26 



THE OOLOGIST. 



ries, dewborr'u's, ltl;i('kl)erries, cran- 

 berries, wild grapes aud berries of the 

 wintergreeu. Thus has naUire in this 

 locality supplied the fowls of the air 

 with a variety of fruits the year round, 

 and so lavish is the suppljj^ that last 

 season many thousand bushels of wild 

 fruit rotted where they grew. 



John A. Morden, 

 Sherman City, Mich. 



The Bii'ds Which Breed in Central Park 

 New York City. 



Few people have any idea of the num- 

 ber of birds which breed annuall_y in 

 Central Park New York City. 



The park is a stretch of land two aud 

 one-half miles long by one-half mile 

 wide and is in the heart of the great 

 city. In the spring it serves as a rest- 

 ing place for thousands of our birds on 

 their migrations northward and in the 

 fall on their return southward. 



Early in the morning numbers of our 

 feathered songsters may be heard warb- 

 ling in the trees and bushes of this 

 l)eautiful park, but they are fast de- 

 creasiiig in niniibers each year and the 

 time will come when in our early Avalks 

 we will not be gladdened by their beau- 

 tiful songs. 



The first nest wdiich I found in the 

 ])ark was that of a Song Sparrow^ Mel- 

 oapiza fasriatu). The uest was compos- 

 ed of grass lined with horse hair and 

 was placed in the tall gra.ss near a path- 

 way and was found (|uite by accident. 

 I was walking along when I heard the 

 note of a Cowl)ird [Molothrns ater) 

 coming from the tall grass near by, 

 stcj)i)ing into the grass I Hushed the 

 Cowl)ii(l. which Hew up from the grass 

 a short distance ahead of me, going 

 over to the ])lacc I found the nest of a 

 Song Sparrow containing four eggs. 

 The eggs were greenish white thickly 

 .spotted with specks of reddish iirown 

 and average .76 by nT inches. 

 On the .same dav (Miv 4) I tumid idi- 



other nest of the Song Sparrow which 

 was built in a low bush about eight in- 

 ches from the ground, the uest was au 

 old one built the previous year, it con- 

 tained three eggs, size .77 by .58 inches. 

 The next nest was that of a pair of 

 Cardinals [Cardinalis cardinnlis). The 

 uest was placed in a low bush, it was 

 composed of twigs, leaves and vines 

 and was lined with finer materials, it 

 contained four eggs of a dull greenish 

 white, with numerous sjjots of brown- 

 ish olive, size .ii9 by .74 inches. 



I found a nest of the Prairie Warbler 

 [Dendroica discolor) which contained 

 three eggs. The nest was composed of 

 vegetable fibres and grass, and was 

 closely woven making a very neat and 

 close structure. It was in a thick bush 

 about two and one-half feet from the 

 ground. The eggs averaged .63 by .47. 

 They were pure white with specks of 

 reddish brown. It was found May 3oth 

 The Robins [Merula mig^'atoria) are 

 hj far the most abundant breeders in 

 the park. I have found a large number 

 of nests, nearly all of which contained 

 eggs. The nests and eggs are t^o well 

 known to need description. 



The Yellow-billed and Black-billed 

 Cuckoos have been known to breed 

 here also Yellow Warblers, Thrushes, 

 Brown Thi'ashers, Red-eyed and White- 

 ej^ed Vireos and many other birds and 

 of course the ever present English 

 Sparrow. 



A number of years ago on the side of 

 the lake among the thick reeds, before 

 they were cut, a pair of Herons used to 

 breed, but that time is now gone never 

 to return. 



K. (.'. WOODHOUSE, 



New York City. 



UOrrn is the publication number of 



Q I this OoT.OGiST, aud it was 



mailed to subscribers Jan. 7. 



