was declared; that Crow left in a hurry with many a C-a-w-k and a very angry, but very proud male Red- winged Blackbird came sailing back after having chased the Crow to a considerable distance. After that the Crows were not allowed on the corn- field or in the vicinity, and my corn thrived unmolested, producing a fine crop, thanks to Major Red-wing. In gathering food for the young, I noted that the parents did not secure it in the immediate vicinity of the nest, each bird going to some distance; gathering from the upland fields; pos- sibly food was more plentiful there than near the nest. Breeding Habits—The Red-winged Blackbird has been reported as win- tering as far north as Massachusetts, arriving here in the spring migration the last days of March or the first week in April. The first to arrive are males, in flocks of considerable numbers, the females coming soon after; therefore I think they are unmated at the time of arrival. Nesting commences the last of May to the first of June. The nests are built oftentimes in low bushes standing in water of two or three feet depth; sometimes a late spring freshet overflows their nests and destroys the eggs or young, as it did in June, 1922. Beal in Biological Survey Bulletin No. 13, states in ex- ceptional cases Red-wing Blackbirds sometimes nest in dry situations, as the nesting of the one I have de- scribed illustrates. The material of which the nest is constructed is com- posed, as far as my observations go, wholly of dead grass, coarse on the outside and finer used for lin- ing; it is a substantial affair, well made, and old nests often last several years. It has been stated that the Red-wing practices poligamy, but I have yet to find a nest that has not a male attached, or a colony in which there were not aS many males repre- sented as there were nests found. Food Habits—Alexander Wilson re- ports that the food of Red-wings in spring and early summer consists of grubworms, caterpillars and various other larvae; also that the young are fed on larvae for at least three weeks. Both he and Audubon are of the opin- ion the millions of insects destroyed by the Red-wing in the early season are fully equivalent and more, for the damage done later in the season py them. Dr. B. H. Warren states that the Red-wing destroys large numbers of cutworms, having taken aS many as 28 from a single stomach; also that THE OOLOGIST 85 grasshoppers, crickets and plant lice are eaten. Beal in the above men- tioned report states that the Biological Survey has examined 1083 stomachs of the Red-wing, collected in every month of the year. Stomach examinations do not indicate a special fondness for grain; weed seeds consists of more than half of the yearly food, while grain less than one-seventh; of fruit almost none. He also states that more weevils are eaten by the Red-wing than by any other bird he has exam- ined. Dr. C. M. Weed, quoting Miss Caro- line G. Soule, says that the Red- wings do especially good work in de- stroying forest-tent caterpillar. They damage my crops very little; some- times in the fall migrating flocks will alight in standing grain or on shocked grain, but the stay is short and dam- age slight. The pair reported on took no grain that I observed, and the in- sect food taken must have been al- most wholly to my benefit, to say nothing of the help they were in keep- ing the Crows away from my corn- field. Judging by the reported con- tents of stomachs examined, the Red- wing is a decidedly useful bird. aS ee eS LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN Telmatodytes Palustris Palustris In northern New Jersey this species is by far the most often found of the two species of Marsh Wrens. It is quite possible that this species is more often met with by the average ob- server, due to the fact that they are not quite so seclusive as their short- billed cousins. On the Newark and Hackensack Meadows and to the head of t:de- water on the Hackensack jis doubt- less the best place for study o° they home life of any in this section. The writer found his first nest in 1907 along Lawyer’s Creek, about five feet from the right of way of the Manu- facturer’s Railway. This nest was suspended between the stalks of a clump of cattails, about three feet above high tide. At the time of dis- covery the nest contained seven red- dish brown eggs, speckled with lighter and darker shaded chocolate spots. On the following day the clutch had hatched, but one of the nestlings had disappeared, and the nest only held six young. On this same day six other nests were found in a radius of one hundred feet of the first discovery, all of which held nestlings in various stages of growth; some just hatched and others almost ready for flight. These last six were practically situ- ated the same as the first, but the heights varied from two feet to four and a half above high water. In the next succeeding four years, I was employed in a tannery about 500 feet from the site of the first nest that was found in 1907, and during the noon hours, when I could spare the time during the nesting seasons of these years, observations were made almost every day, and after the young had left the nest in these seasons observations were made every two or three days for a few minutes as to their life while roving about in search of sustenance. In 1914 the writer spent the entire months of May and June on the Newark Meadows, making observations of the bird life there, and particularly to study intensively the breeding, nesting, incubation, feeding of the young and life after leaving the nest of the species in question. The first males were observed May 2nd, and on the following two days numerous females put in an appear- ance. These wandered about appar- ently unmated until the 8th, when sev- eral males were observed in the early morning in unusually brilliant bursts of melody endeavoring to attract the -t ent'on of the females, which were about on all sides. Late in the after- 86 THE OOLOGIST noon the first pair was observed in copulation and on the following day, the 9th, pairs were observed every- where in the same process. The first foundation for a nest was found on the 11th, and this was completed by the night of the 13th and the first egg deposited at 9:45 a. m. of the 14th. The set, which consisted of six, was completed on the 21st. The period of incubation in this case was twelve days and four hours from the time of the laying of the last egg. The process of incubation was performed jointly by the male and female, the male al- ways slipping on the nest a few mo- ments after the female left for the purpose of food, bathing and exercise. At times the female would remain away for periods of over an hour, but as soon as she returned to the imme- diate vicinity of the nest the male would fly to the topmost cattail near- by and burst into ecstatic melody. At night the female was always found on the nest when a flashlight was focused on jt and the male roosting a few feet away in the adjacent cattails. The male was always, when not trying to burst itself with its songs, on the search for some dainty morsel of food for its patient little mate, and visited the nest many times with these dain- ties. Their diet consists, as near as could be determined, of small insects. The young, after emerging from the shells, were attended by both of the parents, the female performing the major portion of the food visits to the nest. The excreta sacs were removed by the female only. She would carry these in her bill about five or six feet from the nest and drop them while still in flight in the waters below. The nest just described was exactly six feet four inches from the rail of the railroad in a cattail clump on the edge of the marsh, three feet three inches from high water. On the rail- road, trains were passing every few shortest’ period of hours, but this would only cause a few moments of unrest in this family at each passing. The eggs of this set was six in number and were gener- ally alike, and like the numerous other nests in the vicinity. The eggs aver- aged .64x.46, the extremes being .68x.48 and .62x.41. During this period of in- tensive study twenty-seven nests were located along this railroad, all within a distance of 900 feet. The largest clutch was eight eggs and the small- est five. The average incubating per- iod of the twenty-seven was thirteen days, three hours from the laying of the last egg in the several nests. The incubation was eleven days, five hours, and the long- est fourteen days seven hours. Further work is expected to be done by the writer with this species at some future nesting season to compare their distribution in this particular locality and secure photographs and other more minute details, particularly the weighing of the eggs at various times during the period of incubation, banding of the nestlings, determina- tion of the food of the parents and also the nestlings and weighing of the nestlings at various periods of growth prior to leaving the nest. One thing which the writer has de- termined to his own satisfaction is the fact regarding the handling of the eggs and the young. The pairs often build more than one nest, but after the first egg is laid they will not de- sert the nest in which they have ac- tually begun home life. While they resent very much the intrusion of the observer, still after a few visits and their finding their property unharmed lose much of this fear and often re- mained within a dozen feet of the writer, uttering sincere protests. Most of the observations were made from a grass and cornstalk blind about four feet in diameter and six feet high, and lined on the inside with mosquito net 7, ee oO LUG hs FT 87 to keep off the mosquitos as much as possible. In addition, it was necessary to wear a bee veil and a pair of com- mon cotton gloves to ward off these pests. This blind the writer left alonz the edge of the swamp all the while he was making observations and be- cause of the few who visit the spot, it was not disturbed by anyone. Louis S. Kohler, Paterson, N. J. MORE “SAND” We are in receipt of a communica- tion from one William Leo Dawson, signing as “Provisional Secretary of the M. M. C. O. and I. M. C. O.,” under date of March 14th, from which we draw the inference that more or less sand has filtered its way into the gear boxes containing the executive mechanism of the Museum of Com- parative Oology, with the result of much friction and lack of smoothness in the running. Mr. Dawson says, “I have found my- self increasingly hampered in the ex- ercise of the directorial function with ever dwindling prospects of obtaining on behalf of generous contributors and members the recognition to which i felt they are entitled.” This is followed by a veiled assault upon one Mrs. M. P. B. Hazard, who is charged as having sent out engraved cards using the title of ‘““‘Hazard Me- morial Museum of Comparative Oolo- gy,” which had no official sanction. Later in this remarkable communica- tion Mr. Dawson refuses ‘to quarrel with those of lesser vision,” but con- descendingly adds ‘‘Never-the-less if there are those who think it worth while to protest the action of the Board in forcing my resignation, they are accorded that privilege.”” We have so far seen no such protests. And later to those addressed he says, “So far as material, birds’ eggs, are concerned you have lost a good deal;” and he then discloses a pro- posed organization of the members of the supposedly now defunct Museum of Comparative Oology, to continue as a de facto organization—‘“an in- stitution in the making,’ under Mr. Dawson’s leadership, and coaxes for contributions for a “War Chest,” out of which there is supposedly eventually to grow the “International Museum of Comparative Oology,’ and winds up with the sentence, “I shall be grateful to you for a frank expression upon this critical and momentous occasion.” We are not the least surprised at the turn of events. The Museum of Comparative Oology, in its originai conception was a splendid dream and should have realized into a monu- mental reality. Mr. Dawson was not the man to head such an enterprise, being fit neither by nature nor cultiva- tion, for such a position. He lacked that element which is essential to the meeting, cultivating, captivating and keeping the good will of those with whom he came in contact. Was alto- gether too bigoted and dictatorial, in- dividually affected in manner, fussy in disposition and extreme and stagy in language, both written and oral. If Mr. Dawson could only read a dozen or fifteen of the communications out of several dozen that reached us, commenting on our article “Sand” in the December, 1922, Oologist, and would be willing to be chastened, and learn thereby, it would do him a vast amount of good in the remaining years of his life. A man to successfully fill that character of a position must con- cede to those whom he comes in con- tact with at least some slight degree of knowledge and intelligence, and also the right to express their opin- ions reasonably, even though they might differ from those of its ‘“Di- rector.” The fundamental underlying theory 88 THE OOLOGIST of Co-operative Museum Building, is a splendid conception, but the swelling of an individual to such an extent as to make the idea and application of this theory secondary and the per- sonal views, ideas, notions, likes and dislikes and vanity of the person take precedence over the Co-operative idea and over the very Museum itself will always result in disaster. A practical, level-headed, common sense applica- tion of this co-operative theory con- not but result in the up-building of a splendid institution, but a vain effort of one to emulate the toad in com- peting with the ox for size, always results in a blow-up, just as it did in the days of Hasop. Candidly, we are sorry to see this splendidly conceived institution stranded upon the rocks of possible failure, and we hope ultimately that the idea upon which it was founded may be carried to successful fruition by some one more fitted to manage the ship. R. M. B. WILD DUCKS MAKE OAKLAND FAMOUS Daily Sport of Youngsters in Mansions Nearby Is Feeding Wildfowl. Venice has its pigeons and Oakland has its wild ducks. But the ducks are heeding the call of the wild in these warm, spring days and winging their way back to colder regions, whence they came. So there is many a sorrowful young face and many an aching young heart. in Oakland, for the daily winter past- time of the children of “feeding the ducks on Lake Merritt” is passing. The duck season of 1916-17 has seen more thousands of wild duck than ever before take refuge on Lake Mer- ritt, the great body of salt water in the heart of a great city. With almost human intelligence, the water- fowl flee to this place for safety, with the first bang of the pumpgun when the duck season opens in California, on October 15. On this body of water, the only salt lake in the world inside a city limits, the ducks rest secure throughout the hunting season. Surrounding the lake are the most beautiful residence sec- tions of Oakland, and broad drives over which automobiles pass constant- ly. The lake is set in the midst of a park which is the playground of thousands daily. Yachts, motorboats and other pleasure craft ply back and forth. Nevertheless, the Ducks rest un- afraid on the portion of the lake reser- ved for them, bask on the lawns and even dodge through the legs of strol- lers. Every morning the city authorities feed them and this is a signal for an outpouring of the youngsters in the homes round about. The Ducks are carefully guarded by the park police. They know it and they know, too, that woe would befall anyone who attempt- ed to harm them. W. W. Richards of Oakland, who has hunted big and little game all over the North American continent, has madea study of the Lake Merritt Ducks for years. He has developed some inter- esting facts. He says: “The first Ducks to reach Lake Mer- ritt in the fall from the north are spring, or pintails. They begin arriv- ing in the latter part of August, and by September 1st there are tens of thousands of them in California. Most of these sprig come from the Klamath reservation near the California-Oregon state line. “The next migratory flight consists of countless millions of Pintail, Wid- geon, Green-winged Teal, Shovelers, Gadwell, and Mallard. They arrive about the middle of October from the ‘Flats’ of laska, a bleak area of about THE .OOLOGIS T 89 300 square miles of marsh in the vi- cinity of Circle City and Rampart. The freezing of their northern feeding ground drives them to lower and warm- er latitudes. “The next and last flight comes from the Yukon dalta and the Saskatchewan country and consists of thousands and thousands of Canvasbacks and Red- heads. They arrive just as the hunt- ing season opens. “All of these kinds of Wild Duck can be seen on Lake Merriett. They know that no hunter’s gun can reach them there. I have hunted Duck all over the country, but on no other body of water have I ever seen so many birds of so many different varieties, all dwelling together in peace with each other and with mankind in the heart of a city of 235,000 inhabitants, within a few minutes’ walk of the city hall and surrounded by the constant ac- tivity of a great metropolis.”—The Evening News, W. A. Strong, San Jose, Cal. CONCERNING DATAS Nothing save the joy. of my own home life has ever given me the hap- piness that I have found at times when, through professional activity, | chance to find that, for some one, life is sweeter and better just because | have lived—and—living, have spoken. Quite the same has it been the past thirty years, whenever I have chanced to find that something I have said, out of long and tried experiences, may have been suggestive to some young- er brother; and he—to his credit—has been grateful for it. Of this character, have been very gratifying experiences growing out of my own “boosting” for “Standard” Datas. I feel quite sure that the publisher of the new price list will not be over- sensitive if I criticise the mighty- interesting Golden-Eagle Data _ fac- similied in that price list. (This crit- icism touches just one point.) When one has filed in his card- index several hundred datas, and wishes to refer, quickly, to any of them, it is often a time-saver to have the A. O. U. Number and the Set- Mark, together at the upper left hand corner of the data. I have had oc- casion to notice this a hundred times. Again, as to this same matter of data- filing, to some of us it seems posi- tively imperitive to secure uniformity of size for the filing. How fairly maddening it is to try to file a bit of flimsy one-by-two-inch paper, with its for-too-brief details, beside some over- large, but delightfully circumstantial data for a set of the same species. It just can’t be done! I feel that a data blank should be at least just large enough to slip inside a number five envelope. That size is quite small enough. Indeed, I should recommend a thing that I by no means always practice—the use of documentary en- velopes for enclosing datas; and even these protected by the legand: ‘Don't tear the contents.” The data size I have indicated is just 314x6™% inches, and this is plenty small enough. In- deed, it is often far too small. To meet such cases, I would sug- gest that when data blanks are or- dered, the stationer or printer be in- structed to cut about a hundred sheets of the same length, but of a half-inch greater width. Then in cases where one wishes to add particulars, it cali be done by filling in one of these fill- ers, beginning an inch below the upper margin, turning forward the half-inch over-plus and gumming this—with fish glue, if you please—to the top edge of the actual data form. This additum, then, as well as the data, should be signed. (Please sign your full name to datas; it might happen that some- 90 THE OOLOGIST body else may have just your initials.) A few words about paper stock. Words could hardly express my posi- tive hatred of cheap, flimsy cotton paper for use in the making of data blanks. If I were a smoker, I surely would, when sending my order to the printer, go without smoking for a week, two weeks if necessary, and stipulate the very best of rag paper for the stock to be used. I suppose I have for some fifteen instances, during the past few months, taken time need- ed for other tasks to paste flimsy, nearly-worn-in-two little data forms to a backing of linen paper of the above indicated size. Another word about over-large data forms; I am confident that some of the printed items on eight-inch datas, with over-wide margins, moreover, could well be spared; or at least run over onto filler sheets. The over- large datas do not file easily; some- times cannot be filed, serially, at all, and they almost invariably come to one folded. Now if I were not, as one of my new, delightful California cor- respondents has denominated me, a “Man of God,” I should be often tempt- ed to Swear, and to swear venomously, when I open a letter containing datas that I am anxious to examine, just because they come from fine men, when I open the letter and find the datas folded. When my vexation has sufficiently calmed down, I can only sigh deeply and consign the folder to that Heaven wherein nothing will ever be folded (save as all will be in a fold). To recapitulate: The use of datas always three-and-a-half by six- and-a-quarter inches will make all your correspondents your grateful debtor when they come to file your datas; while the use of over-size en- velopes will obviate the danger so often otherwise occurring of tearing datas in opening the container. About just two very important items that must find place in a scientific data: First, the legand, “Identity.” Appar- ently even some advanced collectors do not sense the sense of that appar- ently guileless legand. Of course the identity is “Sure’—else you’d never be sending out the eggs. But, how was identity made “sure”? Is it proven by the eggs, by the region, in case of sub-species, or by the call, or the sight of the birds?