6o 



Bird -Lore 



observed daily ; and William L. Baily, 

 Samuel H. Barker and Witmer Stone 

 report their abundance in the vicinity 

 of Philadelphia, where they were first 

 observed late in December. South of 

 this point no reports of White-winged 

 Crossbills have been received, Dr. Fisher 

 writing from Washington that none have 

 been observed in the region about that 

 city. At McConnellsville, Ohio, C. A. 

 Morris reports that three White-winged 

 Crossbills were observed on November 

 19,1899. — Fk.^nk M. Chapman. 



NEST OF YELLOW WARBLER 



An Interesting Nest 



A correspondent recently requested us 

 to identify a nest which she had found 

 in a willow bush on one of the Thousand 

 Islands, and which she described as pen- 

 sile, with a cover, and having the en- 

 trance at one side ! This was evidently 

 so unlike the nest of any of our eastern 

 birds that we asked to have it forwarded 

 for examination, the results of which, 

 with a photograph of the nest, are 

 appended : The nest was undoubtedly 

 built by a Yellow Warbler. Probably 

 before it was fully completed, since there 

 appears to be no lining, a Cowbird laid 

 an egg in it. This caused the Warbler 

 to build a platform or second bottom 

 over the unwelcome egg, with the inten- 

 tion of placing a second nest on the first 

 one. This second nest, for some unknown 

 reason, was never completed, and its bot- 

 tom formed the " cover " to the first nest. 



Subsequently, a deer mouse — probably 

 — discovered the concealed egg or eggs 

 and reached them by making an opening 

 in the side of the nest, traces of his 

 feast being still evident in the shape of 

 dried albumen on the floor of the nest. 

 — Frank M. Chapman. 



The Bird Protection Fund 



The treasurer of the fund for the pro- 

 tection of Gulls and Terns reports that 

 subscriptions amounting to $477 have been 

 received in sums from one dollar to one 

 hundred dollars. 



The bird statutes of Maine, Massachu- 

 setts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland 

 and Virginia afford protection to all species 

 of Terns during the breeding season, and 

 arrangements are now being made in each 

 of these states to employ responsible and 

 fearless wardens to enforce the bird stat- 

 utes, and it is believed that before the 

 next breeding season opens suitable guar- 

 dians will be secured for each of the few 

 remaining colonies. — William Dutcher, 

 jjj Manhattan aTeniie, Xeif i'ork City, 



Bird Slaughter in Delaware 



From Milford, Delaware, comes the news 

 that a New York house — "Al. Richardson 

 & Co." — has placed an order in that town 

 for 20,000 birds, to be delivered within 

 two months. A strong effort is being 

 made by Mr. Witmer Stone, Chairman of 

 the A. O. U. Committee on Bird Protec- 

 tion, to prevent this destruction of bird- 

 life by enforcing the laws of the State of 

 Delaware, and it is hoped that every one 

 who can assist Mr. Stone will communi- 

 cate with him at the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences, Philadelphia. 



The Hoar Bill 

 Senator Hoar has apparently again failed 

 to secure the passage by Congress of his 

 bird protective measure. The clause pro- 

 hibiting the importation of the plumage of 

 foreign birds has aroused the opposition of 

 a number of prominent naturalists, who 

 assert their belief that the enactment of 

 this law would result in an increased de- 

 mand for the plumage of nati\"e birds. 



