A'o/r.s- on the Birds. Ii5l 



A si(^lit witli wliicli every (•(imitr.v lioy <»r Kirl is familial- is tliat of yellow- 

 liiiimuors on the gronii<l In tlie meadows, jtastures and lawns, hunting for 

 laiijG white grul)s and otlier insect laiva' wliifh are so destructive to the 

 lawns. I remember one fall when ilie hivixo wliite grubs were so abundant 

 in a certain yard tliat tlie snd cduld lie pulled up and ndled back like a 

 earpot. Icavins hundreds of .irruhs exposed : and these attracted several 

 yellowliaraniers whicli feasted upon them. 



Tlie flickers nest in holes which they dig in dead trees or limbs. The 

 nesting sea.son in Vigo Comity begins late in April. The eggs, five to eight 

 in number, are a crystalline white. Sometimes the flicker can be induced 

 to lay a large number of eggs. Dn :May 4. 1885, I found a nest in a hole in 

 a large buckeye tree in the Dr. Armstrong pasture in Camden. The nest 

 (•(iiitained two eggs, one of which I took, leaving the other as a nest egg. 

 This was repeated daily until June 22. when some one destroyed the nest. 

 In all .".7 eggs were laid by the bird from May 3 to June 22. On 14 of the 

 ."it days no ogs was laid. How many more I would have gotten if tlie nest 

 had not been destroyed will never be known. The most remarkable record 

 of the laying capacity of the Flicker has been furnished by Charles !>. Phil- 

 lips of Taunton, Massachusetts. In a period of 70 days, be obtained 71 eggs. 



I'iirroJJ Cnunti/: May 8. 18S.'i. two fresh eggs in hole in dead elm snag in 

 Stockton's thicket in which I found a nest with six young saw-whet owls. 



.Miss Evermann contributes the following notes: October 7, lOOTi. one 

 s(>en in maple tree near house: 28th. several seen and heard in woods: 

 Xovember .10. one heard near house and its note was "wiechen" which Dr. 

 Chapman says he does not remember hearing a Flicker utter when alone, 

 .laniiary 2.1. 1008. three or four seen in the woods: lOth. one seen in tree 

 near house, only one seen away from the woods this winter. 



Monroe County: January 12. 188.''>. two noted near Bloomington. 



104. Antkostomus vociFEKis vociFKias (Wilson"). wirip-pooR-wiL,L. (417) 



Not uncommon summer resident, arriving in the last half of April and 

 remaining until in September. 



During cpiiet evenings in spring anil early sunnner the interesting call of 

 this strange bird may be heard, most commonly in or at the edge of heavy 

 woods, esiiecially hillside. It repeats the syllables irhip-poor-irill. in rapid 

 succession and so many times without a break, that it would become mon- 

 otonous Were it not .so strange, so weird. 



Canon Counfii: September. 1877. specimen collected: May 8, 1884, first 

 heard this evening near the Evans schoolhouse in Tippecanoe Township. 

 hut others had heard it May 4; April 22, 188.J. first of sea.son heard in even- 

 ing near Yeoman: heard again next evening near Joseph Trent's east of 

 Camden. Charles Metsker heard one near Yeoman, April 21. I never found 

 a nest of the Whip-poor-will. 



Vliio roinifn: X<.ted April 11. 1S8S. and May 1, 1889. 



10r>. CUORDKII.KS VIROlMANtTS VIKGINIAMTS (Gmcliu). NIGTITTr.\WK. (420) 



The Nighthawk or Hullbat is a common spring and fall migrant, and pos- 

 sibly a rare summer resident. Of this last I am not sure, as I ha.e 