—one of these four it surely must be, else the eggs are worthless. To illustrate what I mean by “sure.” . The fakir would as lief lie by saying “sure” as by crying “Nit”; while the use of this over- common word means nothing at all, as ordinarily used. Lastly—In the lower right-hand corner of your data form should ap- pear, with an inch of space beyond, the item, “Field Book.” For, at least in case of all valuable sets, the collector to whom your set will go must enter the title and the Field Book reference in his private record. Thereafter, be it ten, fifteen or twenty years, should he lose the given data, he can always secure a duplicate. In datas, as in all written literature, it is deeply true: “Litera scripta manet.” P. B. Peabody, Blue Rapids, Kas. Collecting In San Diego Bay Region, Year 1922. By Alfred Cookman, Glendale, Calif. During the year 1922 I was a resi dent of San Diego, California. It was not convenient for me to make all the trips that I had planned and several localities were overlooked. High school teachers cannot get away trom their institutions and friends are not always ready to accompany you when “Nature calls the birdman,” and the lure of the wild-wood, the tule-bor- dered lake and the jagged cliffs speaks a “various language.” However, I did wander away into the back country HE ©@0 LOG 1ST 91 to the base of Mt. El Capitan and Descanso, and along the shores of Cor- onado Beach and the inner harbor of San Diego. I made a flying trip last April to the Coronado Islands, Mex- ico, and spent a few hours among nest- ing California Brown Pelicans (Pele- canus californicus), Farallone Cor- morants (Phalacrocorax dilophus albo- ciliatus) and Western Gulls (Larus occidentals). Nineteen species of birds were observed on the islands. Nearly all the eggs were advanced, and a great many nests contained birds in all stages of development. The Socorro Peterel (Oceanodroma socorrensis) were here, but no nests were discovered. The writer led sev- eral nature walks for the San Diego Museum of Natural History to the shores of Coronado, and the crowds that followed were folks interested in wild life and seemed anxious to know California birds. Saturday moraing Nature Walks certainly stimulate in- terest and are well attended in San Diego. Here is a list of the birds taken, year 1922: Two adult male Western Willets. One adult male Ferruginous Rough- leg Hawk. One adult male California Thrasher. One adult male San Diego Towhee. One adult male Cedar Waxwing. Three English Sparrows. One adult male California Jay. One adult male California Shrike. One adult male Killdeer. One adult male Rufous Humming Bird. One male Arizona-hooded Criole. One adult female Slender-billed Nut- hatcher. One adult male Anthony Towhee. One four-week-old Califoraia Brown Pelican. Four sets of Western Gull eggs. Four sets of California Browa Pct: can eggs. Nest and set of Anna Humming Bird eggs. Three infant Western Gulls, about two weeks old. One Least Tern. One set of Least Tern eggs—two. One male Bank Swallow. One adult male Ash-throat Fly- catcher. A. Cookman, Licensee, Cal., Fish and Game. THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY AT BOYD’S CREEK Attracted by a group of ornitho- logical specimens in my office window, a man entered and announced what interest his entire family possessed regarding all nature, but especially birds. He was a fellow with little schooling, raised among the “Knobs” of Kentucky, when the County of Barren was almost wholly timbered. After fifteen years of farming in IIli- nois, the family had returned to tlie land of the “penoroyal,” dividing their residence between the old homestead and a town cottage. On April 1st, this year, we visited the old farm, where the stork had de- livered him just forty-five years ago. My new acquaintance proved himself extremely talkative, but very observ- ing. A five-mile journey, and we were among the giant chestnuts, beeches and oaks, where his boyish sentiments were cultivated, and years of experi- ence had taught him much in wood- craft, too. One of the principal fea- tures on the trip was our intimate ac- quaintance with a pair of ‘“Wood- cocks.” For many years these birds had lived in a damp piece of timber just a few hundred yards from the cabin. The male was feeding among @ccayed chips and displayed little con- ‘(ri as we advanced. But, my Philo- lela Minor of Northern Indiana and 92 THE OOLOGIST Illinois was not here. This was the nom de plume of the knightly Pileated Woodpecker, acknowledged among all natives the “Woodcock.” My com- panion pointed to a huge, dead chest- nut in which the female was excavat- ing. Several holes, none less than seventy feet up, were designated as breeding places during previous springs. What a paradise for ‘‘Pecker- woods,” as Kentuckians call them. In the immediate vicinity were Red Heads, Downy, Flickers and Red-bel- lied, all paired. “Now, Abbott, let me show you where ‘Buzzards’ have hatched regu- larly for the last seven years,” my guide ventured. Two of the sites con- sisted of huge, fallen logs, entirely hollow, and a Turkey Vulture was hovering around each place. The third “nesting place was a crevice in an up- right chestnut, about fifty feet high. A pair of Buzzards were perched in this tree. Our tramping was interrupted fre- quently, while I listened to some nar- rative describing the discovery during some previous season of other birds’ eggs, such as Whip-poor-will, Horned Owl, Cooper Hawk, Summer Tananger and some of doubtful identity, includ- ing Warblers, Vireos and Sparrows. On this visit we found several small flocks of Purple Finches, the males in full song. Gerard Alan Abbott, Glasgow, Kentucky. IT SPREADS A letter from one of the well known bird students of the United States to the editor, contains among other things, the following: “They are at it in Hurope, I am told, and have made some dozen sub-species of Ravens. Long claws, and short claws, bills, etc. But I suppose busi- ness is dull and that something must be done to prevent dry rot.” Possibly in this country something must be done to make those in charge of the expenditure of public money imagine that something is being done by those who are observing public money everytime an imaginary mili- meter race drops into the hopper. R. M. Barnes. Swallows. Something I had never heard of be- fore occurred this summer. A friend nad two pairs of Barn Swallows nest- ing in his shed—each had five eggs; two pairs of Cliff Swallows came, threw the eggs out and using the nests for a foundation, built up their own in the usual way and raised their young. Never before had I noticed any especial animosity or competition between these two species, both usu- ally minding their own business. Chester S. Day, 27 School St., Boston, Mass. >< —__ ——_——_ Bronze Grackle Mass Meetings. In November, at Blue Rapids, Kan- sas, in twenty-foot willows along the Red River, the Grackles were swarm- ing for several weeks, to the number of no less than four thousand. Flying in, just before sunset, they would alight and sing in tall trees on the south bank of the river. In about a half hour they would cross to the roosting willows, then swarm to the water’s edge, fifteen deep—laterally— to drink, then betake themselves to the willows. Strange inequalities in fatness, col- oration and in even the locations of the sex-organs, and their condition appeared. Not a few of the Grackles had diseased feet. P. B. Peabody. COPY The Oologist is again in distress for copy suitable for the June, July and August issues, and we trust our read- ers and friends will respond to this notification, R. M. Barnes. HE © 6.6.0 G4-13 T Will Exchange personally -aken Florida sets for books. Want the last four volumes of AUK: good books on Butterflies, Moths and Insects; also good work on Southern Botany. Tell me what you have and price and will send you list. Oscar E. Baynard, Plant City. Florida. FOR SALE for Cash— Bulletin Coop- er Club & Condor, Volumes 1 to 6 in- clusive, complete, except No. 6, Vol. 1 Oologist, Vol. XI, (1894) complete; Vol. X (1893) complete, except April, July and November. W. B. Sampson, 1005 North San Joaquin St., Stockton, Cal. WANTED—For analysis, 1 set each 337 and 339. Must be absolutely fresh, unblown and very carefully packed and sent special delivery parcel post as soon as taken. Write and make agree- ment now. Will give copy of Bent’s Diving Birds to the one who sends me the two sets this spring. Paul G. Howes, 91 Hope St., Stamford, Conn. Cash if preferred to the book. 2-3-4 FOR EXCHANGE—Rare Sets of as Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Aleutian Tern, Long-bill Curlew, Loon, Welches Ptarmingan, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Golden Eagle, and many others. WANT—Male and female skins of Richardson and Black Pigeon Eggs such Hawks; Harris, Harlans, Zone-tailed, Short-tailed, and Red-bellied Hawks; Peals, Pergerine, and Aplomado Fal- cons; Mallard, Widgeon, and Ring-neck Ducks; Purple Sandpiper; Wandering Tattler; Buff-crested Sandpiper; Black Oystercatcher; Marbled Godwit; Velvet Scoter; Yellow-crowned Night Heron. K. B. Mathes, Batavia, N. Y. WANTED—Auk, Vol. 6, No. 1, or en- he volume. Hoyes Lloyd, 406 Queen , Ottawa, Canada. aay Permits, Precancelled Stamps and Slogan or Advertising Post Marks for sale or exchange. Correspondence solicited. W. E. Snyder, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. WANTED—Sets of No. 11, 37, 60, 112, PSupetot, Loe, Loo, 207, 213, 217, 230, 253, 261, 264, 276, 301, 305, 309. E. S. Coombs, 233 Washington St., Malden, Mass. ‘NOT MERELY STUFFED,” but per- fect in plumage and condition and ac- curately mounted specimens of the fol- lowing: Goshawk. Spruce Grouse, Prairie Chicken, Ruffed Grouse and Mountain Quail. Will exchange for sets. G. A. Abbott, Glasgow, Ky. FOR SALE—Natural History Books and Magazines, Antiques, Curios, Min- erals, Insects, Shells and other speci- mens from this locality, or will ex- change for Coins and Stamps. Ralph L. Wheeler, Canaan, N: Ee WANTED — Ridgway’s “Birds of North and Middle America,’ volumes 2 and 7, also a Stevens Pocket Shot- gzun—44 calibre preferred. Harold W. Copeland, 122 Park Ave., Bridgewater, Mass. audited “ere gas SCOUT MUSEUM We have just started a Museum and would appreciate any curios or speci- mens you might have. Send list with price, postpaid. D. C. Bartley, Scout Commissioner, Zillan, Wash. ~ ALLIGATORS FOR SALE—Can fur- nish them from one foot long up to six feet. Have fresh skins ready for mount- ing; can send them alive, mounted, or skins. Ask for prices. Also Curios, skins and mounted specimens. Ramon Graham, 3722 Ave J, Ft. Worth, Texas. WANTED—By H. H. Johnson, Pitts- field Maine: Bird Lore, Vol. XXIII, 5; Vol. XXIV, all;Journal Maine Ornith. Soc., Vol. VI, 4; VII, 1; Nuttall Bulletin, all; Oolozist (CUtica), all; Ornith: -& Oologist (Semi-An.) Vols. I & II, all; Wilson Quarterly, Vol. IV, 1; Biol. Sur- vey Bull) Nos: 6, 2172. 34, (35, 37,539" NG A. Fauna, Nos. 7, 19, 22, 27; Maynard, Birds of Eastern North America; Me- Tlwaith, Birds of Ontario, 2nd edition; King, Economic Relations of Wis. Birds. WANTED —Lepidopters from the West and South West, especially Splin- gidae Saturniidae and Papiloes. Wm. Jay, 12 Westview St., Mt. Airy, Phila, Pennsylvania. ~ WANTED—Prismatic Binoculars. C. S. Sharp, Escondido, Cal. Will give sets of 349 or part cash. How about it? EXCHANGE PRICE LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS’ EGGS We have just published this work which it took a Committee of well known Oologists, who were elected by The Oologists of North America for that purpose, nearly two years to complete. It is a Volume of two hundred pages, well illus- trated, by half tones, showing the advance methods that now obtain in Oolnev. It contains the following special matter. 2 A history of Birds’ Egg Catalogues. 4. Prices in this Catalogue. 6. Copy of Standard Data Blank. 7. 8. Illustrations showing proper cabinet 9. Report of the Committee of Twenty-five on 10. Names both common and scientific of all North American Birds and 1. An intrcduction. this Catalogue. for collecting and preparing eggs. trations of proper way to mark eggs. arrangements of specimens. prices. Prices adopted for the exchange cf specimens of eggs of each ments. Paper bound copies $1.00. R. M. BARNES, LACON, 3. A history or 5. Directions Tllus- What they mean. 11. Advertise Cloth bound copies $2.00. ILLIN DIS, THE OOLOGIST THE WILSON BULLETIN A QUARTELLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY Paying particular attention to Field Studies of Birds in Middle North America. Now in its 28th year. 64 pages or more of readable matter with illustrations. Indispensable to all active field workers. $1.50 per year, 40 cts. per copy. Official Organ of THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB Address GORDON WILSON, Secretary, 1434 Chestnut Street, Bowling Green; Kentucky. 22 A Biboliograph of scarce or out of print, North American Amateur and Trade Periodicals, devoted more or less to Ornithology. Listing 147 sep- arate publications. Price 25 cents. R. M. BARNES. Lacon, III. 1923 Subscribe for “The Oologist” for 1923. It is the only Bird Journal in North America devoted to the interests of those making collections. It is not too scientific to be popular and not too popular to be ac- curate and scientific. fifty cents. Subscription price per annum Address The Oologist, Lacon, Illinois. THE OOLOGIST. BIRDS—NESTS--EGGS TAXIDERMY VoruwcLe ONO. 6: ALBION, N. Y., JUNE , 1928. WHOLE No. 434 Tt HES TORO EsOnGaaSer BRIEF SPECIAL ANNOUNCHMANTS Wanted, Exchange, For Sale, Hte., inserted in this department at 25 cents for each 25 words for one issue; eaeh additional serted for less than 25 cents. word 1 cent. No notice in- We will advertise the skins, nests, eggs, or mounted specimens of North Amer- ican Birds for sale for persons having a lawful authority under the law to deal in the same. These columns are for the use of those desiring to make bona fide “xchanges of such specimens for scientific collecting purposes only.—WDITOR. DATA BLANKS—I will print 500 Standard Data Blanks with your name on them for $1.50 postpaid. Edward S. Coombs, 233 Washington St., Malden, Massachusetts. WANTED—Back numbers of Orni- thological magazines, especially Condor, also any books on Ornithology or Tax- fdermy. Hge cabinet also wanted. Write, giving prices. James Suthard, Madisonville, Kentucky. WANTED to hear from collectors having sets of eggs or Bird Skins to dispose of. Cash or exchange. C. F. lector of Idaho Birds eggs, also Bird and Animal Skins for mounting pur- poses. For sale or exchange. A black Squirrel Skin Mounted. FOR SALE—Auk, 1918 and 1920, vol- umes complete, $1.50 each, prepaid. Wilson bulletin, 1920 volume, 90c. Bi- ological Bulletin 17 and 39 also. Fred Pierce, Winthrop, Iowa. In addition to eggs in sets I am making a cosmopolitan collection of singles. Must have accurate data thor- oughly identified. Offer skins, eggs, or cash. A. W. Hanaford, R. R. 9, Box 1210. Los Angeles, Cal. BIRD MAGAZINES AND BOOKS WANTEHED—Nuttall Bulletin; set or parts; The Auk, Vols. 1 to 6, also Vol. 7, Nos. 2, 3, 4; Vol. 9, Nos. 3, 4; Vol. 11, No. 4; Vol. 14, No. 2; Vol. 17, Nos. 2, 8, 4; ~Iso any Vol. after 35. Cooper Club Bull. and Condor, first 3 Vols. Have many parts of Auk and Bird Lore for siule. Want Bent’s Diving Birds, for which I offer $7, for his Gulls and Terns, Ridgway’s Birds, odd Vols., Coues’ Key, Ridgway’s Color Key; Audubon’s Birds, odd Vols. or Plates. Books on shooting, Game Birds, Wild Fowl, Big Game, Game Cocks and Cocking; His- tory of Guns; Prints for framing relat- ing to Shooting Game Animals. All more noted Works on above subjects in any language, old or new. Prefer to buy or sell for cash rather than ex- ehange. Send me your offers deserib- ing fully and name your price. Large Catalogues relation to above subjects and all Nature Study sent on receipt of 5 cents in stamps. S. N. Rhoads, Franklin Bookshop, 920 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Jun. 3t SHELL COLLECTORS and MUSEUMS —A fine lot of the “Liguus” or tree snails from the hammocks of a. for sale, or will exchange for skins or eggs. Harold H. Bailey, Miami Beach, Florida. Jun. 3t W ANTED — Books on Wisconsin Birds or up to date lists of same. Will pay cash. Address, Carl F. Wright, “Camp Mishike’’, Winchester, Wis. FOR SALE or EXCHANGE—Butter- flies of New England for California Butterflies. T. Love, Collector, 105 Grove, Lynn, Mass. EXCHANGE or FOR SALE—Skins of 478 and 481 A. O. U. No.. Jack D. Baker, Redwood valley, California, Mendocino County. FOR SALE—Ridgways “Birds of North and Middle America,” Vols. 1 to 8 ine. Also back Vols. and Nos. of “Bird-Lore” and other bird magazines. Everett EH. Johnson, Hebron, Maine. WANTEHED—A good pair of second- hand field glasses, medium sized and reasonably priced. Write and send price to J. N. Elliott, Lancaster, Kentucky. WANTED—1 pair of adult Northern Ravens in good feather, either skin or mounted specimens, or if possible, in the flesh. State price or exchange de- Siderata. George M. Sutton, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa. I have for PXCHANGE sets of eggs of the following species, A. O. U. Nos.: iy Bp 4h, 5 25 LW), lal, ei, 1G, Gal, BS, BY, BS, 29, 30, 30a, 31, 31a, 32, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44, 47, 48, 51, 58, 54, 58, 59, 68, 65, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 80, 81, 81.1, 83, 86, 86a, 104, 106, 107, 114, 114.1. 115, 115.1, 117, 120, 125, 127, 128, 132, 134, 135, 188, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144. 150, 160, 167, 169, 172. 172a. 172c, 174, 178, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, 191, 192, 194, 194b, 196, 199. R. M. Barnes. Lacon, Ill. FOR EXCHANGH—Fine sets of 327, 330, 360c, 364, 405, 445, 479 and 551; also many common ones. Will collect mammal skins to order. Desire sets or bird skins. Harold H. Bailey, Miami Beach, Florida. Jun. 3t FOR SALE or EXCHANGE—Gossy’ Birds of Kansas—Ridgway’s Bulletin 50, Vol. 8—Bent’s Gulls and Terns. TI want Auks, Bird Books and Magazines. Herbert A. Smith, .431 N. Van Buren Ave.. Kirkwood, Mo. FOR SALE or EXCHANGH—A col- lection of some ten thousand stamps, on separate sheets for each country. Want bird skins for all or nart. Gus. Langelier, Cape Rouge, Que., Canada. FOR SALE or HEXCHANGE—Fine personally collected sets of 332-339-343 and a few others. Will sell cheap or exchange for desirable stamps. George D. French, Ivoryton, Conn. FOR SALE or EXCHANGESnap- ping Turtle 1-41; Wood Tortoise 1-8; sets of Painted Turtles in June. German Baush Terlux 10 point Prism Binocu- lars. James O. Johnson, Southington, Conn. FOR EXCHANGE — National Geo- graphic Magazine, 1915 to ’22, for Bird Lore and other magazines; also will take sets. J. Earl Harlow, Texico, Ill. THE OOLOGIST. VoL. XL. No.6 ALBION, N. Y., JUNE, 1928. W HOLE No. 434 Owned and Published Monthly, by R. M. BARNES, Albion, N. Y., and Lacon, Ill. TAKE NOTICE. SUBSCRIPTION 50 CENTS PER YEAR Examine the number on the wrapper of your Oologist. If it corresponds with the Whole No. above it denotes that your subscription expires with this issue Remember we must be notified if you wish it discontinued and all arrearages must be paid. Entered as second class matter December 21, 1903, at the post office at Albion, N. Y., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. WE ARE LATE An attack of ptomaine poisoning followed by a vicious as- sault from the flu, just at the time we usually make up The Oologist, laid the editor by the heels and put him to bed fora considerable time. This is the reason the June issue is late, however taking into consideration the information concerning the price of rare bird books, the wonderful article and illustrations relat- ing to the nesting of the Pink Footed Goose, and the notes from Lower California, North Dakota, Texas, California, New Jersey, etc., we do not believe we have often put out a more valuable issue of The Oologist. We have just received an unusually interesting contri- bution relating to the Penguins of South Africa, accompanied by three good photographs, but outside of this one article our copy box, is really very low.—R. M. Barnes. 