48 



THE OOLOGIST. 



4 fresh eggs, .60x.4(5, .58x.44, .58x.45, 

 .59X.45. 



Set b. Weaverville, N. C, Nest 

 in willow sapling 25 ft. from ground. 

 4 fresh eggs, .GUx.40, .60x.46, .60x.47, 

 .60X.46. 



Set c . Raleigh, N . C . , May 24, 1890 . 

 Nest 7 ft. high in small pine on hori- 

 zontal limb. 5 fresh eggs, .55x.43, 

 .58X.42, .57x43, .57x.43, .58x.41. 



Setd. Weaverville, N. C, May 30, 

 1891. Nest 20 ft. fiom ground in wil- 

 low tree. 4 eggs, incubation begun, 

 .55X.46, .57X.44, .5Gx.44, .57x.43. 



64. Wood Thrush. 755. 



Seta. Walke, N. C, June 6, 1891. 

 Nest of leaves, straw and a layer of 

 mu(l, lined with line roots, placed in 

 beech tree 10 ft. up. 3 eggs, small 

 embryos, .92x.71, .94x.71, .96x.72. 



Set b. Raleigh, N. C, May 16. 1888. 

 Nest 5 ft. high in thick bushes. 4 eggs, 

 .y7x.72, .99X.72, .96x.72, .97x.73. 



Setc. Sans:Souci, N. C, May 15, 

 1888. Nest 20 ft. up in horizontal 

 beech limb, made of leaves with a layer 

 of mud. 4 fresh eggs, .91x.68, .94x.72, 

 .92X.70, 90X.69. 



65. Wilson's Thrush. 756. 



Seta. Craggy Mountain, N. C, 

 June 3, 1892. Nest of weed stalks and 

 leaf stems, lined with rootlets, placed 

 in a bush 18 in. from ground. 3 fresh 

 eggs, .89X.64, .91x.65, .87x.65. 



66. American Robin. 761. 



Seta. Craggv Mountain, N. C, 

 May 20, 1892. S^'st in fork of beech 

 tree 20 ft. up. 3 eggs, incubation well 

 along, l.llx.82, 1.14x.81, 1.12x.98. 



Set b. Craggy Mountain, N. C. June 

 2,1890. Nest in sapling 20 ft. up. B 

 eggs, incuinition well along, 1.10x.70, 

 1.09X.77, .1.13X.79. 



67. Bluebird. 766. 



Seta. Walke, N. C, April 24, 1891. 

 Nest of pine straw, coarse grass and 

 chicken feathers, lined with line grass, 

 placed in a cigar box nailed 7 ft. up in 

 an apple tree. 6 eggs, incubation 

 slight. .8(;x.66, .85X.65, .84x.64, .86x.65, 

 .85X.64, H4X.65. 



Setb. Sans Souci, N. C, May 3, 

 1889. Nest in top of decayed gate post. 

 4 eggs, iticubalion conmienced, .80x.65, 

 .81X.64, .84x.t)l. .83X.62. 



'i'tlOMA.S SMITHWICK, 



Walke, Bertie Co., N. C. 



(( 



J J is the puldication number of 

 this OoLOGiST, and it was 

 mailed to subscribers Feb. 3. 



The Sooty Grouse- 



Dendragapus obscurus fiiliginosus. 



This large and handsome game bird 

 is a favorite with sportsmen, but it is 

 difficult to get a good shot at one as I 

 have found by experience, for It keeps 

 well hidden in the thick foliage of the 

 tir tree, and is said to keep on the op- 

 posite side of the tree from the hunter 

 as he walks around it. 



The males are not often seen outside 

 of the woods, as they feed on the fir 

 buds near the tops of the trees a great 

 deal of the time, or scratch under the 

 moss and fir needles under the shelter 

 of the forest. His hooting, which Davie 

 likens to the booming of the Prairie 

 Hen, is somewhat like the following 

 woids accented on the last syllable; 

 wo-oo, wo-oo, wo-oo, 00-00, gradually de- 

 creasing in force. It is a familiar sound 

 from about the first of March until 

 about the first of July, and from this 

 they are frequently called '-Hooters." 



The females are moi'e often seen in the 

 open, scratching in the leaves among 

 the brush or feeding in he grain fields. 

 They begin nesting in the forepart of 

 April and probably rear only one brood 

 in a season as I have not found fresh 

 eggs later than May 10th. From five to 

 nine eggs constitute the complement. 



The nest is generally in, or at the 

 edge of woods at the butt of a fir tree 

 or stump, under a little brush, or 

 in a fence corner and is 

 merely a depression among (he leaves 

 and fir needles that are naturally there. 

 The nests measure about 7 25 inches 

 across and from 2.87 inches to 4.37 

 inches deep, according to the number 

 of eggs they contain. 



The eggs vary greatly in size and 

 coloration as descriptions of the follow- 

 ing sets will show. 



No 1. Set of eight eggs, collected 

 April 18, 1892. Incubaticu fresh. Two 

 of these are !>utr cream groundcolor, 



