THE OSPEEY. 



77 



their abode around the settlers' rail eorn cribs 

 and g-rain bins, to remain weeks at a time, 

 the farmer usually not molesting- them. 

 Sometimes they grew bolder even than 

 this, and came about the cabin door 

 to gather crumbs thrown out to them. 

 In some cases I have known a flock 

 to become so tame as to associate with 

 poultry in the barn yard, and gather 

 around the owner each time he came out 

 to feed his poultry. 



During- some of those winters, after 

 an extremely cold snap, I not infre- 

 quentlv found -svhole coveys huddled 

 together beside some old stump, log. or 

 brush-pile, frozen to death. Thus these 

 birds were almost exterminated over 

 considerable sections of the country. 

 As the country became more settled and 

 hunters more numerous, Ouail became 

 scarce, until now only a few small 

 scattered coveys remain; and they seek 

 the most out-of the-way places, instead 

 of coming near the abode of man, as 

 in earlier days.— Clement L. Webstek, 

 Charles City, fa. 



Nest .\Nn Eggs of Sooty Grouse. — 

 I found the nest with five eggs near 

 Kapousen Lake, while surveying be- 

 tween Tacoma and Mt. Tacoma, on 

 April 28, \S'^m. There was no bird on it: 

 the eggs were cold and wet, as is usual be- 

 fore a set is completed. Next morning there 

 were still five eggs, but at 5 p. ni. there were 

 sis. I went next morning, while it was still too 

 dark for instantaneous work, and photographed 

 the nest, still containing six eggs, b^' mounting 

 the camera on three stakes driven into the 



visit it again until May 5, when I used all my 

 four remaining plates in taking exposures of 

 from ten to twentv seconds of the bird on the 



\r 



/> 







SOOTY taiOUSE ON NEST. 



nest. The light is very deceptive in these 'tall 

 woods, because the shadows are so sharp. Three 

 of them came out all right, but her head was be- 

 hind a leaf in all but one. and her tail was be- 

 hind the tree at the foot of which the nest was 

 placed. The brush was too thick to get a view 

 from any other point. I set the camera on the 

 tripod, which brought the lens within 

 2 '2 feet of the eggs, taking care to 

 cover the lens with my hand till it 

 was in position, as I had noticed 

 that birds seem to think it is a fear- 

 ful eye staring at them when it comes 

 very close, and usually tumble ofi' 

 the nest in abject terror after star- 

 ing back at it for a few .seconds. 



After that I flushed her and fourd 



ff~^-V ' she had laid a seventh egg. — Ch.\S. 

 F " W. Bowles, Tacouia. Was//., June 

 :.^, 1898. 



NEST .\ND EG(;S OF SOOTY GROUSE. 



ground, so as to form a tripod; the .stakes being 

 from the surrounding bushes, they were less 

 likely to disturb the bird. I was not able to 



The Yei.ujw-hh.^divI) Bl.\ckbikd 

 IN Iow.\. — Though the geographic 

 range of Xaiithoccplialiis ictcrocc- 

 p/niliis extends ovei- a large area in 

 <cgpra North America, and the bird is 

 ]^^'4 said to be found in considerable 

 numbers in Iowa, still, after a 

 residence of more than thirty years 

 in the northern portion of the State, 

 1 have but twice observed this Black- 

 l)!rd here. I have seen it in no other 

 portion of the vState, although al- 

 ways on the watch frr interesting 

 occurences. The first authentic 

 report of this bird here I have 

 any knowledge of, was during the spring of 

 1884, when .several flocks containing perhaps 

 ten to thirty each, were seen on the farm of Mr. 