94 THE “ORNITHOLOGIA AMERICANA” Last month we told our readers of the sale of John Lewis Child’s Li- brary, and promised to tell them this month of the sale of the fine collectioa of books relating to the Birds of America, formed by Dr. William C. Braislin, of Brooklyn, New Yor, which we attended. The sale was held Monday and Tuesday afternoons, April 2nd and 3rd, at The Anderson Galleries, New York City, and included 875 separate lots, ranging from single volumes to complete sets of many volumes, and large numbers of pamphlets and serial publications. Dr. Braislin had gathered together one of the finest Scientific Libraries devoted to North American Birds in existence. It was specially rich in rare, unusual and little known items. The sale was attended by most of those that were present at the Child’s sale, the bidding at once was spirited, and as appeared to the writer, almost reckless. Some of the prices obtained, which we thought might be of interest to our readers were the following: Audubon’s Ornithological Biogra- phy, 5 vols., published by Adam Black, at Edinburgh, 1831-9—$37.50. The same published by Judah Dob- son and H. H. Porter, 1831., 5 vols., being the first American imprint of this work—$12.00. The same, 5 vols., 1832-9, by Carey and Hart, Philadelphia; Hilliard, Gray and Company, Boston, and Adam and Black, Hdinburgh, of which no other set is known containing both the American printed volume—$37.50. Audubon’s Birds of North America, 7 vols., 1840-44—$410.00. Baird, Brewer and Ridgway’s Land Birds of North America, 1874, with 64 colored plates—$45.00. The same Water Birds, 2 vols., 1884, with colored plates—$87.50, OOLOGIST Baird and Cooper Land Birds of California, 1870. Colored plates, 1 vol.—$27.50. Charles L. Bonaparte’s American Ornithology, 1823-33, 4 vols—$100.00. The Nidiologist, complete volumes, 1-4—$20.00 John Cassin’s Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russia, America, 1 vol., Philadelphia, 1856— $40.00. Cassin’s Mammalogy and Ornithol- ogy of the United States Hxploring Expedition, 2 vols., 1859—$55.00. The Natural History of Washington Territory, etc., by Cooper and Suck- ley, 1 vol., 1859—$11.00. Cooper Ornithological Club Bulletin and The Condor, complete—$55.00. Dall, Bannister and Baird’s Birds of Alaska, 1869, 1 vol.—$35.00. Zoology of the Voyage of The Beagle, Charles Darwin and John Gould, 1 vol., 1841—$50.00. J. P. Giraud, Description of Sixteen New Species of North American Birds. Collected in Texas, 1 vol, 1841—$130. John Gould’s Monograph of the Partridges of America, 1 vol., 1850—- $105.00. Nest and Hggs of American Birds, Nos. 1 to 7 inclusive, by Ernest Inger- soll, 1879-81—$40.00. George Ord’s New Geographical Historical and Commercial Grammar, ete., 2 vols., 1815—$105.00. The Suppressed Volume, by Titian R. Peale, States Hxploring Expedition, under the Command of ‘Charles Wilkes, 1848, 1 vol. This being the first copy ever offered at auction—$410.00. Ornithology of the United States of North America, by John Townsend, 1 vol., 1839—$295.00. This library also contained the most extensive collection of the works of Alexander Wilson, ever offered for sale at one time, and they brought the following prices, prepared of the United THE GOOLOG IST 95 American Ornithology, 9 vols., 1808- 14. Part of which were the first im- pressions and part the second—$200. Poems by Alexander Wilson, 1816, 1 vol.—$7.00. The Foresters: a Poem by ander Wilson, 1848—$4.50. American Ornithology, 3 vols., Text, one volume folio plates, published by Harrison Hall, 1828-55—$75.00. American Ornithology, First Edition, edited by Ord., 3 vols., Text one folio volume, plates 1828-9—$70.00. Life of Alexander Wilson, by George Ord 1828—$1.50. American Ornithology, by Wilson and Bonaparte, 4 vols., 12 mo., Edin- burgh, 1831—$3.50. The Foresters, second edition, 1838 —$2.00. American Ornithology, with Notes by Jardine . T. M. Brewer, 1843—$1.50. Poems and Literary Prose of Wil- son, by Grosart, 2 vol., 1876—$7.00. Alexander Wilson. Poet Naturalist, by James Southall Wilson, 1906—$3.00 American Ornithology by Alexander Wilson and C. L. Bonaparte, 3 vols., 1832, Edinburgh Edition—$20.00. American Ornithology, Philadelphia Edition, 3 vols., 1871—$10.00. American Ornithology, 3 vols., Lon- don Edition, 1876—$15.00. American Ornithology, 3 vols., New York Edition, 1877—$5.00. American Ornithology, 3 vols., Phil- adelphia n. d. (1878), the latter four items being the Wilson and Bonaparte compilations. Alex- Included in this sale was a very large number of local lists, pamph- lets, and many Amateur Bird Journals either in complete series or scattered numbers, nearly all of which long since ceased publication. The entire 875 offerings made at the sale brought an aggregate of $8000.00. The editor was fortunate enough to secure among other things the follow- ing items. The first fifty-nine volumes of The Proceedings of the Academy of Nat- ural Science of Philadelphia, 1843- 1207, including all of the colored bird plates published during that period. A complete file of all of The Orni- thological Writings of J. A. Allen. A complete set of all the papers relating to birds with all accompany- ing colored plates from the Annuals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York. 1824-1876. Ornithology of the Voyage of the Beachy, by N. A. Vigors, 1 vol., 1839. Observations on Nomenclature of Wilson Ornithology, by Charles A. Bonaparte, 1826, 1 vol. Monographie des loxieus, with 54 colored plates of Cross-bills and Gros- beaks, 1850. By Charles A. Boneparte and H. Schlegel. North American Oology, by T. M. Brewer, 1857, 1 vol. The First Known Directory of American Naturalists, 1865-6. A Monograph of the Alcidae, by Elliott Coues, 1858. One of fifty copies of this publication which were published. The rare first edition of Elliott Coues, Check List of American Birds, 1873. D. G. Elliotts’ Monograph of the Pheasants, 2 vols., 1872. IHustrations of the Nests and Eggs of the Birds of Ohio. Howard and Mrs. N. EB. Jones, 1866. 1 vol. This is one of the most perfect volumes of this great work in existence. Notes on and List of Birds and Eggs collected in Artic America. 1861- 66. By R. McFarlane. (This little item is specially interesting to the writer because in the collection of eggs, which we purchased several years ago from Richard C. Christ, 96 THE OOLOGIST were a number of eggs taken by this Expedition.) The Birds of Canada, by Alexander M. Ross, 1871. The Birds of Greenland, by Edward Sabine, 1819. Avia fauna of the Galapogus Island, 1875. Complete file of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. 6 vols. 1874-82. In addition to the foregoing we se- cured a large number of works of ies- ser importance and many pamphiets, Amateur Bird Journals, Separates, and the like which were essential ia building up a modern library on the subject of American Ornithology. R. M. Barnes. DATES AND NOTES OF RED. TAILED AND RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS Mar. 24, 1921. Took a set of two Red-tail’s eggs from a nest in a beech tree about 60 feet from the ground. Mar. 27, 1921. I took a set of four Red-shouldered eggs from a nest ina beech tree about 40 feet from the ground and a set of two Red-tail’s eggs, from a beech tree about 50 feet from the ground. April 8, 1921. I took two sets of four Red-shouldered eggs and one set of three. April 9, 1921. The only note uttered was a whis- tle oo-ich of the Great Horned Owl. The nest was in an aspen poplar, about forty-five feet up. There was no lining material but a few feathers from the breast of the sitting bird. On April 22nd I discovered a Great Gray Owl sitting on a nest from which I had taken a set of Goshawks in 1913 and a set of Great Horned Owls from in 1914. The bird would not leave the nest until I rapped the tree repeatedly and remained in the vicinity while I climbed the tree and took a set of three eggs. It hooted twice a deep booming whoo-oo al- together different to the Horned Owl. When I left it returned and resumed setting. This nest also was in heavy poplar woods in-an aspen poplar. It was about fifty feet up and no nest- ing material had been added but a few feathers as. usual. On May 15th I took another set of twio eggs, from a small nest of sticks which had been used by a _ Broad- wing the year previous and in this case also no nesting material but a few feathers had been added by the Owls. The nest was about forty feet up in an aspen poplar. This finished my nesting experi- ences with the Great Gray Owl, un- til 1922. In 1916-1917 and 18 I was in the Peace River Country, and al- though old Hawks’ nest were very numerous in some localities, and I saw a few Great Gray Owls I found no nests occupied except in the case 127 of a few Red-tailed Hawks, and one Goshawk. No doubt this was due to the scarcity of rabbits. In a year of rabbit abundance there would be an influx of birds of prey and many of these nests would be occupied. On April 20th, 1922, I climbed to a Great Gray Owl’s nest near where I took the last one in 1915. It con- tained two eggs which I left. One Owl was sitting and I saw the other close by. On April 30th, I returned and took a set of three eggs. The nest was about forty feet up in the crotch of a Balsam Poplar and un- like the other nests had been newly built up with twigs, by the Owls. It was lined with back strips and a few feathers and well cupped. The bird remained in the vicinity and its mate could be heard at a distance in the timber. A rather musical whistle was uttered frequently like oo-ih, sometimes very softly, and at others quite loudly. They also hooted sev- eral times, a deep booming Who-oo- 00-00. In Fisher’s “Hawks and Owls of the United States,” it is stated “The note of the owl is said to be a tre- mulous vibrating sound somewhat re- sembling that of the Screech Owl.” I must plead ignorance to the note of the Screech Owl, but I have ob- served many Great Gray Owls both in the breeding season and out of it and have never heard this “tremulous vibrating whistle.” A. D. Henderson, Belvedere, Alberta, Canada 128 THE OOLOGIST Richard C. Harlow (left) and A. D. Henderson (right) “as they appeared at Belvidere, Canada, in the spring of 1923 TH Es 6-6. 6 Gas F MY FIRST EGG COLLECTING I have been a subscriber to THE OOLOGIST for several years and have enjoyed reading the stories, by the various Ornithologists and Oolo- gists over the Country, about their experience collecting eggs and speci- mens. I have never caught the egg col- lecting craze, but have amassed a nice collection of mounted birds which is now in the State Museum at Charleston, West Virginia. Most of my collecting was done several years ago, as I have changed my occupation and my present one does not permit me to spend as much time as I would like to at my hobby. As I have stated above I have never had the “Egg Craze,” but will tell of a couple of experiences I have had collecting Hawk eggs, soon after [ first began collecting. One day in May 1913, my brother and I thought that we would go to the creek, about a mile away from home, to snare “White Suckers” as a few days before we had seen sey- eral nice schools in this Stream, and arriving at the creek we found that the wind was blowing, and that the water was rough for good fishing, £0 we gave up the idea of fishing and decided that we would hunt for Crow’s nests in a strip of wooded land that lay close by the creek. In this woods the crows nested every year and we were desiring a young crow for a pet. While strol- ling through the woods, we saw sev- eral nests, but all were uninhabited. Finally we came to a Pine Oak tree, which had what looked like an old squirrel nest in the forks about thirty feet from the ground, on get- ting to the tree a Hawk flew from the nest. My brother climbed the tree and found the nest contained two eggs, “nest 129 but having no way to get them down and not knowing what kind of Hawk eges they were, we left them in the and returned home. When we got home we took a couple of small hen’s eggs and water color paint and colored the hens eggs as near like the hawk eggs as_ possible. Next we prepared to go back to the nest, taking a small bucket filled vith cotton to carry the eggs, a small steel trap and a shotgun. On arriy- ing at the nest the old bird on, who promptly flew, we took a couple of shots at her but missed. ‘After climbing the tree again we tcck out the hawk’s eggs and put in the camouflaged hen’s eggs, and set the steel trap in the nest and tied the chain to a limb. As it was get- ting late we did not visit the nest again that day. The next morning my brother re- t-rned to the nest and found the cid Hawk caught in the trap, which ve identified as a female Broad Wing vhich I mounted and is now in my collection. A few days after this we were in this same woods and found a large ne-t in a white pine which proved to be a Sharp Shinned Hawk nest, containing a set of fine eggs, like hen’s eggs, in this instance being two large eggs. We took plaster paris and made a set of artificial eggs coloring them with water corors as near as possible like the real ones. We took out the hawk eggs and put the artificial ones and set a small steel trap as in the first instance. The old bird was not so easily caught as the first one, as she man- aged to push the trap out of the nest several times, but finally got caught by the neck. This hawk is also mounted and is now in my collection. This was some of my very first collecting and as I had never seen a 130 set of eggs properly prepared, I spoiled both of these sets. I took a pen knife and drilled a ragged hole in each one large enough to take out a heavily incubated embryo. These sets are spoiled so far as Commercial Value is concerned, but I will keep them as a memento of my first egg collecting. Ligon Price, Marlinton, West Virginia. Pocahontas County. BRIEF NOTES ON THE BLUE-GREY GNATCATCHER Undoubtedly my desire to further my studies of the Blue-grey Gnat- catcher, originated in an adventure I had some years ago. At this time I was specializing in Bird photogra- phy. The back-waters or “bouys” of the river, with their numerous _ Is- lands, of stunted trees and sedge grass, afforded a veritable paradise to the Ornithologist. The river was high, at this particu- lar time, and covered the Islands to a depth of about four feet. I was at- tempting to obtain a series of pic- tures of the Red-start, when I by chance, discovered the Gnatcatcher’s nest. This was a rare treat for me and I determined to obtain the set of eggs, which I supposed were in it. The nest was located far out on a willow limb. I climbed as far out as I dared and was cutting the limb, in- tending to secure the set by this method. I fear there was a smile of fond anticipation on my face as I con- templated the beautiful set that would eventually grace my cabinet, when a “crack” and ere I were aware of it, I was under water! Un- daunted, however, I made for the nest, peacefully floating on the water, THEO 0 EO Gis Th only to find four youngsters blink- ing surprised like in it. Through later years I have become intimately acquainted with this spe- cies. My records of migration show that this bird returns on the 27th of April, as an average. This dainty twitter can be heard frequently as they search diligently among the new leaves of birch and willow for un- fortunate insects. I find that the pair hunt together and I am inclined to believe they spend a part of their honeymoon in selecting a nesting sight. About a week after their arrival, they start nest building. Willows are invariably chosen as the tree in which to place their charming nest. The “cotton” from the willow cat- kins are obtained first, and are used in this locality for the greater part of the nest. These birds are diligent workers and the house is soon paint- ed and lined with spider webs. But the most renowned artists of the world cannot camouflage quite like this bird. The bits of lichens used in “painting” the nest, continue to re- tain their color, due to the moist sit- uation. The nest is the best imita- tion of a knot that I have ever seen. The pretty little eggs are a treat to both oologist and photographer. But the nests are indeed difficult to find, and it takes a pretty good pair of eyes to locate them, unless they are found during the period the nests are in construction. Then one may easily find two dozen nests in a day. Undoubtedly, most amateur oologists possess one or more sets of this spe- cies, acquired through exchange, but by far the greater pleasure is lost, unless the set recalls scenes of stag- nant water; water moccasins dosing on rotten logs; turtles sunning them- selves; frogs croaking hoarsely; dragon flies darting hither and THE OO LO GIST thither; and the inevitable ringing notes of the prothonatory warbler, which one generally finds in these lo- calities. In spite of much reclaimed bottom land, the old Mississippi still offers a happy hunting ground for the oolo- gist. Theodore R. Greer, Aledo, Illinois. A FEW BIRD PROBLEMS. A cold, late spring caused our birds much trouble. The Robin appeared March 12th and Bluebirds soon after. Song-sparrow and Meadow Larks came about March 28th. At this time it was very cold, the ground frozen hard and some fine snow. ‘On ‘April 11th it snowed, and on the 13th a Robin was discovered pbuilding a nest in a locust tree close by ‘the house. “They ‘began by carrying four white hhen’s feathers, six inches long, and were trying to twine them together into a nest, but they were stiff and would not lay in right. After much trying, they cast them out spitefully and they fluttered to the ground. The next day was Sunday, cold and windy and the Robins rested from their labors; but on the 15th, the very next morning they began with those same feathers again, and re- peated the attempts and then throw- ‘ing them out; trying some twigs and rootlets also, they at last succeeded in keeping them in the crotch of the tree. We concluded that it was a very hard task for a Robin to build with- out mud, and that the lack of it was a serious matter. The rain they needed did not come until on the 20th, then the nest was completed. On April 25th I visited a swamp, where I had been told birds came 131 early. It was sunny, with a bleak wind, and we suffered with the cold. Trees were bare and leafless, herbage searcely started, and nothing very in- viting for early comers. Wesawa few male Redwinged Blackbirds, Meadow Larks, Robins, a pair of wild Duck and one lone Bluebird. By the 28th the Robins seemed to have began in a serious way to occupy their home, and we thought that there must be blue eggs up there. Anyway there was a crow that came early at 5:30 in the morning to investigate. The Robins had just passed by into the garden, when through my bed-room window I saw the thief descend, and perch near the nest. My appearance at the window and the lifting of the white curtains seemed to firghten him, and as he flew away another crow joined him. And the Robin life went on happily again. Other birds arrived, the Purple Finches, Gold Finches, Chipping Sparrows, Baltimore Orioles, Red- eyed Vireos, Maryland Yellow-throats, and a Hummingbird, the latter seek- ing food in the bell bed, where not a single blossom was yet out, finally at evening was seen in the cherry tree where blooms were first appear- ing. On May 8th a thundershower came, and then a drop in temperature, with snow on the 9th until roofs were white. The Robins, much surprised, but faithful sat tight all covered with snow under the leaflets twigs of the locust all through those snowy hours. More snow fell the next day. In spite of all set-backs, the Robins hatched and grew, leaving the nest, May 21st. Leda W. Chace, Lawrenceville, Penna. Tioga County. 132 ALFRED COOKMAN Alfred Cookman, one of California’s well known Ornithologists is now President of the Los Angeles Cali- fornia Nature Club, having something over three hundred members, and we are sure that THE OOLOGIST fam- ily will be glad to hear something concerning the field trips which this organization enjoys. The following is the first of a number of promised communications on this subject.