The Oologist. 



Vol. XXIV. No. 6. 



Albion, N. Y. June, 1907. Whole No. 239 



THE OOLOGIST, 



A Monthly Publication Devoted to 



OOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY AND TAXI- 

 DERMY. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Publisher, 



ALBION, N. Y. 



ERNEST H. SHORT, Editor and Manager. 



(correspondence and Items of Interest to the 

 «tndent of Birds, their Nests and Eggs, solicited 

 from all. 



TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: 



Slogle subscription 50c per anniim 



Sample copies 5c each 



The above rates Include payment of postage. 



Bach subscriber is given a card good for a 

 Want, Exchange or For Sale Notice. (This card 

 Is redeemable at any time within one year from 

 date thereon.) 



Subscriptions can begin with any uumber. 

 Back numbers of the OOLOGIST can be fur- 

 nished at reasonable rates. Send stamp ?or de- 

 •crlptions and prices. 



Remember that the publisher must he noti- 

 fied by letter when a subscriber wishes his pa- 

 per stopped, and all arrearages must be paid. 



ADVERTISING RATES: 



5 cents per nonpareil line each Insertion. 



12 lines in every inch. Seven inches in a col- 

 umn, and two columns to tbe page. 



Nothing inserted for less than 25 cents. No 

 "special rates." 5 cents per line is "net," "rock 

 bottom," "inside," "spot cash" rate from which 

 there Is no deviation and no commission to 

 agents. If you wish to use 5 lines or less space 

 It will cost you 25 cents; 100 lines, $5.00; 1000 

 lines, ^0. "Trade" (other than cash) adver- 

 tisements will be accepted by special arrange- 

 ment only and at rates from double to five times 

 cash rates. Due Bills and Cards payable in ad- 

 vertising win be honored only at legular rates 

 In force at the date of issuance of said bill or 

 card. 



Remittances should be made by Draft, Ex- 

 press or Postoffice Money Order. Registered 

 Letter or Postal Note. Unused U. S. Postage 

 Stamps of any denomination will be accepted 

 for sums under one dollar. Make Money Or- 

 ders and Drafts payable and address all sub- 

 scriptions and communications to 



HRNEST H. SHORT, Editor and Manager, 

 Chill, Monroe Co.. N. Y. 



BRIEF NOTES ON THE SWAMP 

 SPARROW. 



By Richard F. Miller. 



The interesting notes of Thomas 

 Semmes, Jr., in the September Oolo- 

 g-ist regarding the Swamp Sparrow 



attracted my attention, inasmuch as 

 I am collecting data pertaining to the 

 nidification and other habits of this 

 species, having made it a subject for 

 monographic study. His statement 

 of nests being lined with horse- 

 hair causes me to ask whether 

 he is positive such nests were not 

 the Song Sparrow and the Swamp 

 ri\ing species? The nests of both 

 these species of Melospiza are great- 

 ly similiar in constructive and com- 

 position but I have yet to see a nest 

 of Swamp Sparrow lined with hair or 

 any other sort of material save grass 

 and I have found and have discrip- 

 tions in my note books of several 

 hundred nests. The eggs of both 

 species are often alike and the nov- 

 ice is apt to confuse them, though 

 to the advanced oologist there is 

 different in shell texture, the shell 

 of the Swamp Sparrow being thin 

 and brittle. 



Mr. Semmes, Jr., says he never 

 found a set of six eggs. I. have never 

 heard of this species laying more 

 than five eggs. Has anybody col- 

 lected sets of six laid by the same 

 bird? I would be very glad to hear 

 of such sets. Some authorities credit 

 the Swamp Sparrow as laying three 

 or four eggs only. However sets of 

 five are not common I may say that 

 this number of eggs is found but 

 cnce cut of every ten or twelve sets 

 I have found. Four is the uniform 

 number of eggs laid, very seldom less. 



Concerning Mr. Semmes' re- 

 marks about the destruction of many 

 of their eggs and nests, which he 

 thinks would cause a decrease in the 



