72 



THE OOLOGIST. 



is misleading for although it occas- 

 sioually takes smaller birds, it sub- 

 sists largely on grasshoppers, and is 

 the most valuable destroyer of them 

 among our birds. The smaller birds, 

 warblers, flinches, vireos, etc., are 

 taken largely during the migrations 

 and then, it seems only when other 

 food is scarce. It is the most brilliant- 

 ly colored, and in all the most grace- 

 fully and airy of the hawks; it sel- 

 doms swoops or wheels but drops 

 upon its prey from a height a method 

 of capture for which its long silent 

 wings are admirably adapted. When 

 in the air the long tail and rapidly 

 beating, pointed wings are character- 

 istics and on alighting the wings are 

 thrown vertically over the back, a mo- 

 tion common to many of the terns. 



The nest is built in a hole in a 

 tree, lined with chips of wood, and 

 upon these the cream-colored, brown 

 speckled eggs are laid. The nestlings 

 are fed almost exclusively upon grass- 

 hoppers, crickets and other soft bod- 

 ied insects until their time of flight 

 from the nest thus assisting the adult 

 in their destruction of these forms. 



To conclude, — It has been demon- 

 strated, conclusively, I hope, that of 

 these six species, two are harmful 

 while four are beneficial. Is this not 

 sufficient evidence to exempt them 

 from charges of shot and general 

 abuse? (The beneficial specieis, of 

 course?) 



It is not easy, in many cases ex- 

 tremely difficult, to distinguish be- 

 tween species. Here the difficulty 

 may be met by refusing to shoot 

 those hawks which never venture 

 near the houses or hen-yards. Words 

 are inadequate to express my indigna- 

 tion as I see the hawks being slaugh- 

 tered in their native wilds. 



Wait until the crime has been com- 

 mitted, I say, before punishment is 

 meted out to them. 



Leon A. Hansman, 

 New Haven, Conn. 



NESTING OF BLACK AND WHITE 

 WARBLER. 



Mniotlta varia. 



In the year 1899, while secur- 

 ing a series of Redstart's 

 eggs in some large woods in Gratiot 

 Township, several Black and White 

 Warblers were observed and a search 

 for their nests was mentally looked 

 for the following season and I was 

 there, ready for business, on May 27. 

 The timber, now cut away, was very 

 dense, particularly where the wind- 

 falls had admitted enough light to per- 

 mit a second growth, and covered 

 about forty acres of low ground. Up 

 to 3 o'clock the outlook was most dis- 

 couraging as no Black and White 

 Warblers were seen while t'l- ; alD 

 poured down in a steady torrent and 

 n'lost of the woods was under water. 

 Aside from the warbler in question, 

 however, many nests were found. I 

 passed about twenty of the Redstart 

 with the birds on and, in a clearing 

 discovered the only set of the Chest- 

 nut-sided I have taken while a forty 

 foot climb up a swamp oak disclosed 

 a Cerulean upon her nest. At last 

 my search was rewarded. The loca- 

 tion was beneath the roots of a very 

 large elm growing on high ground 

 and clear of undergrowth. Three 

 eggs were in the nest and the fourth 

 on the ground about two feet away 

 where it had probably been rolled by 

 a Cowbird. The nest would never 

 have been discovered had I not 

 caught sight of the egg on the ground 

 which encouraged me to a closer ex- 

 amination. As the birds were not 

 about I would not take the eggs al- 

 though positive of identity. Return- 

 ed on the 30th in company with H 

 Si'icer and B. H. Swales and found 

 madam at home. She was a fearless 

 little body, allowing me to take her 

 from the nest. After admiring her 