—R. M. B. A Day Among the Oaks Near Mt. EI Capitan, San Diego, County, Cal. There is one tree that stands out magestic, magnificent and alone—the live oak (Quercus agrifolia) of the foot-hills of California. I have camped beneath its ‘branches in a canyon retreat and climbed out on the huge limbs to the nest of a jay, wren or woodpecker. I have classified sev- eral insect ‘pests infecting the branches and bark such as the Cali- fornia Oak Moth, Cockerell’s Kermes, Gall-like Kermes, Nautical borer and the oak ericoccus. Leaving San Diego in an automo- bile for the River Bottom at the base of Mt. El Capitan for the purpose of studying the bird-life in this terri- tory, Professor Valentine and I spent several hours among thousands of oaks, sycamores, poplar trees and willows in the very heart of birdland 10 miles north of the city of San Diego, 1922. We first directed our course to the willows and parked the car. For two hours, we rambled in and out among these small trees close to the water’s edge and observed willow gold- finches, California jays, crows, red- wing black birds, Traill’s flycatchers, western black phoebes, brewer black birds, Killdeer, and the San Diego towhee. We came out into an opening at the THE OOLOGIST base of Mt. Hl Capitan and discov- ered that a hundred yards to the left were oaks and sycamores in count- less numbers. The ery of the Cali- fornia jay and a shrill call of the Sparrow hawk and the beating and tapping of the woodpecker lured us on in that direction. Hundreds of Cedar waxwings were recorded and several turkey vultures were there. A dead horse had at- tracted the vultures and they had gathered for the feast. I always en- joy watching vultures feed. They are truly “self-appointed Boards of Health’—industrious scavangers and monarchs of the air. They are sure of themselves in any kind of weather. They nest among the crags and cliffs in the San Diego mountains. The writer shot a Ferruginous rough-legged hawk. It was a mon- ster male bird. Length 23.56, wing 16.70, tail 10 in. The “squirrel hawk” is pre-eminently a bird of the prairie. The bird is wholly beneficial and is one of California’s most’ valuable species. The squirrel problem is one of the state’s most serious problems. California loses ‘approximately $10,- 000,000 worth of grain and vegetable crops annually due to ground squir- rels. Wild pigeons were darting here and there as we approached the oak tree area. These birds are very wild. They come up from Mexico during their annual migration and linger awhile in San Diego County. They prefer the oak tree sections of the county. ; The mourning dove, the San Diego itowhee, the Gambels Sparrow, the California woodpecker and house finch were present in the oaks. Wild flowers were everywhere. Wild barley and sage and cactus plants are characteristic growths. The road-runner, the meadowlark Te HE. 0-050. G6) SeF and the cactus wren were recorded on this trip. We circled in and out among the huge trees and wandered here and there among huge granite rocks, up steep inclines and down into ravines. At last, we came under the shadow of Mt. El Capitan towering like a mighty sentinel. Her dome penetrat- ing the cumulus clouds in a field of blue sky. We sat down under a spreading oak, and opened our lunch. We were alone with the birds and the flowers. The afternoon was devoted to bird- study and when the shadows of night began to creep over the hills and the sun vanished, and the air changed to a cool breeze, we left the oaks and eycamores and hurried to the car and in a few hours reached San Diego, having enjoyed a day long to be re- membered. Tihirty-eight species of birds were seen and several were taken for scientific purposes and added to my collection. Alfred Cookman, Los Angeles, Cal. NOTEBOOK NOTES Do Blue Grosbeaks build several nests, and, like the Long-billed Marsh Wren, use them as a blind? In one field of about twenty acres I found nine of their nests, though none con- tained eggs or young; these nests were apparently fresh and none had any body scales in them, thus proving that they had not been used. Two or three pairs of Blue Grosbeaks were in the field flying about as if Gispleased at my intrusion. A Yellow-breasted Chat, that lived near this field had learned to crow like a Bantam rooster, and was im- mensely proud of his accomplish- ment. First he gave three plain whis- tles as if to call attention, then, after 133 a pause, he gave his crow, a little crude perhaps, but unmistakable; as if satisfied with himself he always ended with several “chuckles.” Another Chat that I noticed cawed like a crow; this formed much of his song, and was used on every possible cceasion. A habit that many Chats have is that of singing while on the wing. The bird seems to choose two ‘‘bases,” and flies back and forth between them; this performance usually being very ludicrous as the whole body seems to be kept in motion. I have never observed any night singing on the part of Chats here. While pumping water at my home one morning, a Goldfinch circled around me several times, and finally hung in the air above me and sang one of the sweetest thrills or songs I have ever heard one sing; it some- what resembled the song of the Lark Sparrow. Another peculiar incidence was connected with a pair of Blue-headed Vireos that were searching for lich- ens on the limb of a tree; from there they flew to another tree upon an outer limb of which was a lichen- covered nest that I supposed was their own as they were coming and going as if they were building on it. Close observation, however, disclosed the fact that the nest once belonged to a Wood Pewee, and that they were tearing it down for material with which to build one of their own. In three days the nest was entirely re- J. G. Lewis, Bentonville, Arkansas. moved. 134 THE FOOD OF YOUNG HAWKS We tear and read a good deal about the stealth and cunning of the Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned hawks. We are told it is they who do all the chicken stealing and bird kill- ing that we thought the larger hawks responsible for. I have set out to find: out for myself. I have had under observation for this spring and summer, a pair of red- tails, a pair of Cooper’s hawks and @ pair of sharp-shinned hawks. I maintained a close watch upon the first and the last named, to see just what they fed their young and learn much other things about them as I might. The Cooper’s hawks nest was too far away and too hard to reach after one arrived at the site, to make very many trips out to see it, hence I have not completed data for this nest. Before the eggs of the red-tails hatched, the parents fed on rodents— mostly the striped ground squirrels (Spermophile). After the young got out of the shells, the whole bill of fare was young chicken. At differ- ent times we found chickens to the number of seven. There were times when we could not go to the nest for a week or two, and it maybe there was other food fed to the young dur- ing that time. On May 13th, this year, I found a nest of the sharp-shinned hawk, and made seven trips to see it during the time between then and the 8th of July. I expected to find all man- ner of birds were being fed to the young. I even had hopes of taking some of the freshly killed birds to mount for my collection. I am glad to say, that I found no evidence of a single bird killed. Locusts, large beetles and cicadas, with a mouse or two for desert, was the main type of food. Of course these are only THE OOLOGIST two instances, but, if we were to judge, we would reverse the reputa- tion of these two birds somewhat, we think. Ralph J. Donahue, Bonner Springs, Kans. BOB WHITE’S QUANDRY Few permanent residents, save the Goldfinch and Cedar bird, postpone their nesting like our Quails, many of which are not incubating at this advanced date, July 1st. Cold, damp weather, typical for spring climate in Kentucky, would be fatal to many quail chicks, which escaped this fate because their hatching occurs 60 days later in mid summer. Reports obtained in the last fort- night from a score of Barren County farmers, discloses the average loss of one quail’s setting to every ten acres of grass timothy and clover mowed. This county had several thousand acres of hay, and nine out of every ten nests were deserted while con- taining six to eighteen eggs a piece. Most sets are not exposed until the hay has been raked. Where wheels of the farm machinery passed over the nest, destruction of the eggs was complete. In many instances the mower had cut the growth without harming the contents of the nest; nevertheless abandonment had taken place. Meadowlarks’ domiciles. simi- larly exposed were rarely forsaken unless destroyed. Bob Whites, despite their abund- ance here, and decided preference for settled areas and cultivated fields, do not appear to lose any of their sensitive traits. Today I saw seven fresh eggs on a grassy hillside, and although I refrained from, touch- ing the nest, if the little hen goes elsewhere to deposit the rest of her product, it will not surprise me. Gerald Alan Abbott. Glasgow, Ky. FPHE: QOL QG: ET 185 THE NESTING OF A GREAT HORNED: OWL To one who is thrilled at finding such; common. birds’ nests as_ the chewink or, red-winged blackbird, the finding of a, great horned owl’s. nest is indeed of mighty importance. The nest I'am to write about was of the first of this species of owl I ever had the pleasure to examine or make notes on. A neighbor of mine found the nest- ing site by accident, while looking for “good coon trees.” This was on January 19th, 1923; and at that time there were but two eggs in the nest cavity. He reported the find and the location to me. The Sunday follow- ing or on January 21, my brother, Clyde, and I went out and found the ne*ting tree easily. A large sycamore stands about two hundred feet to the north of the Kaw Valley Electric Line in the Little Kaw valley, west of Mahon station in Levenworth County. This tree leans sharply towards the river and was likely bent into its present position by floods during jits earlier years. Thirty feet from the ground—al- though much farther from the tree’s base, occasioned by the angle at which the tree leaned—is a_ large cavity, twenty inches across and three feet deep. At one time the top of the tree must have broken off and, while the inner wood decayed, the outer wood grew up around it. On this first Sunday, Clyde was almost up to the nest before the old owl flew off. I had my camera. set awaiting the owl’s exit, and was re- warded by a fairly good picture. The male soon came sliding through the woods from up the draw, and joined its mate in protestinations in the form of beak clickings and deep “Whooo-Hoooos” from trees around about: Three large white eggs. were in the nest this day. We waited twenty-eight days to go out to the nest again. That» was on February 17th. One young owlet was hatched, one egg pipped and the other egg in no way changed exter- nally. The young chick was some- what larger. than a newly hatched chicken; and covered by patches of yellowish white down. The day was a cold and raw one, so we were at the nest no longer than we needed to be. On the 25th of February the third trip was made to the nest. All three owls were hatched and grown some- what larger than the one we saw on the 17th. Several parts of rabbits were in the nest cavity, also a fresh- ly killed Bobwhite. I leaned over in- to the nest hole to examine the young more thoroughly, and while in this position I heard my brother call out, but not in time to prevent the parent owl from giving me a sharp blow over my right kidney as she flew by. I also felt a slight burning and found, when I reached the ground, that the owl’s claws had found. my flesh through my underclothes, my blue. shirt, a painter’s canvas jacket, my old coat and that portion of my overalls that reached up that far. I shiver to think what the result would have been had I been Adam or even Tarzan of the Apes. The parent owls finally left the part of the valley where their nest was located, before we were through pho- tographing and making notes, only to run into a flock of crows. In the space of a half hour, fully five hun- dred crows were swirling about the trees where the owls had taken re- fuge. An enormous flock of these black marauders, flying high over head, swung once around on hearing the clamor from below, but did not 136 descend to take part as I had expect- ed. Their northward journey was re- sumed and the owls were apparent- ly forgotten. Our fourth visit was delayed on ac- count of the muddy roads and bad weather until March 25th. My, these young owls had grown. Their bodies were covered with downy feathers, a little lighter in color than the par- ent birds. The wings and tail edges were edged with good sized pin- feathers. The old owl slid away be- fore we got to the tree and, because the young could take care of them- selves, was seen no more that day. March 31st marked our fifth trip. At this time the young owls were nearly as large as the old ones. The bottom of the nest cavity was cov- ered with the ejected pellets cast up by the owls; the whole thing becom- ing a very “smelly affair.” Old birds not seen. A portion of a rabbit was in the cavity, also feathers that indi- cated a flicker had been Killed. Our last trip was made on April 7th. Only one young owl left in the nest at this time; others may have flown. Three freshly cleaned skulls of rabbits in nest. We did not go again for the trip was not a short one and there were other nests to watch. This is the history of these young owls’ beginning in this world. This study of the nesting of these birds reveals the fact that, in this instance at least, though there was a chicken farm within a half mile from the nesting site, poultry formed not a single part of the food fed to the young. As far as I was able to find out and discover, with the exceptions of the bobwhite and the flicker al- ready spoken of, the food of the great Forned owl consists wholly of cotton- tail rabbits. Ralph J. Donahue, Bonner Springs, Kansas. THE OOLOGIS8ST TRAPPING THE FEATHERED MARAUDERS OF THE FIELDS Farmers whose crops have suffer- ed unusually from the depredations of the crow might take courage by the reports of the methods pursued in the agricultural regions of France to get rid of this well-nigh universal pest. Every farmer knows that the favorite delight of the crow is to tear up and devour the sprouting corn, and that the crow is not particular- ly an easy bird to shoot, being gun shy and seeming to know ‘by some peculiar power of observation or in- tuition when a man is armed. How the French meet the situa- tion in a variety of ways, chief of which are decoys and traps, is told in the Illustrated World by George H. Liscomb. “The first method,’ says Liscomb, “consists in making use of the crow’s nocturnal foe, the owl. The owl is particularly hated by the crow and when the hapless creature has lost its way and is partly blinded by the: light of day, it flies helplessly about and is pretty certain to be set upon by a flock of angry crows. “Taking advantage of this natural ~ hatred, the French peasant builds an ambush. in the fields and on a perch near by ties either a live owl or a stuffed one. If the stuffed variety is used, the farmer, concealed in am- bush, simulates life in the decoy by jerking a cord attached to its limbs. When the black host arrive to worry their hereditary foe a liberal broad- side from a double-barreled gun will rid the country of quite a number. “Those farmers who prefer traps to shotguns make use of paper cones. These are first lined on the inside with birdlime. This may be produced by boiling the bark of the holly, from which is thereby obtained a sticky detaining substance. In lieu Pee. 8: OC OG ST of that, birdlime can be secured by boiling linseed oil for a long period of time. “When ready the cones smeared with birdlime, are set in the ground. As a bait, meat, grain or nuts are employed. The unsuspecting crow in attempting to get the food pushes its head into the cone and, thus caught, immediately rises—imprison- ed and blindfolded by the cone—in the air, almost straight upward, to a great height. It soon exhausts it- self, however, and falls to the earth, where it may be captured or killed with ease. “Other varieties of traps are also used. The crow does not seem to be a wise bird in all matters, for in the nesting season the female may be induced to alight upon a nest full of eggs that are not her own. Taking advantage of this fact, the farmer makes use of a spring trap. The trap may be baited with a dead rabbit or bird. It is declared that if the human scent is detected the trap will prove a failure. Strongly scented herbs should therefore be drawn across the trap and a pair of tongs used to set it and place it in position. To thor- oughly complete the deception the French camouflage the traps by cov- ering them with a coat of green paint.”—San Francisco Chronicle. W. A. Strong, San Jose, Cal. Birds Like Old Homes Birds have in common with man the “housing instinct,’ alhtough of course in man the instinct is not so highly developed. Just how Mr. and Mrs. Bird, on their return to the North from their winter in the South find their old nests each spring is not known. Their ability to locate the “old home” is simply a part of their homing instinct. Without chart 187 or compass to point the way, the birds fly unerringly to their old haunts each spring.—Local Democrat. Geo. W. H. vos Burgh. The following I read in the Prairie Farmer, and consider it so good that Iam copying it in part. The Piasa Bird, an Indian Legend M. S. Rowe Now you may know all about the Piasa bird, or it may not mean much to you, or even be interesting, but I am sure that each one of you has at some time or other, had a strange word suddenly grip you—possess you day and night until you must know all about it. That is what the Piasa did to me! If it could exert such a spell now, I vividly believe that it would have carried me off, had I been so foolhardy as to have lived his day. About 20 miles above Alton, on the the Alton Way, which most of you automobile people know, is’ the dreamy town of Piasa, set down among the rich surrounding fields of Macoupin County. Here it rests on Piasa Creek, which ambles on and flows into the Mississippi. Going along the Alton way at this place we can look to the West and see the forest—a blue streak—on the Mis- souri side, but cannot discern the river. Now, near this little dot of a town, is a huge advertising sign board representing a book, and as we dashed by I saw, “Piasa Bird,’ and “page of history.’ When I was a mile beyond I wished that we had stopped and read it: Probably that would have saved me this burning de- sire to know all about it. That the word was of Indian origin, I felt as- sured, but could find no one that seemed to know anything about it. One ventured to remark that he “be- lieved that’he had read something in history about it—but did not know what it was any more.” 138 ‘This is the advantage of hunting up history. When a bird flaps its wings at you, as the Piasa did at me, you will never forget anything about it. You will know your page of his- tory—not only for today’s recitation— but also all your life. So I chased this strange elusive bird to the only hiding place it now possesses, the Indian Mythology of North America. The Indians had many legends sim- ilar to this, that describes the power of some fearful bird. ‘So while the fancy is too wild and strange for any white man to believe literally, it would seem possible, if not prob- able, that there might have been a ‘great and frightened bird, back in the time of the Mastodon, and Bisons, ‘different and bigger and more fero- cious than anything that history -knows. The Indian legend relates that this monstrous bird, as large as a calf, carried off the red men and devoured them. ‘They were powerless against it. So, at last, a big Chief, Onatoga, prayed the “Great Spirit” to help him save his people from this frightful thing. In a dream he was directed to select 20 of the bravest of his brave, and letting one offer himself “on a lonely cliff to the bird, the others were to stand ready with drawn bows and arrows. It was considered a hopeless affair, so fearful were the Indians of this bird. But the “Great Spirit” had di- rected and Onatogo was a brave chief; so he chose to be the one on the cliff. The legend goes on to tell how he stood watching the bird cir- cle toward him, and just as it was about to lift him from the ground 20 arrows pierced its body, and it fell dead ‘before him. In commemoration of this great “event the Piasa bird was painted on the rocks, off to the west, from the little town of -Piasa, where Piasa THE OOLOGIST Creek flows into the great river. This tradition runs through all the tribes of the upper Mississippi. ‘This painting was 80 feet high or more on the Cliff-and it as depicted with horns on its head like a deer, red eyes, beard like a tiger, face somewhat like a man’s “body ‘covered with ‘scales, and a tail So long that it was wrap- ped twice around its body. This ob- ject of terror was painted so high, andand so vivid in red and green and black, that in the strong sunlight, sharp Indian eyes, trained to long distances, could use it for miles. So we know why it was not strange, whén Jesuit Jacques Mar- quette, come sailing up the Mississip- pi, with his little band of Indian guides from the south one beautiful ‘June morning in 1673, that they were frightened, at such a sight; never having been so far up the river, and not knowing the legend, they mistook ‘the picture for reality. "They refused to ‘go on and Marquette’s first voy- age ‘was a failure. * * * * ~ How the Indians managed to paint this “picture so well upon the sheer face of the cliff is conjecture like so many other pages in history, it -shows that when people want to do a thing badly enough there is a way. All’ the early accounts state that it was painted in a better manner than the Indians were capable of, and in such lasting dye that it withstood the weather and the continual firing of the Indians until 1848. All these years to the present day, it has been the custom for the Indians, to fire at it in passing. History relates that a Dr. Russell went up the Mississippi in 1836, and near this spot discovered a cave where the bird was supposed to carry its prey. He states that he excavated and found human ‘bones to the depth of three or four feet. That is all there rae ewok ogrts t is to the Piasa bird. An Indian fancy, a myth, if you will! BOOKS RECEIVED Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution 1921—This pwblication contains the following paper, which will be of interest to Orni- thologists. “Some preliminaray re- marks on the velocity of migratory flight among birds with special refer- ence to Palaeartic Region,’ by R. Meinertzhazgen.—R. M. B. The Murrelet No. 2, Viol. IV, May 19, 1923, of this most interesting Bird Journal pub- lished by the Pacific Northwest Bird and Mammal Society, is at hand and as usual is filled with fresh readable bird notes, direct from the field. The leading article in this issue is on occurrence of the Plumed Egret— An Asiatic Species; Mesophonyx in- termedia—in British Columbia, the specimen referred to having been killed at Burrad Inlet, in May, 1879, and until recently it was regarded as Egretta candidissina. This publica- tion adds another real bird (not an imaginaray sub species) to the A. O. U. list, and the ‘Murrelet’’ is to be congratulated upon being the medium through which this information is put on record. The Summer Birds of the Adirondack In Franklin County, N. Y. By Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and H. D. Minot This is a re-print of this well known Bulletin, which originally appeared in 1877, and is put out by the Roose- velt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station, under the direction of Dr. Charles C. Adams. 139 Relation of Summer Birds to the Western Adirondack Forest By Perley M. Silloway Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin. Vol. 1, No. 4, March, 1923. This is a splendidly written and arranged resume of the subject of which it treats, and is illustrated by many half-tones and a considerable number of colored plates. It will long be a standard on the subject. It has been our obcervation that what- ever Silloway does he does well. Attached to this as pp. 487-520, is a paper by Dr. Charles C. Adams, Di- rector of the Roosevelt Wild Life For- est Experimental Station, on the re- lation of Birds to the Adirondack Forest Vegetation, which is likewise a real contribution to the Literature on that subject. It is illustrated by many half-tones and filled. with in- formation and suggestions of value. The Summer Birds of the Alleghany State Park By Aretas A. Saunders This is Roosevelt Wild Life Bulle- tin, No. 1, No. 3, March, 1923. And the fact that A. A. Saunder’s name appears at the top is an amply suffi- cient guarantee of both thorough- ness, and Scientific accuracy, which is well borne out, throughout the en- tire paper, which consists of pp. 335- 386. This likewise is illustrated by a considerable number of half tones and a few colored plates, and Con- tains a key for the identification for the Birds in the Field. It is a reposi- tory of information that the State does well to put within reach of its citizens —R. M. Barnes. Red Tailed Hawk Carnegie Museum Leaflet No. 1 This is a little leaflet of four pages, prepared and illustrated by our 140 THE OOLOGIST friend, George M. Sutton, and is on the order of the Audubon Leaflet. Bulletin of the Audubon Society of West Pennsylvania, April, 1923 This is well gotten up publication, of fifty-two pages, illuminated with a splendid drawing of a male Cardinal, by George M. Sutton, and contains articles on “Field Identification of our Winter Birds,’ by Mr. Sutton. “Crossbill Visitors,’ by Byard H. Christy. “Fruit Trees for the Birds,” by John L. Phillip. ‘Incidentals,”’ by H. W. Arthur. “Suggestions to the Bird Student,’ by C. W. Parker. “The Great Horned Owl,’ by S. S. Dicky. “Hivergreen Trees as a Protection for Birds,” by George H. Parker. “Why Birds Need Nesting Houses, Bathing Pools and Feeding Stations,” by T. W. Weisman. “The Purple Martin,” by J. Warren Jacobs. “Young Night Hawks,” by Leroy Homer. “The Star- ling in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” iby George M. Sutton. Audubon’s Outings,’ by Helen Blaine. “Cemeter- ies as Bird Sanctuaries,’ by Jesse L. Jones. “Watch the Cats,’ by C. W. Parker. It also contains a number of half- tone illustrations and a black and white drawing of the Starling, by Mr. Sutton. A facsimile of a letter from John Burroughs, and a list of mem- bers of this Audubon Society. All in all it is a very credible publication. R. M. Barnes. ILLINOIS NOTES The following list of birds were seen on April 29th, 1923, near Texico, Jefferson Co., Ill., they are catalogued by the old A. O. U. list. A.O.U. No. 180 Whistling Swan—Found along side of R. R. in a pond; it was injured and unable to fly. Found dead two days later about 40 ft. from the water; very rare. 228 Woodcock—I knew him by his Tuck, Tuck, as he started out about daylight. Very rare; the second one I have seen in 10 years in Illinois. 230 Wilson Snipe—Rare. 273 Killdeer—Common. 316 Mourning Dove—Common. 325 Turkey Vulture—Not common. 333 Cooper’s Hawk—Not common. 368 Barred Owl—Common. 373 Screech Owl—Common. 390 Belted Kingfisher—Common. 406 Red Headed Woodpecker—Very common. 412 Flicker—Very common. 488 Crow—Very common. 461 Wood Pewee—Not common. 477 Blue Jay—Very common. 501 Meadowlark—Very common. 511 Purple Graeckle—Rare. 529 American Gold Finch—Common. 504 Vesper Sparrow—Not common. 558 White Throated Sparrow—Com- mon. 560 Chipping mon. 567 Slate Colored Junco—One seen. 583 Cardinal—Common. 598 Indigo Bunting—Not common. 611 Purple Martin—Common. 616 Barn Swallow—Rare. 636 Black and White Warbler—Rare. Authority of H. W. Henshaw’s “Friends of Our Forests.” 674 Oven Bird—Not rare, authority as above. 681 Maryland Yellow Throat—Com- mon Summer Resident. 703 Mocking Bird—Very common. 721 House Wren—Very common. 731 Tufted Titmouse—Common. 736 Carolina Chickadee—Very com- mon. 756 Veery—Very common. 761 Robin—Very common. Sparrow—Very com- _766 Blue Bird—Very common. J. Earl Harlow. Texico, Ill., June 10, 1923. We are not certain that the “Veery” is correctly identified by Mr. Harlow.—HEiditor. THe. CO.L.6 6 het Richard C. Harlow, formerly of State College, Pennsylvania, whom we personally regard as the best field oologist in the United States at this time, together with George H. Stuart III, and Fletcher Street, of Pitts- burgh, spent twelve days during the pact spring collecting season at Bel- videre, Alberta, exploiting the oolcg~’ of that territory. During which time a nect of the Lccen and sets of Ye!lcrv- LD ffalo-herd Duck, Solitary “on?niper, Grinnell’s Water Thrush, Canada Grouse, Palm Warbler, Con- Warbler, Nelsen’s Sp.rrow, end cther rare species were taken. —R. M. B. YiKaas —eetic™ t CHECKMATING THE PARASITE (From “The Oologist’’) The writer has become mightily in- terested in the profoundly-complicat- et phenomena of Parasitism. It has filled me with amazement to find, on going through the 5,000 pages of my momirseript on the “Nesting Ways of North American Birds,” that no less than two hundred North American ~pocies of birds are more or less par- asitic.—(most of them, of course less so). Equally of course, there are quite a number of species that are mutually parasitic, e. g., the Cuckoos and the Brewer Blackbird. Of all the epecies that are frequent hosts of the Cowbird, I know of but a half-dozen, or fewer, that have caught the trick of embedding the intruded egg, or eggs. These are,—the Yellow Warb- \ler,— pre-eminently,— ithe American Goldfinch,—just once, in my own ex- perience; the Bell Vireo,—also just once;—and, there are others. Two birds with which I am familiar, nest- ing on the ground, have the more-or- less fixed habit of ejecting the ob- noxious intrusion. These are, the Song Sparrow and the Bobolink; and I have fine negatives to prove it. P. B. Peabody. 141 KILDEER IN OHIO May 21, 1922, I found four eggs of the Kildeer on a new Blue Limestone road near Dixon, Van Wert County, Ohio. The eggs lay in a slight de- pression neir the barn. There were no weeds to shade or conceal the eggs, which vere quite conspicuo1> arengrt the blve limestone. The sitting bird flushed when my horse trrned slightly from the cen- ter of the road. The road was a much traveled one, and I was prised that the ergs had nct been broken. May 27, 1923, I found another ne-t cf the Kildeer near the Mercer Coun- ty Reservoir, at Celma, Ohio. The four eggs were in a slight depression, in the cinders and gravel between the rails and ties of an old railroad spur which appeared to be seldom used. The shells were chipped and the young were ‘“cheeping” inzide. Both birds were seen nearby. During the month of May 1922, I flushed an adult Woodeock, in a small vret woods, southwest of Payne, Ohio. I was surprised to see her (?) car- ring between her feet and legs one of the young which appeared to be filly two-thirds grown. She _ flew very slowly and with the greatest cificulty, rising not more than six feet above the ground, and flying about fifty feet before she settled in the brush and weeds. The young bird struggled a great deal and both birds scolded, chattered and remonstrated. The other three young flew up and alighted in the brush and weeds a short distance away. I was unable to find any of the birds after they had alighted. a Homer F. Pierce, Payne, Ohio. sur- 142 THE RETURN OF THE MAGPIE. Several old-timers have informed me that the Magpie was formerly common in the Edmonton District, where they made themselves objectionable by at- tacking cayuses with sore backs, in the days when pack trains were no novelty in Edmonton; but from the time of my arrival in Alberta, in ’98, until the fall of 1919, I never saw a single specimen in this part of the province. On September 15th, 1919, I observed one lone straggler flying near the Pembina River, at Belvedere. In 1920 one made its appearance on Septem- ber 1st, alighting on the back of one of my horses in the pasture, and on the 9th I observed four of them together. In a short time they became generally distributed over the district and re- mained through the winter. In the spring they all disappeared except one pair, which built a nest on my place at Lac La Nonne, and raised a brood of five young. One of these I took for a pet, but it did not live. I found the nest on April 5th. On the 17th it appeared to be completed and the bird was sitting on the 28rd. The nest was in a thick clump of wil- lows and was the usual roofed struct- ure of sticks, described in the bird hooks. I observed that it had two entrances. On June 11th the young had left the nest and were perched on branches near it. During the nesting period the birds were very quiet and seldom seen. The family remained in the vicinity all summer and I often observed the six of them together. They seemed to be the only Magpies in the country, aS on several motor trips to Edmonton, 60 miles southeast, and as far as 30 miles east, during the summer none were seen. On August 25th I saw eight of them together, so they must have been joined by two more birds, and on Oc- THE OOLOGIS8ST tober 23rd I saw eleven at one time. Since then I have seen Magpies nearly every day and they seem to be gener- ally distributed over the district. An interesting question is, why did the American Magpie abandon the country for over 20 years and why are they now re-occupying it? A. D. Henderson, Belvedere, Alta., Can. A NEWSY LETTER. One of our collectors, who is now in Lower California, writes under date of February 25th: “Mail is always welcome in this out- of-the-way place. The nearest rail- road station is over 200 miles away. Mail goes to Gueymas, Mexico, where it stays until some boat takes it to La Paz, and then it comes the rest of the 145 miles on mule back. We had a very nice trip down the coast, and are now located in this place, in a very comfortable adobe house, one of the best in town. This town is about a mile from the Gulf of Lower Cali- fornia, and eight miles from Cape Lucas. The town is placed in a little valley about a mile wide and forty miles long. The principal industry is raising sugar cane, tomatoes and cattle. About a mile from town is quite an extensive slough, which is ideal for shore birds and Heron. This morn- ing I saw on the marsh Brewsters, Egret, American Hgret, Reddish Hgret, Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron and others. The Herons are exceedingly shy, “May Maleto,” as the Mexicans say. We have been treated nicely and have had no un- pleasantness of any kind. - Every day or so some one brings in a bird, generally without a tail. One young man sent me a bird taken forty-five miles from here, and the sad part of it was, and also the THE OOLOGIST 148 wonderful part of it was, that it was tailless. Also it was a very rare bird from the type locally known as Beautiful Bunting from Miraflores. Have taken quite a few of the Cape birds and will soon send a shipment. Outside of a few mosquitoes, and some of the refinements of the State, I am very comfortable. Have an ideal place to work and have collected sixty spe- cies and noted over a hundred. Col- lecting is rather difficult, the birds being exceedingly shy, and long walks are necessary, and it is about all I can do to get nine or ten laid away each day, except Sunday, when I rest. Prob- ably will be here about six weeks, then go up to the higher mountains. Don’t know exactly where, but hope to re- main in the Cape Region a year. Liv- ing is quite high here, which surprised me greatly, and good things to eat are hard to procure. Opportunities for such desirable outings come only to those who have demonstrated their integrity, skill and ability in the line of such collecting. The Editor. THE BLUE GOOSE Half a dozen rare Blue Geese were lately presented to the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Their donors are the members of the St. Anne’s Island Duck Shooting Club, on the St. Clair River. No less than fifteen Blue Geese were killed at the Club last fall. The birds are the same size as the Lesser Snow Goose, and have red beaks and feet and white heads and necks. The back and body of the Blue Goose is the delicate blue grey shade seen in the fur of the blue fox. The birds are very destructive, pull- ing the grass on feeding ponds right up by the roots. Walter Raine, Toronto, Canada. FROM THE PAGE OF AN OLD DIARY, 1874. From the page of an old diary of one of my brothers, for August 15th, 1874, I read the following: “Stayed at home and done up my chores and cleaned off and watered my horses, and it was half-past six o’clock, and then I took the gun and went down along the creek a hunting and I shot eight pigeons.” He helped draw up wheat and when he got that done he says “I took the gun and went down along the creek a hunting, and I was gone until six o’clock and got four pigeons.” Just think of it, twelve pigeons in one day. He says “It was a warm, pleasant day.” The gun he mentions is an old- fashioned double barreled muzzle loader, which I have in my antique collection at the present time. I was less than four years old then. George W. H. vos Burgh, Columbus, Wis. 144 NEWSPAPER ORNITHOLOGY Seventeen Foot Condor Flying Away With Baby, is Killed. Geneva, Switz., Apr. 14—A large Condor flying away with the baby of Swiss peasants, was shot down by the father. He saw the Condor swoop down and lift the child into the air. The wounded bird fell so slowly the baby was slightly injured. The wing spread of the bird is reported as 17 feet, 5 inches.—Herald Examiner. Again we remind YOU Send ina story about your Field Trip to the Oologist THE OOLOGIST STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, CIRCULATION, ETC., REQUIRED BY THE ACT O CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24, 1912, of The Oologist, published monthly at Albion, N. Y., for April 1, 1923. STATE OF ILLINOIS, County of Marshall—ss. Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the State and county aforesaid, personally appeared R. Magoon Barnes, who, having been duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that he is the owner of The Oologist, and that the following is, to the best of his knowledge and belief, a true statement. of the ownership, manage- ment, etc., of the aforesaid publica- tion for the date shown in the above caption, required by the Act of Augus:? 24, 1912, embodied in section 443, Pos- tal Laws and Regulations. Publisher, Editor, Managing Editor, - and Business Manager, R. °Magoon Barnes, Lacon, Illinois. Not a corpor- ation. No stock has ever been issued. The Oologist is owned exclusively by R. Magoon Barnes. There are no bond holders, mort- gagers or other security holder, none have ever been issued. R. MAGOON BARNES. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 16th day of June, 1923. (Seal) FAY BALL. My commission expires Feb. 16, 1927. FHE 6OL060616 TF Will Exchange personally -aken Florida sets for books. Want the last four volumes of AUK: good books on Butterflies, Moths and Insects; also good work on Southern Botany. Tell me what you have and price and will send you list. Oscar E. Baynard, Plant City, Florida. FOR SALE for Cash—Bulletin Coop- er Club & Condor, Volumes 1 to 6 in- clusive, complete, except No. 6, Vol. 1 Oologist, Vol. XI, (1894) complete; Vol. X (1893) complete, except April, July and November. W. B. Sampson, 1005 North San Joaquin St., Stockton, Cal. WANTED—To exchange bird and mammal skins for bird and fish books. Richardson’s Fauna Borealis, and Bent’s Diving Birds especially desired. Walter Koelz, Department of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. ads aie FOR EXCHANGE —Rare Sets of Eggs such as Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Aleutian Tern, Long-bill Curlew, Loon, Welches Ptarmingan, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Golden Eagle, and many others. WANT—Male and female skins of Richardson and Black Pigeon Hawks; Harris, Harlans, Zone-tailed, Short-tailed, and Red-bellied Hawks; Peals, Pergerine, and Aplomado Fal- cons; Mallard, Widgeon, and Ring-neck Ducks; Purple Sandpiper; Wandering Tattler; Buff-crested Sandpiper; Black Oystercatcher; Marbled Godwit; Velvet Scoter; Yellow-crowned Night Heron. K. B. Mathes, Batavia, N. Y. TO EXCHANGE—Sets from New Zealand: Dove Petrel, Black Swan, Mutton Bird, Black Backed Gull, White Fronted Tern, Red Billed Gull, Gannet, Caspian Tern. From Australia: White Faced Storm Petrel, Sooty Tern, Silver Gull, Pelican, Coot, Little Blue Pen- quin. From Ireland: Moon Hen, Coot, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Razor Bill, Puffin, Guillemont. All collected by self. To exchange for good sets, with proper data. el Redick, Newington, Connecticut. WANTED—Sets of No. 11, 37, 60, 112, igo, loi, 183; 186, 207, 213, 217, 2380, 253, 261, 264, 276, 301, 305, 309. E. S. Coombs, 233 Washington St., Malden, Mass. “NOT MERELY STUFFED,” but per- fect in plumage and condition and ac- curately mounted specimens of the fol- lowing: Goshawk. Spruce Grouse, Prairie Chicken, Ruffed Grouse and Mountain Quail. Will exchange for sets. G. A. Abbott, Glasgow, Ky. FOR SALE—Natural History Books and Magazines, Antiques, Curios, Min- erals, Insects, Shells and other speci- mens from this locality, or will ex- change for Coins and Stamps. Ralph L. Wheeler, Canaan, N. H. FOR SALE—Two large upright cab- inets of 382 drawers each, one of ori- ental oak, and one of hard pine. Also my entire Natural History Collection of Thousands of Specimens. A good chance for a Museum. Address Dr. W. S. Strode, Laguna Beach, Califor- nia, Orange Co. FOR EXCHANGE—I have for ex- change, for skins desired by me a number of Snowy Owl Skins, in all grades of plumage ranging from al- most pure white males to the darkest colored summer females. If you can use these send me your list of dupli- cates. R. M. Barnese. EXCHANGE — National Magazines for Bird Magazines, also will take sets. Send want list. J. Earl Harlow, Texico, Illinois. WANTED—By H. H. Johnson, Pitts- field Maine: Bird Lore, Vol. XXIII, 5; Vol. XXIV, all;Journal Maine Ornith. Soc., Vol. VI, 4; VII, 1; Nuttall Bulletin, all; Oologist (Utica), all; Ornith. & Oologist (Semi-An.) Vols. I & II, all; Wilson Quarterly, Vol. IV, 1; Biol. Sur- yey. Bull, Nos: 6, 27,134 S352 37, 39° N. A. Fauna, Nos. 7, 19, 22, 27; Maynard, Birds of Eastern North America; Me- Ilwaith, Birds of Ontario, 2nd edition; King, Economic Relations of Wis. Birds. WANTED —Lepidopters from. the West and South West, especially Splin- gidae Saturniidae and Papiloes. Wm. Jay, 12 Westview St., Mt. Airy, Phila, Pennsylvania. 5 WANTED—Prismatic Binoculars. C. S. Sharp, Escondido, Cal. Will give sets of 349 or part cash. How about it? Geographic EXCHANGE PRICE LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS’ EGGS We have just published this work which it took a Committee of well known Oologists, who were elected by The Oologists of North America for that purpose, nearly two years to complete. It is a Volume of two hundred pages, well illus- trated, by half tones, showing the advance methods that now obtain in Oology. It contains the following special matter. 2. A history of Birds’ Egg Catalogues. 4. Prices in this Catalogue. 6. Copy of Standard Data Blank. 7. 8. Illustrations showing proper cabinet 9. Report of the Committee of Twenty-five on 10. Names both common and scientific of all North American Birds and 1. An introduction. this Catalogue. for collecting and preparing eggs. trations of proper way to mark eggs. arrangements of. specimens. prices. Prices adopted for the exchange of specimens of eggs of each. ments. 3. A history of 5. Directions Tllus- What they mean. 11. Advertise Paper bound copies $1.00. Cloth bound copies $2.00. R. M. BARNES, LACON, ILLINOIS, THE OOLOGI8T THE WILSON BULLETIN A QUARTELLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. Paying particular attention to Field Studies of Birds in Middle North America. Now in its 28th year. 64 pages or more of readable matter with illustrations. Indispensable to all active field workers. $1.50 per year, 40 cts. per copy. Official Organ of THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB Address GORDON WILSON, Secretary, 1434 Chestnut Street, Bowling Green, Kentucky. A Biboliograph of scarce or out of print, North American Amateur and Trade Periodicals, devoted more or less to Ornithology. Listing: 147 sep- arate publications. Price 25 cents. R. M. BARNES. Lacon, Ill. 1923 Subscribe for “The Oologist” for 1923. It is the only Bird Journal in North America devoted to the interests of those making collections. It is not too scientific to be popular and not too popular to be ac- curate and scientific. Subscription price per annum fifty cents. Address The Oologist, Lacon, Illinois. THE QOLOGIST. BIRDS--NESTS--EGGS TAXIDERMY VoL. XL. No.9. ALBION, N. Y,,Sepry 1923. ~ WHOLE No. 437 +, Tits OO L Ge) Vol: RLV all but No, 3: Voll Xvi Nowa: Hoyes Lloyd, 406 Queen St., Ottawa, Canada. EXCHANGE PRICE LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS’ EGGS We have just published this work which it took a Committee of well known Oologists, who were elected by The Oologists of North America for that purpose, nearly two years to complete. It is a Volume of two hundred pages, well illus- trated, by half tones, showing the advance methods that now obtain in Oologv. It contains the following special matter. 2 A history of Birds’ Egg Catalogues. 4. Prices in this Catalogue. 6. Copy of Standard Data Blank. 7. 1. An introduction. this Catalogue. for collecting and preparing eggs. trations of proper way to mark eggs. arrangements of specimens. prices. i Prices adopted for the exchange of specimens of eggs of each. ments. 3. A hirtory of 5. Directions Tllus- What they mean. 8. Illustrations showing proper cabinet 9. Report of the Committee of Twenty-five on 10. Names both common and scientific of all North American Birds and 11. Advertise Paper bound copies $1.00. Cloth bound copies $2.00. R. M. BARNES, LACON, ILLINOIS. THE OOLOGIST THE WILSON BULLETIN A QUARTELLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY Paying particular attention to Field Studies of Birds in Middle North America. Now in its 28th year. 64 pages or more of readable matter with illustrations. Indispensable to all active field workers. $1.50 per year, 40 cts. per copy. Official Organ of THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB Address GORDON WILSON, Secretary, 1434 Chestnut Street, Bowling Green, Kentucky. A Biboliograph of scarce or out of print, North American Amateur and Trade Periodicals, devoted more or less to Ornithology. Listing 147 sep- arate publications. Price 25 cents. R. M. BARNES. Lacon, III. 1923 Subscribe for “The Oologist” for 1923. It is the only Bird Journal in North America devoted to the interests of those making collections. It is not too scientific to be popular and not too popular to be ac- curate and scientific. fifty cents. Subscription price per annum Address The Oologist, Lacon, I[Jlinois. THE OOLOGIST. BIRDS—NESTS--EGGS TAXIDERMY Vou. XL. No. ll. ALBION, N. Y., Nov. , 1928. WHOLE No.439 # “Sy 7 (ie DEC 8 ~ 1923 * T.H.E 0OOLOGI.S.T BRIEF SPECIAL ANNOUNCE MANTS Wanted, Exchange, For Sale, Htc., inserted in this department at 35 cents for each 25 words for one {ssue; each additional serted for less than 25 cents. word 1 cent. No noticé in- We will advertise the skins, nests, eggs, or mounted specimens of North Amer- jean Birds for sale for persons having a lawful authority under the law to deal tm the same. These columns are for the use of those desiring to make bona fide sxchanges of such specimens for scientific collecting purposes only.—EDITOR. acne) L FOR SALE—One hundred sets of eggs, with full data, of the commoner varieties. Very reasonable. List on application. Henry W. Davis. 10 South Baton Rouge Avenue, Ventnor, Atlantic CityeeNEe oe 11t2 FOR SALE—Eggs in sets of A. O. U. No. 123a, 216, 228% 264, 277, 328, 339b; 355, 364, 373d. A-1 condition. Number of eggs in each set and price by return mail. Henry W. Davis, 10 South Baton Rouge Ave., Ventnor, Atlantic City. N. J 11t2 FOR SALE—Mounted Birds, Bird Skins, and Mammal Skins, at low prices Will exchange mounted specimens for skins I want. D. V. Hembree, Roswell, Georgia. 1 E2 FOR DISPOSAI-—Complete set of Bird Lore from Vol. 1 to Vol. 16.. for $32, prepaid. First eight years are bound with covers and advs., balance not bound. All in perfect shape; also Bird Lore, Volume four, complete 1902, for $4. Fred M. Dille, Valentine, Bie Miss Kite, White Neck Raven, Swain- son’s Hawk, Least Tern, Snowy Plover and many others in original sets, per- sonal take. What have you to offer? R. L. More. Vernon, Texas. W ANTED—A Mounted specimen or skin of Passenger Pigeon. Will give good exchange. or pay cash. O. S. Biggs, San Jose, Ill. FOR SALE—1,000 sets of eggs, about 600 varieties, 1-3 New List Price. All sets first class. E. A. Wheeler, East Randolph, N. Y. WANTED—Various volumes and numbers of Western Ornithologist, Ore- gon Naturalist, Oologist, Museum, Petrel, Bittern, Bulletin Michigan O. Club, American Ornithology, ete. . Rob- ert W. Williams, 206 Maple Ave., Ta- koma Park, Maryland. : I do not want to exchange eggs, but would like to exchange letters. with bird lovers anywhere. S. A. Grimes, R. 6, Box 391, Jacksonville, Fla. WANTED—For Cash. well marked clutches, 339, 337, also 388, 387, 263, 273. Write first. B. W. Strike, 2 Abingdon, Whitton, Nr. Ipswich, Suffolk, England. SHELL COLLECTORS and MUSEUMS —A fine lot of the “Liguus’” or tree snails from the hammocks of Fla. for sale, or will exchange for skins or eggs. Harold H. Bailey, Miami Beach, Florida. Jun. 3t Will exchange or pay cash for a few small native or foreign mounted birds needed to fill collection. Also skins if properly prepared for mount- ing. Send list and prices. L. W. Speer. Taxidermist, Sac City, Iowa. 5 WANTED—Sets with nests of North American Warblers; only first class sets wanted. Send for my exchange list. John L. Cole, Nevada, Iowa. 10t3 WANTED—Am building a Museum and desire to secure through exchange or purchase, skins, nests, eggs or mounted specimens of North American Birds, sets of eggs with nests especial- ly desired. Can use many common varieties. Also want Indian Relies, Shells, minerals and Butterflies. Brasher C. Bacon, 315 North Seminary St., Madisonville, Ky. “EXCHANGE LIST—Skins: F, Wood Duck; M, Farallone Gormorant; M, Sage Grouse; 2 M, Mallards; M-F, Gad- well; 2 M, Spoonbill; M-F, FEared Grebe; M, Western Grebe: F, Hooded Merganser; M-F, BI. Cr. Night Heron; M-F, Caspian Tern; M-F, Ring B. Gull; M-F, Forsters Tern; M-F, Avocet; M-F, Wilson Phalarope. Eggs in Sets: Tre- ganzas Blue Heron, 2. 3, 4, 5; R. B. Gull, 2, 3; Farallone Corm, 3, 4; Mal- lard, 5, 7, 8; Gadwall, 7, 8, 9; Cinnamon Teal, 11; Canada Goose, 2; Sage Grouse, 4; Am. Dipper, N.4; Coot, 8; Sand Hill Crane, 2. Dr. A. G. Prill, Scio, Oregon. ATTENTION—We will collect any type of specimens in exchange for Lepidoptera, U. S.,.Foreign. Associated Butterfly Collectors, W. E. Dickinson, Sec., 573 Lake Drive, Mi wee FOR SALE or EXCHANGE—A col- lection of some ten thousand stamps, on separate.sheets for each country. Want bird skins for all or nart. Gus. Langelier, Cape Rouge, Que., Canada. We need Volume 36. No. 11 of The Oologist. Whitman Davis, Librarian, General Library, A. & M. College, Miss. EXCHANGE—1 complete set of North Western School of Taxidermy lessons, value-$20.00; what have: you? George Carpenter, 746 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn, For two years-I have been working on a collection of the Raptores (Accipi- tres) of the world. What have you for exchange? Only first class sets wanted. Ralph W. Jackson. Route No. 1, Cambridge, Maryland 11t3 FOR EXCHANGE—Bird eggs, bird. and animal skins, mounted specimens, butterflies and moths of Northern Ohio, for those of other regions. Will sell at reasonable prices to those wishing ~ mounted specimens for school, office or home decoration and have nothing to exchange. Will mount specimens sent |‘ by mail. C. F. Zuercher, Sugarcreek, O. WANTED—Subscriptions for all Mag- , azines, at greatly reduced prices. Miss '. Fay Ball, Lacon, Illinois, fi’ THE OOLOGIST. VoL. XL. No.1l. ALBION, N. Y., Nov., 1923. WHOLE No, 439 Owned and Published Monthly, by R. M. BARNES, Albion, N. Y., and Lacon, IIl. TAKE NOTICE. SUBSCRIPTION 50 CENTS PER YEAR Examine the number on the wrapper of your Oologist. If it corresponds with the Whole No. above it denotes that your subscription expires with this issue Remember we must be notified if you wish it discontinued and all arrearages must be paid. Entered as second class matter December 21, 1903, at the post office at Albion, N. Y., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. At last the Editor is on the job and we are endeavoring to catch up schedule with THE OOLOGIST. It is hoped and be- lieved that the December issue will reach our subscribers very early in that month. We have for that issue a very perfect and very unusual plate of the very rare eggs of The Mexican Jacana. It would please the Editor very much if renewals ef sub- scriptions for 1924 would be mailed promptly, and ot course any one wishing to send THE OOLOGIST to a nature loving friend, either old or young, would not be refused the privilege of so doing, if the communication and remittance requested such mailing. In fact we appreciate every boost, for you all know that the publication of THE OOLOGIST, is a labor of love and without financial gain to the present management. Next year THE OOLOGIST will travel along the well beaten path which it has traversed for the past forty years and more, probably no better, certainly no worse. The good- ness of it depending upon the liberality of our readers in contributing copy..—R. M. Barnes. 174 NESTING OF THE CASPIAN TERN AND THE SNOWY HERON By Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, C. M- Z. S., Fellow of the Amer. Ornithol. Union. A number of our terns breed along the great stretch of coast of southern Louisiana which is washed by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and among them we meet with the Cas- pian or Imperial Tern (Sterna caspia). As to the nidification of this fine spe- cies, Coues stated in his “Key to North American Birds” in North America it is irregularly distributed, not only dur- ing the extensive migrations but also during the breeding season, known to breed at various points on the Atlantic Coast from Texas, in the interior, from Great Slave Lake to Lake Michi- ean, Nevada and California, but sel- dom observed on the Pacific Coast. Eggs 2-3, in hollow scooped in dry sand without nest, 2.65—2.75x1.80— 1.90, broader and more elliptical than those of S. maxima, with smoother and harder shell; ground color pale olive-buff, evenly, marked all over with small spots of dark-brewn and laven- der. Breeds commonly by single pairs. (Key to N. A. Birds, Ed. V., vol. II, p.. 1005). Quite recently Mr. Edward A. Mc- Ilhenny, of Avery Island, Louisiana, kindly presented me with a beautiful series of photographs of certain birds and their nests as they occur in among them is... southern Louisiana; one of the nest of the Snowy. Heron and another of a beach scene on the shores of, the Gulf of Mexico, where some seventeen Caspian Terns had deposited their eggs—that is, there are about that many indicated in the picture herewith reproduced. Pre- sumably the colors of these were as described-above by Coues, ~and this likewise applies to what he stated about their form. The three beautiful sets in the lower right hand corner THE OOLOGIST of the cut distinctly show the exca- vation, in each case, made by the bird in which she deposited her eggs. In most all the others the eggs appear to have been laid direct on the hard sand, with no attempt to make a hol- low in it. As thus deposited it is quite evident that these eggs are at the mercy of any bird or mammal that cares to feed upon them, and doubtless such depredations frequently happen. I met with Caspian Terns breeding in the Floridas and Bahamas Islands as far back as the spring of 1864, and there were thousands of them, it be- ing the days antedating those of the “nlume hunters.” A number of other species of Terns, Gulls, Skimmers, and others, resorted to the same lo- calities for the same purpose. On Doublehead Shots Key the eggs of such birds were deposited in such numbers and in such close proximity to each other, that one had to be very careful how he stepped around among them lest he crush them under foot. As will be noted in the accompany- ing illustration, the Snowy Herons had built their nest in the thick foli- age of a “black mango tree,” and de- posited it in four bluish white eggs. The nest of this bird is truly a very rough and ready structure, rather af- ter the order of a nearly flat platform, the basic portion being composed of very coarse, shortish sticks, with ‘still shorter and more slender ones for the lining, there being no soft material whatever used for the latter. A great many lovely blossoms, apparently of the tree upon which this nest rests, are to be seen all about it—silent testimonials to the taste of the build- Be i ea The description of the eggs of our American Herons left us by Coues are quite unsatisfactory and inexact,.while he is correct when he states that the nest is always “a large flat rude struc- ture of sticks,” It is a well known THE OOLOGIST ihpaiti free aan oper ate LS See SS ee ee ian Tern Eggs of Casp Photo for Dr. Shufeldt. 176 fact that a clutch of eggs of any one of our smaller Herons contains a greater number of eggs than does a clutch of any of the largest species; in the latter they run from two to four and in the former from five to six. In closing the present brief article, it will interest many ornithologists and others to learn that Mr. Mcllhenny has established at New Iberia, Louis- iana, “The Louisiana Gulf Coast Club” ; it commands a reservation of some 100,000 acres, and has 75 miles of Gulf Coast line. It is the largest tract of land in the United States devoted to wild life conservation as well as to a resort for sportsmen. There are some wonderful publications issued by this Club, the illustrations of which are extremely interesting, and it under- takes to supply these gratis to appli- cants, requests being mailed to the Chicago office, 623 South Wabash Avenue. Those interested in the pro- tection of our birds should surely send for these publications. RECENT EXPEDITION TO LOS CORONADO ISLANDS, MEXICO By Alfred Cookman, M. S., Depart- ment of Science, San Diego High School, San Diego, California On April 29th, the writer and his wife and a troop of Boy Scouts steamed out of San Diego harbor for a eruise to the Coronado Islands, Old Mexico. There are four small islands located 25 miles southwest of San Diego and twelve miles off the Lower California peninsula in the Pacific Ocean. The largest island Man’s Island” lies further south and North Island “Corpus Christi” is five miles to the north. The remaining two are mere mountain peaks barely protruding out of the sea. The Coronado archipelago are the “Dead - THE OOLOGIST protruding peaks of an otherwise sub- merged mountain chain that was once integral with the main land some time during the tertiary or quater- nary periods. They are the famous breeding grounds of the California Brown Pelican (Pelicanus californi- cus), the Socorro Petrel (Oceanodro- ma socorrensis), the Farallon Cor- morants (Phalacrocorax auritus albo- ciliatus), Brandt Cormorant (Phal- acrocorax penicillatus), the Xantus Murrelet (Brachyramphus hypoleu- cus), the American Raven (Corvus corax sinuatus) and the San Nicho- las Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus pulverius). Western Gulls are every- where on the islands. They breed here in great colonies among the ice plants on the leeward side of the islands and among the jagged rocks near the summits. On the way over to the islands several of the Boy Scouts became ex- ceedling ambitious to study the marine gardens judging from the fre- quency in which their heads were con- tinually over the side of the boat. We arrived on South Island at noon. Our little launch steamed into the cove in due time. % pt 2 =pirds THE OOLOGIST BRIEF SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMRANTS Wanted. Exchange, serted for less than 25 cents. For Sale, Kte., for each 25 words for one issue; each additional inserted in this department at 35 cents word 1 cent. No notice in- We will advertise the skins, nests, eggs, or mounted specimens of North Amer- ican Birds for sale for persons having a lawful authority under the law to deal in the same. These columns are for the use of those desiring to make bona fide -xchanges of such specimens for scientific collecting purposes only.—HDITOR. FOR SALEH—One hundred sets of eggs, with full data, of the commoner varieties. Very reasonable. List on application. Henry W. Davis. 10 South Baton Rouge Avenue, Ventnor, Atlantic City, N. J. 11t2 FOR_SALE—Eges in sets of A. 0. U. No. 123a, 216, 228; 264, 277, 328, 339b, 355, 364, 373d. A-1 condition. Number of eggs in each set and price by return mail. Henry W. Davis, 10 South Baton Rouge Ave., Ventnor, Atlantie City. N. J 112 ' FOR SALE—Mounted Birds, Bird Skins, and Mammal Skins, at low prices Will exchange mounted specimens for skins I want. D. V. Hembree, Roswell, Georgia. 11t2 FOR DISPOSAL—Complete set Rird Lore from Vol. 1 to Vol. 16.. for $32. prepaid. First eight years are bound with covers and advs., balance not bound. AIl in perfect shape; also Bird Lore, Volume four, complete 1902, for $4. Fred M. Dille, Valentine, ee Miss Kite, White Neck Raven, Swain- son’s Hawk, Least Tern, Snowy Plover and many others in original sets, ner- sonal take. What have you to offer? R. L. More. Vernon, Texas. TWANTED—A Mounted specimen or skin of Passenger Pigeon. Will give good exchange. or pay cash. O. S. Biggs, of -San Jose, 111. - FOR SALE—1,000 sets of ef&gs, about 600 varieties, 1-3 New List Price. All sets first class. HE. A. Wheeler, Hast Randolph, N N. Y. WANTED—Various volumes and numbers of Western Ornithologist, Ore- gon Naturalist, Oologist. Museum, Petrel, Bittern, Bulletin Michigan O. Club. American Ornithology, ete. Rob- ert W. Williams, 206 Maple Ave., Ta- Koma Park, Maryland. I do not want to exchange eggs, but would like to exchange letters with bird lovers anywhere. S. A. Grimes, R. 6, Box 391, Jacksonville, Fla. WANTED—For Cash. well marked elutches, 339, 337, also 388, 387, 263, 278. Write first. B. W. Strike, 2 Abingdon, Whitton, Nr. Ipswich, Suffolk, England. SHELL COLLECTORS and MUSEUMS —A fine lot of the “Liguus” or tree snails from the hammocks of Fla. for sale, or will exchange for skins or eggs. Harold H. Bailey, Miami Beach, Florida. Jun. 3t Will exchange or pay cash for a few.small native or foreign mounted “needed to: fill collection. Also aiens if properly prepared ooo mount- ng. Send list and rrices. L. W. Speer. Rais TES Sac City, Iowa, WANTED—Sets with nests of North American Warblers; only first class sets wanted. Send for my exchange list. John L. Cole, Nevada, lowa. 0t3 WANTED—Am building a Museum and desire to secure through exchange or purchase, skins, nests, eggs or mounted specimens of North American Birds, sets of eggs with nests especial- ly desired. Can use many common varieties. Also want Indian Relics, Shells, minerals and Butterflies. Brasher C. Bacon, 315 North Seminary St., _Madisonville, Ky. Skins: Gormorant; F, Wood Duck; M. Parallone M, Sage Grouse; 2 M, Mallards: M-F, Gad- well; 2 M. Spoonbill; M-F, Eared Grebe; M, Western Grebe: F, Hooded Merganser: M-F, BI. Cr. Night Heron; M-F, Caspian Tern; M-F, Ring B. Gull; M-F, Forsters Tern; M- F, Avocet; M- Kr Wilson Phalarope. Eggs in Sets: Tre- ganzas Blue Heron, 2. 3, 4, 5; R. B. Gull, 2, 3; Farallone Corm, 3. 4; Mal- lard. 5, 7, 8; Gadwall, 7, 8, : Cinnamon Teal, 11: Canada Goose, 2: oe Grouse, 4; Am. Dipnper, N.4; Coot, 8: Sand Hill Crane, 2. Dr. A. G. Prill, Scio, Oregon. ATTENTION—We will collect any type of specimens in exchange for Lepidoptera, U. S., Foreign. Associated Butterfly Collectors, W. E. Dickinson, See., 573 Lake Drive, Milwaukee as t FOR SALE or EXCHANGE—A col- lection of some ten thousand stamps, on separate sheets for each country. Want bird skins for all or nart. Gus. Langelier, Cape Rouge, Que., Canada. We need Volume 36. No. 11 of The Oologist. Whitman Davis. Librarian, General Library, A. & M. College, Miss. KHXCHANGE Western School of Taxidermy lessons, value $20.00: what have you? George Compenter, 746 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn, For two years I have been working on a collection of the Rantores (Accipi- tres) of the world. What have you for exchange? Only first class sets wanted. Ralph W. Jackson. Route No. 1, Cambridge, Marvland 11t3 FOR EXCHANGEHE—Bird eggs. bird and animal skins, mounted specimens, butterflies and moths of Northern Ohio, for those of other regions. Will sell at reasonable prices to those wishing mounted specimens for school, office or home decoration and have nothing to exchange. Will mount specimens sent by mail. C. F. Zuercher, Sugarcreek, O. WANTED—Subscriptions for all Mag- azines, at greatly reduced prices. Miss Fay Ball, Lacon, Illinois. THE OOLOGIST. VoL. XL. WNo.12. Ausion, N. Y., DrEc., 1923. WHOLE No. 440 Owned and Published Monthly, by R. M. BARNES, Albion, N. Y., and Lacon, III. TAKE NOTICE. SUBSCRIPTION 50 CENTS PER YEAR Examine the number on the wrapper of your Oologist. If it corresponds with the Whole No. above it denotes that your subscription expires with this issue Remember we must be notified if you wish it discontinued and all arrearages must be paid. : Entered as second class matter December 21, 1903, at the post office at Albion, N. Y., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. VOL. XL, 1923 With this issue of THE OOLOGIST, we close Volume XL, the oldest Ornithological publication in the West- ern Hemisphere, but one. We likewise close the year 1923, which, to the editor, has been the most annoying, unpleasant and unsatisfactory of our existence. It is to be hoped that the turn in the River will soon come. THE OOLOGIST will be published in the ensuing year 1924, and make its regular monthly visits to the Bird Loving Fraternity, and we appeal right now to our friends to help us to make it a better OOLOGIST than we have ever had, and this can only be done by a united effort. We are truly in need of good copy right now.—R. M. Barnes. 186 MEXICAN JACANA (Jacana spinosa) Since becoming acquainted with The Oologist several years ago, I have read with much interest from time to time of the various rare species and their nests and eggs that were collected and described from all parts of the country, but I have failed to find any notes whatever pertaining to this odd and very interesting bird, and I am herewith enclosing a photo of two sets of eggs that are in my cabinet. In describing these sets I. will state that although they were taken many years ago I do not believe the color has faded to any great extent. Set One, four eggs: Three eggs of this set are about uniform in shape but the fourth is slightly more blunt and not running to quite as much point as the others. The shell of all four has a high gloss presumably from the fact that incubation was well ad- vanced. The ground color in all is a beautiful yellowish olive, and over this is a network of very dark umber and black lines intertwining and running haphazard all over the surface. They form blotches on the big end of two of the eggs and almost con- ceal the ground color. If the mark- ing from about ten eggs of the Balti- more Oriole were transfered on to one of the Jacana it would have about the same appearance. There are also fainter shell markings in the form of small spots. and blotches of warm brown and lavender. This set was collected by Mr. C. W. Crandall on the northern coast of South America, June 14th, 1898. Incubation was ad- vanced. Nest was composed of twigs and aquatic plants on leaf of Victoria regia plant in swamp. /Set_Two, four eggs: Two eggs of this set are abcut uniform in size but the remaining two are larger and THE OOLOGIST smaller respectively. The largest one has a tendency to run more to a point at the big end while the smallest egg is considerably more narrow than the others. The ground tint in this set is more dull and subdued and the shell has none of the luster as is noted in set one as incubation was fresh. The scrawls and lines are also much finer and are blended with the lighter shell markings so as to not appear so clean cut and distinct. The smallest egg is more densely marked around the cen- ter and one would think an insect’s feet. had been dipped in pigment and then allowed to run around continual- ly until the color was consumed on the shell. This set was collected for Frank B. Armstrong at Tampico, Mexico, May 4th, 1900. Incubation was fresh. Nest was composed of floating trash collected together under curled lily leaf on fresh water pond near town. I am hoping that collectors who are familiar with this specie will come to the front and let us become-better ac- quainted with its habits. Harold H. Meyers. Medina, N. Y. AGE AND EXERCISE Rutheven Deane, one of Patriarchs of ornithology writes: “I spent two months on the Maine coast, got a lot of exercise observing birds, motoring, photographing and played sixty games of golf, which meant, a tramp of 275 miles. After my. return (to Chicago) I have had to re- trace my steps to Cambridge to attend our annual A. O. U. which was a grand success and well attended.” This we regard as a fair record for a man seventy-two years of age. | R. M. Barnes. | Eggs of Mexican Jacana, in collection of Harold E. Myers, of Medina, N. Y. 188 WITH THE BIRDS IN THE GEOR- GIAN BAY DISTRICT It was with pleasant anticipation that I left the train on the 6th day of June of this year to change to a motor car which was to carry me to my destination, where I was to meet my friend, Dr. Harrington. Hach year we have spent a few weeks in June together on the south shore of Georgian Bay. Our object in visiting this part of the country has been, and is, the study of bird life. My spirits were somewhat cooled by the information that there was still lots of ice in the Bay, and when a mile from the beach, this fact was brought home to us by the chilly air. The bay was covered with drift ice as far as the eye could see. Instead of seeing the usual large flocks of Her- ring and Ring-billed Gulls, Common and Caspian Terns and an occasional Loon, there were only a few scattered gulls. However, on arrival at the cottage we soon made ourselves comfortable. The next day the sun came out, and while cold along the beach, it was quite warm a short distance inland. I won’t try to describe our experi- ences in detail but will confine my- self to a brief description of the coun- try and some of the birds noted. The country is rolling and very sandy. The ridges are mostly open, while the hollows are usually covered with thick ‘brush, and in some places, quite Swampy. The characteristic trees are White and Red pine, cedar, spruce, hemlock, birch and poplar. Elms are numerous along the river where there are lots of alder. Juni- per is also very common. There is a fine beach where numerous shore birds can be seen in the fall. The following birds were found hesting or gave evidence of it: THE OOLOGIST 64 Caspian Tern—Fairly plentiful along the Bay. Nest on one of the Islands in Georgian Bay. 70 Common Tern—lives up to its name. Nests in small numbers on one of the islands. 77 Black Tern—Common. Nests early in June on a small island lake. A set of four eggs was found on June 15th, 1921. 263 Spotted Sandpiper—Very com- mon. 273 Killdeer—Common. Four in- cubated eggs on island where Terns nest late in July. 600a Canadian Ruffed Grouse—As many as seven hens with broods were seen in one day. A nest with five fresh eggs found at foot of a Maple tree, June 13th, which is very late. 316 Mourning Dove—fairly com- mon. Two nests with eggs found on June 6th. One was built on the trunk of a fallen pine. 388 Black-billed Cuckoo—One was flushed from one egg in an unusually frail nest in a serub pine. This was the first time we had noted this bird here. 390 King-fisher—Breeds commonly in river banks. 412a Northern Flicker—Very com- mon. One was found nesting in a two foot high stump, the eggs being laid on sawdust (?) on the ground. 417 Whip-poor-will—Common. Two fresh eggs on leaves beside log in woods on June 12th. 420 Nighthawk—Very common. Nests in open country any time in June. 444 King-bird—Nests commonly in bushes and on stumps along river. 456 Phoebe—Very common. 461 Wood Pewee—Very common. 463 Yellow-bellied Fly-catchers — One lone bird seen in deep swamp. 477—Blue Jay—Common. Five fresh eggs in nest in scrub pine deep THE QOOLOGIST 189 Photo by H. H. Bailey. Florida Jay at Nest in Scrub Oak 190 in the woods on June the ninth. 495 Cowbird—This bird is very plentiful and few warblers’ nests es- cape them. 517 Purple Finch—Fairly common. 529 Gold Finch—Common. 540 Vesper Sparrow—Very mon. com- 560 Chipping Sparrow—These are the two common sparrows. 563 Field Sparrow—Two nests with eges were found on June the seventh. This is the first year we have noted it. 595 Rose-breasted Grosbeak—Fair- ly common. No nests found. 608 Scarlet Tanager—A pair were seem on the ninth deep in the woods and their incomplete nest was dis- covered. 613 Barn Swallow—Common. 614 Tree Swallow—One pair seen. 616 Bank Swallow—Very common. 619 ‘Cedar Wax-wing—Breeds com- monly in July. 624 Red-eyed Vireo—Common. 636 Black and White Warbler— Common. 645—Nashville Warbler—Rather common. Its song was heard several times before any of the birds were located, usually high up in the trees. 655 Myrtle Warbler—The common- est warbler. Nests in white and red pine or cedar. I have yet to find one of their nests without a cowbird’s egg or eggs in it. 657 Magnolia Warbler—Uncommon. June the twelfth four fresh eggs were found in nest of grass stalks lined with hair and decorated on the out- side with cob-webs. It was placed three feet up in the outer branches ‘of a hemlock on the edge of a clear- ing. 659 Chestnut-sided Warbler—Fair- ly common in suitable localities. 667 Black-throated Green Warbler —Rather common. THE OOLOGIST 673 Prairie Warbler—Common in other years, but scarce this year. A nest with three eggs and two of the Cow-bird was found in a clump of Juniper on the fourteenth of June. They were found with young in 1922, constituting the first breeding record for Canada. 674 Oven Bird—Very common. 681d No. Yellow-throat—Common. On the fifteenth of June a nest was located with four fresh eggs, situated in a grass tussock along ithe river. 686 Canadian Warbler—Fairly com- mon in deep woods. (37 Redstart—Quite common. 722 Winlei Wren—Occasionally met with in dark swampy woods. This bird ranks with the best as a songster. 735 Chickadee—Common. A nest of young was found on the ninth of June. 759b Hermit Thrush—Rather com- mon. A nest was found on the eighth of June with four recently hatched young. On the twelfth one was found with four slightly incubated eggs. It was made of leaves, bark and grasses, lined with pine needles and sunk well into the ground on the side of a bank amongst second-growth. 6B 6B The author of the foregoing neg- lected to sign his name ‘to it. Will he please forward it, that we may give him the proper credit. R. M. B. ane OVO°L O° Gh Saf A CAREFULLY PREPARED SCIEN- TIFIC COLLECTION OF BIRDS’ EGGS OF UNIQUE HISTORI- CAL IMPORTANCE When J. Warren Jacobs was a youth of 14 years, in the early eighties (1883), he began a collection of birds’ eggs, little dreaming that he was more than a “nest-robber’, a name in which several youngsters shared; and that, some day, he would be called upon to lay before the world, for its inspection or criticism, the results of careful and studious work, embracing a section of a magnificient collection of oological specimens from all parts of North America. Mr. Jacobs denies, with justifiable proof, that, even as a boy, the term ‘nest-robber” fits his case. The acts, however, disapproved by his parents, he hid away his specimens, feeling that the disobedience was not antag- onistic to an unprejudiced criticism, but rather a desire to show that an honorable and elevating influence ac- crued therefrom, especially when the incentive came from a conscience en- dowed with that inspiration of talents, the gift of the Creator in the birth of a soul. Other boys sold, traded or des- troyed their collections and dropped out of the game. New ones came on the scene, only to run the length of an insatiable craze for a few months, or a month at most; but it remained for young Jacobs to bear the post of lone sentinel, detached from the rest by continuous inspiration to hold such material gathered and do better work. After a year or two, his mother be- came reconciled to the desire of her boy to stick to trips afield in quest of his favorite hobby which entirely disassociated him from the ever changing dispositions of his youthful 191 acquaintances. His father, like the son, had a will of his own which re- quired a longer time to change from settled views, but the egg collection was tolerated nevertheless. That the favor was gaining sentimental ground with the father, was certain, for he was observed to bring traveling men and customers from his works to the house to see the collection of eggs. To show the eggs to the public was net young Jacobs’ intention, but when a director of the County Agricultural Fair, in 1887, mentioned the matter to the boy, a glass show case was supplied and a hundred species of sets of eggs were placed on display. Naturally he hung around the ex- hibit, possibly a little pround of his own efforts, but more because of the varied comment he could hear from the crowd always around the case. Standing back, and being unknown to the majority of the throngs, he could enjoy the remarks of apprecia- tion without blushing, and anon, per- mit a little smile to escape at some of the ridiculous and comic remarks. One old lady was sure the set of Cara- cara Hagle eggs were colored with “onion-peel stain’, declaring to a com- panion that she had colored hundreds of Easter eggs in that manner. An- other declared that she knew the boy to be of an artistic turn of mind, and tried to open the case to prove that the specimens had been faked with paint decorations. Occasionaly some prepossessing lady, wearing the re- mains of a half dozen murdered birds upon ther hat, raved at what she choise to term “wanton cruelty.” Or, perhaps, a male “wiseacre’, who reveled in slaughtering hundreds of birds for sport, would allude to such work as “unnecessary”; but for the most part, the comment was of a more intelligent strain, and along remarks of wonder and amazement; thereby 192 pleasing to the ears of young Jacobs. The County Fair over, the eggs were again placed in the cabinet; and as far as Mr. Jacobs was concerned, the end of public exhibitions. Imagine his surprise, when, in the fall of 1892, he received a letter from Dr. B. H. Warren, State Zoologist, Harrisburg, and author of the fine book, “Birds of Pennsylvania,” inquir- ing if a loan of a collection of eggs of-the birds indigenous to the state could be arranged for display with other state exhibits at the coming Chicago World’s Fair. The collec- tion scanned, resulted in 139 of the species listed by Dr. Warren, as being available, although not all collected within the limits of the Common- wealth; but still being species known to breed within the state were per- missible for display. From the De- partment at Harrisburg, a man was sent to inspect the collection and ar- range for shipment to Harrisburg, where, with other state exhibits and material, it would be consigned to cars for transportation to Chicago. Naturally, when he visited this great World’s Fair, his first interest centered in his own exhibit, although he arrived at the Exposition on Sep- tember 6, 1893, Pennsylvania Day, when the grounds were thronged with -citizens from his own state. Going direct to the Anthropological Building in which, for lack of space in proper buildings, his collection was installed with Dr. Warren’s col- lection of wild birds and animal of Pennsylvania, he found the exhibit, and with more than a nominal] inter- est read the exhibitor’s card which had been prepared and placed on the cases. Interesting, indeed, were the hun- dreds of comments he heard, and sometimes, inquiry, of some _ sort, directed to him, lead to recognition which resulted in many chats with or- THE OOLOGIST nithologists and persons in general. While there he met, among others, A. H. Frost, a well known oologist of New York City, and several of the younger oologists of the day. A young man answering to the name of R. M. Barnes, one of the good oolo- gists of the middle west, inquired as to where he could find J. Warren Jacobs, the exhibitor, and being told that he was speaking to his party, ex- claimed in identical words of the Penn- sylvania Executive Commissioner, A. B. Farquer, when he first met Mr. Jacobs, “I expected to see a much older’ man as exhibitor of this dis- play of eggs.” Mr. Barnes may recall questioning the wisdom of risking a eollection of eggs in such ‘exhibit; and while the event caused Mr. Jacobs to feel a little shaky in the matter, it is a fact that every egg came back to him, and is in the Museum of Ap- plied Oology today, in as fine condi- tion as before the World’s Fair. A snug little section directly east of the Pensylvania exhibit, was in- stalled by the State of Ohio—an ed- ucational exhibit—with a - mounted bird and animal collection installed. Interesting, but less-so than the pretty girl attendant, whose name he has forgotten, but the memory of ‘her pleasant disposition and courteous ways, has often caused him to wonder if some lucky Ohioan didn’t get a fine little wife. Just beyond the Ohio section was a New York State exhibit, and there he found the very large display of Frank H. Lattin’s, consisting of curio, sea shells and birds’ eggs, the bulk of the latter, loaned by many of the readers of-the Oologist, of which he was Owner and publisher at that time. These eggs were of a souvenir char- acter and were returned to their res- mective owners after the Fair. He met many persons there, who were (Continued on page 198) THE OOLOGIST 193 Director, MUSEUM OF APPLIED OOLOGY, Waynesburg, Pa. 194 THE OOLOGIST be TENGE a FACSIMILE OF GOLD MEDAL DIPLOMA, 1/6 Ve eh se SS Ne z Front and Reverse Sides of Gold Medal Awarded the J. Warren Jacobs Wor'd’s Fair Exhibit, St. Louis, 1904. ray | NATERRIORY «86D S-CONFRREDA Seater Poe SS (fo M == SS Si, N ( y ONS hs \Fa= LL SIZE 194 Phe OOLOGIOY ewe 6 BLS UE a Front and Reverse Sides of Gold Medal Awarded the J. Warren Jacobs Wor!d’s Fair Exhibit, St. Louis, 1904. Be UND STATES OFANERICA RMLETOTIOSIIme | COMMEMORATING THEACQUISIMON OTHE LOUISIANATERRITORY v TEIN ERNATION AI JUES OF AVILDS HS: CONFERRIEDA 3 pebctttebote. GOLD« MEDAL “birt ~ sre J|WARREN. JACQBS _ BIRDS EGGS OF PENNSYLVAN 1A A. Poe, * PRESIDENT ASIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION COMPANY fi Gli J Zee at FACSIMILE OF GOLD MEDAL DIPLOMA, 1/6 FULL SiZE 196, THE OOLOGIST EGGS OF RED-TAILED HAWK (Buteo Borealis) A part of the magnificent series of sets of eggs of this species in the Museum of Applied Oology. A small study group arranged to show variable size and relative distribution of markings. The fine, heavily marked set in the upper left hand corner was collected by Jacobs, Easter Sunday, 1887; and are prized very highly, not only for their tale of reminiscences of long ago, but also for their historical status, having represented the Red- tailed Hawk species in theJacobs exhibit of Eggs of Native Pennsy]l- vania Birds, at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. Tee” OO‘. OFGl Ss T 197 NEST AND EGGS OF RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (Archilus colubris) Natural Size One of two nests from the collection of J. Warren Jacobs. selected to represent the species in his exhibit of Eggs of Native Pennsyl- vania Birds at the World’s Fair (Louisiana Purchase Exposition), St. Louis, Mo., 1904. This set was collected in southern Greene County, Pa., June 7, 1900. 198 well known ornithologists and oolo- gists in their day. Frank H. Lattin was there and a brief interview was had with him. Walter F. Webb, of Albion, N. Y., with an assistant, at- tended the exhibit, and many pleasant hours were passed in and about the exhibit. Mr. Jacobs just missed meet- ing A. M. Shields, the well known oologist of Los Angeles, California. Webb tried to call Mr. Shields, who had just left and was still in sight, but the noise of the throng inter- cepted his call, and Shields was soon lost sight of in the crowd. Looking over the Lattin exhibit, Mr. Jacobs expressed the desire to purchase an Ostrich egg and a very fine imitation of the Great Auk’s egg, but the rules of the Exposition pro- hibited selling anything from the ex- hibition cases, and Webb had to watch his chance to slip the Auk’s ege from the case while no guards were in sight. That was none of Mr. Jacob’s business, but he got the prized cast of the Great Auk’s egg, just the same, and it still reposes in the collection of eggs, the only arti- ficial egg in the Museum. Aside from his own collection of eggs, the Lattin exhibit and a small demonstration collection exhibited by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, no other of the numerous World col- lections of eggs were to be seen on the grounds. Many months elapsed after the clos- ing of the Fair before his eggs were returned, during which time he felt some anxiety over the delay, and the Harrisburg authorities were jogged a little, whereupon the collection came to hand with a mild reprimand to him for his impatiences! A brief description and list of this collection is given on page 165 and 168 to 71, “Catalogue of the Exhibits of the State of Pennsylvania, and of Pennsylvanians at the World’s Colum- THE OOLOGIST bian Exposition, Chicago, 1893,” pub- lished by the state. One of the cases in which the eggs were arranged, can be seen in the halftone plate follow- ing page 165, same publication. The eggs back home and again re- placed in the cabinets, was a comfort to him, and impressed him with a feeling that no future exhibits would be made, but in a few years, the state authorities prevailed upon him to make a similar exhibit at the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition, Atlanta, Ga., with a trip there to install the same. Lack of State appropriations, however, curtailed much of the ex- hibit plans, which included the Natur- al History displays. After a large three days’ exhibit, including the entire collection of North American Birds’ Eggs, in 1896, at his home County Centennial, the eggs again went in repository in the Museum cabinets, hidden away from the public in general, until the fall of 1908, when a letter was received from Prof. H. A. Surface, then State Zoologist at Harrisburg, inquiring if an exhibit similar to the one at Chi- cago could be arranged for the com- ing St. Louis World’s Fair. Disliking to run the risk of loss or damage to the only complete, privately owned collection of birds’ eggs seen at the Chicago World’s Fair, he hesitated further venture of these historical treasurers. Investigation throughout the cabinets disclosed the fact that 159 species indigenous to Pennsylvan- ia could be drawn from the study series withoue disturbing more than three sets comprising the section ex- hibited at Chicago. Accordingly a collection, far super- ior to his exhibit seen at Chicago World’s Fair, was selected from the study series, and such species as warblers, etc., having small nests, were not only represented in the regular display of eggs, but a nest 7 HE oO OL OG iS T with its complement of eggs was also exhibited in a separate case. Alto- gether, about 225 sets, comprising the were in the display. Nothing was left undone to make this display of the very best ma- terial at his command, but his pur- pose was to excell if possible, and place before the public a credible and educational display of oological speci- mens; but never did it enter his mind that he was laboring for a distinction unique in its character, and niche in the World of Ornithological Science as lasting as ornithological history it- self. One day in mid summer, 1904, the mail delivery brought him an open envelope in which was a plain unpretentious card bearing the head- ing of: “International Jury of Awards, Louisiana Purchase Exposition,’ and stating that he had been awarded the highest class prize offered in the De- partment of Forestry, Fish and Game, —a Gold Medal. Was his hat off to the inspiration of perserverance which had been his companion all those years? I’d say it was! Did he feel the thrill all oologists experience when they make a first find of some rare and beautiful set of eggs? I’d say he did! Did he feel a disappear- ing humitity from thrusts of an unap- preciative community constituency, seeing in his work, no big money gain, and fit only to be trampled while the rabble all about him went head-long in their false Christian fellowship, greed, gambling and _ speculation? I'd say he did! Does he not now feel the justification of hurling the name of the stagnant and unapprecia- tive town of his nativity around the world without turning his influence and talents to greed and deception, seeming the chief marks of merit of greatness there? I’d say he does! If the reader has drawn a fair idea of Mr. Jacobs’ felings from his des- 199 cription of finding his exhibit upon his visit to the Chicago World’s Fair, he can imagine the new thrill he ex- perienced when he visited the St. Lovis Exposition, and saw, while yet some distance away from the Key- stone section in the great Agricultur- al Building, a card erected upon the cases and reading: “Gold Medal Award, Department 121, Forestry, Fich and Game. Eggs of Pennsyl- vania Native Wild Birds.” The nests and eggs were arranged according to instructions he had sup- plied the state authorities, and oc- cupied two eight-foot finely finished oak cases with clear glass tops and frosted glass side-panels, of which a series of twelve formed the cordon of an open quadrangle in which were shelved cases containing various Pennsylvania agricultural products, wild fauna and flora resources ete. The State’s wild bird and animal col- lection were in upright cases fac- ing the egg exhibit. A partial view of the section is shown on page 238, Vol. II, “Pennsylvania at the World’s Fair, St. Louis, 1904,” and the egg ex- hibit is described on page 242-5 of the same publication, the Pennsylvania official publication of the Common- wealth’s interests at the Exposition. This World’s Fair was, by far, the greatest ever held, and nothing of similar character has since eclipsed it in magnitude. While at St. Louis, Mr. Jacobs looked up Otto Widman, the well known Missouri bird authority; and also Philo W. Smith, one of the best known oologists of the middle West at that time. Several hours were passed with Mr. Smith, at his hotel, in which was his den and cabinets of eggs. Mr. Jacobs thought too much of his prize collection to risk its traveling homeward in bumping express cars, 200 and obtained permission to visit the Fair in its closing days to pack the collection in suit case boxes for checking with his ‘personal effects enroute home. . Every specimen safely back home, and again replaced in their respective cabinets, there reposing undisturbed, although an inquiry came for its ar- rangement and display at San Fran- cisco; ‘but the distance and inade- quate expense consideration inter- cepted, thereby denying the throngs at that Exposition to view the won- ders and beauties of the oology of Pennsylvania native birds. In the closing days of the St. Louis Fair, he learned that the National Committee was refusing to distribute the various prizes awarded by the International Jury of Awards on the grounds that some had: received graft and favoritism. While Mr. Jacobs was conscious of nothing of the kind being responsible for the favor granted him for this exhibit, still he believed» that the investigators, strain- ing efforts in search of substantiation of complaints, might eliminate such things as egg collections aS non es- sential and revoke the award. ~ But not so! The investigators held a more sensiple view of this branch of ornithological science than do many of the more or less sentimentally bril- liant bird scribes of the present day who rave at the-oologist; and after an elapse of several months, a second announcement came to him that his award was among those allowed. Previous to this he had obtained an official award ribbon in lieu of the Gold Medal, which in itself is a beau- tiful piece of art work in silk and gold. In March following the close of. the Fair, he received the Diploma, and several weeks later, the Gold Medal came by register mail. ; THE OOLOGIST It might seem wrong for the re- cipient of such fine award and dis- tinction of merit, to offer criticism re- garding the prize so generously con- ferred; but being a bird man, and circulating among bird men who are capable to criticise a work and point out flaws—doing so without flowers— he deems it proper to point out a terrible error in the highly~ artistic design of the Diploma. The moment he unrolled this broad expanse of parchment, his eyes fell upon the un- pardonable error of the artist in de- picting the wings upon the ankles of the aerial messenger so placed that that mythical character must fly back- wards, in an upright position, or lie flat upon his ‘back to illustrate the principle of birds’ wings in flight! At least a few Junior Audubon teachers and many of the Junior Club mem- bers could readily see this blunder of the artist! Aside from a gmall demonstrative collection of eggs in the U. S. De- partment of Agriculture display, and a smaller exhibit from Brazil, S. A., the Jacobs collection of Pennsylvania birds’ eggs were all that the World of Ornithological Science seemed wil- ling to spare for use at that ce of all World’s Fairs! All this historical worth of these eggs, of course, add nothing to their scientific value, and are unworthy any greater respect for scientific study, than properly prepared sets taken this year; but still, combined with the original incentive to gather and carefully record scientific data, requiring a set of large books es- pecially made for the tens of thous- ands of records, the whole is greatly enhanced by the award which goes with it, and the fleeting years which steadily enrich the annals of orni- thological science of the past. THE QGQOLOGI8ST OZARK APARTMENT HOUSES Every river valley has its deadened timber, and it is very hard to find a river valley or even creek valley in the Ozarks in which there is not a great deal of deadened timber, most of which is of great height and size. Along the Flat Creek and James and White River bottoms in Stone, Barry, and Taney County, Missouri, some years ago there were a great number of these huge sycamore trees which were veritable bird apartment houses. In the last few years they have much decreased in number on account of age, and many serious windstorms that have felled them in numbers. My wife and I spent two days on Flat Creek, June 20 and 21, 1923, camping just beneath one of the larg- est of the remaining of these huge veterans. It stood like a silvery senti- nel over the valley, towering far over any living tree in the valley. I judge that it is yet at least 125 feet in height, and is broken off so that the topmost part is nearly 20 inches in diameter. It had a main trunk, and two huge side limbs. The trunk at the ground must have been nearly eight feet in diameter. Minute study with my binoculars showed that there were just 34 holes bored into the body of that tree, none of them lower than forty feet. They entered from every direction of the compass, and on all of the forks of the tree. As we loafed about our camp those two days I watched the tree until I located just seven nesting pairs of birds in that one tree. There were four pairs of Flickers, two of Red-headed Woodpeckers, and one of Sparrow Hawks, all living in very amiable companionship. As we walked up the road one evening we saw a Red-head tapping on one of the limbs. Mrs. Flicker stuck her head out of the hole and said something 201 that sounded like “Come in, Come in, Come in,” to which Mrs. Red-head re- plied with something not liked, for at once there arose an _ unearthly clamor from both of the birds. Some forty feet away was a smaller tree about 80 feet in height which held 24 holes, but it was so closely grown about by other living trees that I could not find out how many birds occupied it. During the two days we identified 68 species of birds, and 28 nests, none of which we collected, as we were not hunting birds eggs. Johnson A. Neff, Marionville, Missouri. BOOKS RECEIVED British Birds, Volume XVII, No. 5. October, 1923, pp 98—101. “Some Ob- servations on Cuckoos in 1923’, by Edgar Chance. This is an interest- ing paper based on experiences of the writer during the season of 1923, and gives observations relating nine dif- ferent eggs of this parasite species. Re ehiese: PRAIRIE WARBLER A 1923 breeding colony of Prairie Warbler was found in Southern New Jersey, containing 20 nests; also a nest of Hooded Warbler, a nest of Black and White Warbler, and a Whip-poor-will’s nest, four nests of Marsh Hawk and a Short-eared-Owl’s. T. E. McMullen, Camden, N. J. 202 NIGHT SINGING OF THE YELLOW BREASTED CHAT I read the article in June, 1923, The Oologist, by Louis S. Kohler, on the above subject. While not near Mr. Kohler, I thought that a few notes from my locality would be worth while. I have been on speaking terms for quite a few years, with the Yel- low Breasted Chat, and I have watched and listened for the Song of the Chat, at all times, but I have paid particular attention to his night sing- ing. During the past season, there have been at least three pairs nesting with- in a quarter of a mile of my home, and their song was to be heard almost every hour. During the nesting period I have heard them sing on several moonlight nights, and their song was as long as during the day, but not as frequent, as during the day time. I have noticed the night singing of the Chat for several years and have paid strict attention to their night singing. During the past season I heard a Chat singing very loud and frequent just before a thunder shower, and it was very dark and cloudy. He-is a strange songster and one whose habits and songs I like to study. I noticed a new call during the past season. It was the shiver of the sereech Owl. J. Harl Harlow, Texico, Jefferson Co., Ill. ‘scientific’ is very well put. THE OOLOGIST “Too Scientifically Scientific” In our mail of November 15th, I find a communication relative to an observation printed in the ‘October The Oologist, which reads as follows: “Your description i. e. ‘scientifically Many a young bird student has found the plain simple facts regarding his own cbservations reproduced in the’ Oolo- gist, which is the most democratic bird publication. “How great a delight every ‘ad- vanced’ ornithologist take in review- ing the days of his boyhood finds. The days which preceded his higher education and the trips which in- volved nothing in the way of surplus baggage. With undiminishing inter- est.” AD WORDS. . - The “Want Ad” you kindly put in The Oologist,,has been -very — satis- factory, in fact I have received many more letters of the list and prices than I have. been able to answer. James Suthard, Madisonville, Kentucky. This is a decidedly valuable publi- cation to anyone who plays at all in the field of Oology, and I am de- lighted to have is as an accession in my library. Donald R. Dickey, Pasadena, California. 2 ie COM EO Gist GOOD WORDS. I much enjoy reading it. William Searl, The Manse Duddington, Edin- burgh, Scotland. * * Don’t stop The Oologist on me what- ever you do. Thomas H. Jackson. * * With best wishes to you and a happy and prosperous New Year and success to your useful and interesting Oologist. Alfred L. Marshall, Weep- ing Water, Nebraska. * * I have taken The Oologist since its first issue, and am now seventy-eight years old, but enjoy the little publi- cation as much as ever. C. L. Raw- son, Putnam, Conn. * * Wishing a prosperous New Year and a good luck for The Oologist. Troup D. Perry, Savannah, Ga. * * The Oologist for 1918 has been of unusual interest for bird lovers, and none who are interested in the wel- fare of the bird life should be with- out this magazine. E. J. Wheler, New London, Conn. * ® You are doing a wonderful work with the paper, and we are all more indebted to you than we can-ever re- pay, for the unselfish interest you have shown in it. Richard C. Har- low, State College, Pa. * * I enjoy the contributions to The Oologist. The papers are all written in the easy democratic way that makes them entertaining. The writers see something, and tell what they see. Geo. E. Osterhout, Winsor, Colo. * * As we do not want to be without The Oologist, or miss a single copy we are enclosing renewal of subscrip- tion. Pahrman Bros., La Port, Ind. 203 Enclosed find fifty cents for renewal of my subscription to The Oologist. It is a genuine pleasure to hand over this for “our” little paper. Ralph W. Jackson, Cambridge, Md. ot * + It is twenty years since I first sub- scribed for The Oologist, and it is a real pleasure when I receive it each month. Lucius H. Paul, Rochester, ING Xe * * I read portions of all other ornith- ological publications, but The Oolog- ist I read from cover to cover. It grows more and more indispensable year by year. W. D. Richardson, Chicago, Ill. * * I still enjoy reading your magazine, and during the whole war, only one number has gone astray. I have deal- ings with many of your leading oologists, and have found them all thoroughly reliable. I collect eggs from all the world and wish there were a few more “oologists” like yours in other parts of the world. Wm. McLaren, Linwood Stranaer, Scotland. * & I think this month’s Oologist is cer- tainly fine. I enjoy the magazine very much indeed, and it is a very inter- esting little book. Otto L. Hastings, Bridgeport, Conn. x * Please allow me to congratulate you on bringing The Oologist through the war, with flying colors, and to wish you continued success. Albert F. Gainer, Nashville, Tenn. Jan. 12th, 1919. * * I am pleased with The Oologist, and with my ad in it, which brought the results I desired. I sold my kodak to a gentleman in Mississippi, and have several inquiries from several states since then concerning it. Johnson Neff, Marionville, Mo, 204 THE OOLOGIS8T Your little magazine seems to hold its own very well, and takes on color with each succeeding year. B. F. Gault, Jan. 17th, 1919. It grows better each year. I cer- tainly appreciate your splendid work. D. E. Olson, Titusville, Pa. Jan. 24, 1919. Please! Please! PLEASE! Send us copy The Editor . Subscribe for “The Oologist” for 1924. It is the only Bird Journal in North America devoted to the interests of those making collections. It is not too scientific to be popular and not too popular to be ac- curate and scientific. Subscription price per annum fifty cents. Address The Oologist, Lacon, Illinois. mee 0860 Loe fat Will Exchange personally -aken Florida sets for books. Want the last four volumes of AUK: good. books on Butterflies, Moths and Insects; also good work on Southern Botany. Tell me what you have and price and will send you list. Oscar E. Baynard, Plant City. Florida. WANTED—To buy Part 3 for July 1911 of THE AUK. W. H. Workman, Lismore, Windsor Avenue, Belfast, Ire- land. a aes WANTED—To buy collections of Modern Indian Relics, or most anything in beaded buck skin pieces. Best prices paid for pieces that I need. Robert F. Backus, Box 138, Florence, Colorado. 2 WANTED—Back numbers of Bird Lore. Colored plates from Bird Lore. Issues of the National Geographie con- taining “Birds of Town and Country”, and “American Game Birds.” Lawrence Compton, 409 W. Webster, Pittsburg, Kansas. _ 2 a: AUKS WANTED—Will pay cash for your back numbers which I can use. Please send list with prices. Herbert A. Smith, 550 Lee Ave. Webster Groves, Missouri. ee dee ‘t20 Rare Indian relic for sale. Plaster Paris mold of Silver Peace medal given to the Ojrbuay tribe by Pres. Jefferson, in: 1801. Albert Lano, Fayetteville, Arkansas. BOOKS FOR SALE—Bendire’s Life Histories North American Birds, two Vols.; Fisher’s Hawks and Owls; Bailey’s Birds of Virginia; Hatch Birds of Minnesota; Wintle’s Birds of Mon- treal; Discoris’ Ornithologist and Oolo- gist; Caperis’ Oology of New England. Copies of Auk, Condor, Osprey, Oologist and many others. W. Raine, 50 Waver- ly Road, Toronto, Canada. INDIAN RELICS—A fine line of In- dian Relics for sale cheap. For particu- lars, write to Dr. Thos. Lorang, 109 East Liberty Ave., Spokane, Wash. FOR SALE—A copy of A. C. Bent’s “Life Histories, Gulls and Terns,” also “Petrels, etc.,” as issued, in paper cov- ers. Make me an offer. H. M. Harri- son, 519 Penn St., Camden, N. J. THE WILSON BULLETIN A Quarterly Journal of Ornithology Paying particular attention to Field Studies of Birds of Middle North America. Now in its 28th year. 64 pages or more of readable matter with illustrations. Indispensable to all ac- tive field workers. 40 cts. Official Organ of THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB Address, GORDON WILSON, Secre- tary, 1434 Chestnut Street, Bowling Green, Kentucky. $1.50 per year. per copy. WANTED—Michener’s ‘“Insectivorus Birds of Chester County, Pa.’; Jacob’s “Summer Birds of Greene County, Pa.’’; Pennock’s “Birds of Chester County, Pa.”; Michener’s “Birds of Chester County, Pa.”’, and Warren’s “Dinurnal Rapacious’' Birds.” Will pay cash. State condition and price. Richard F. Miller, 2526 North Second Street, Phila- delphia, Pa. FOR EXCHANGE OR SALE—Orni- thologist & Oologist, Volumes 8 to 18, and odd volumes and numbers of Orni- thologist & Oologist, Bird-Lore, Auk, Osprey, Nidiologist, Condor, Oologist, and North American Fauna and reports, bulletins, and other books on birds and mammals. Robert W. Williams, 206 Maple Ave., Takoma Park, Maryland. FOR BEXCHANGE—TI have for ex- change, for skins desired by me a number of Snowy Owl Skins, in all grades of plumage ranging from al- most pure white males to the darkest colored summer females. If you can use these send me your list of dupli- cates. R. M. Barnese. EXCHANGE — National Magazines for Bird Magazines, also will take sets. Send want list. J. Earl Harlow, Texico, Illinois. WANTED—By H. H. Johnson, Pitts- field Maine: Bird Lore, Vol. XXIII, 5; Vol. XXIV, all;Journal Maine Ornith. Soc., Vol. VI, 4; VII, 1; Nuttall Bulletin, all; Oologist (Utica), all; Ornith. & Oologist (Semi-An.) Vols. I & II, all; Wilson Quarterly, Vol. IV, 1; Biol. Sur- vey_Bull., Nos. 6, 27, 34, 35, 37, 39: N. A. Fauna, Nos. 7, 19, 22, 27; Maynard, Birds of Eastern North America; Me- Ilwaith, Birds of Ontario, 2nd edition; Geographic King, Economic Relations of Wis. Seu tt ee A WANTED —Lepidopters from the West and South West, especially Splin- gidae Saturniidae and Papiloes. Wm. Jay, 12 Westview St., Mt. Airy, Phila, Pennsylvania. ———————————— ee WANT Cooper Bulletin and Condor. Vol. II, all but No. 1; Vol. III, Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6; Vols. IV to VIII incl.; Vol. XXII, Nos: 2, 8, 4, 5: Wol. X8XT1L,) No. 6s5viol STV all but No. 8; Voll. XXV, No. 1. Hoyes Lloyd, 406 Queen St., Ottawa, Canada. A Biboligraph of scarce or out of print, North American Amateur and Trade Periodicals, devoted more or less to Ornithology. Listing 147 sep- arate publications. Price 25 cents. R. M. Barnes, Lacon, III. EXCHANGE PRICE LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS EGGS, a volume of two hundred pages, well illustrated, showing advanced meth- ods in Oology, pricing nearly all North American Bird eggs for ex- change purposes with full directions for preparation of specimens with scientific and common names of each variety. Paper copies $1.00. Cloth bound copies $2.00. R. M. Barnes, Lacon, Illinois. WANTED By John D. Sherman, Jr. 132 Primrose Ave., Mount Vernon, New York BOOKS ON INSECTS Bound and Unbound Also SCIENTIFIC SERIALS WEST AMERICAN SCIENTIST, Ete. All Remaining Bird Books For Sale Cheap John D. 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