THE OOLOGIST. 



,>25 



grouuil. Mr. E. C. Davis mentions that 

 in Cook county a favorite nesting place 

 is in low mesquite on tlie praries. 



From my experience in Falls and Mc- 

 Lennan counties I have found them 

 nesting in rather low mesquite trees 

 from 6 to 10 feet high; also in trees 

 fi'om 15 to 20 feet liigh that border on 

 • country roads. 



The lowest nest I have ever found, 

 however, was at a height of about five 

 feet above the ground. Tlie nests I 

 have examined, several of whicli are 

 before me now, are composed of a 

 waxy weed, cotton, a few leaves, and 

 in some a little grass. /They are bulky 

 and some are very loosely made. I 

 suppose, however, that .several other 

 materials are used whenever they are 

 . found aliuudaut in the locality in which 

 ; the nest is built. 



I The usual nest complement is live. 

 , sometimes only four, and this season I 

 i found several sets of six. 

 I During the breeding season should 

 ii notice a pair, which by the actions 

 need great ufleasiness, by walking 

 , oil" a short distance and carefully scan- 

 ning 'he trees near i)^', their nests can 

 generally l)e easily found. 



The Sci.ssor-tail is of a tyrannical dis- 

 I psition and seems to take great de- 

 light in the pui'suit of crows and vul- 

 ■ tures whom they viciously attack. In 

 IS'.H I watched a pair pursue a vulture 

 tor over a mile. 



They make frequent trips to the 

 towns and their sharp cries and contin- 

 ual Huttering noise alarm cage birds 

 almost as much as would the appear- 

 ance of a White rumped Shrike. 



Another trait regarding the building 

 "f their nests 1 have noticed this year. 

 s-'veral nests I have found had a great 

 dial of loose cotton an<l other materials 

 li:iiigiMg promiscuously from the twigs 

 ii<ar at hand, giving the nest the ap- 

 IH arauce of an old one which hid been 

 ii.Mtly torn down. This, however, 

 uld not have been the case as I had 



carefully examined Ihesaiue trees but 

 a short time before and these ratty 

 nests always contained the full comple- 

 ment of eggs. Could, this have been 

 done for a blind? It is quite an inter- 

 esting sight to watch six or seven of 

 these birds during mating in early April 

 as they keep a continual Huttering and' 

 nuiking peculiar revolutions and darts 

 in the air. 



J. K. StKK KKK, Jk., 



Waco, Texas. 



When Preparing a Birdskin. 



Make a clip across the skull between 

 the jaws, from one eye-socket to the 

 other; a longitudinal one on each side 

 from this to the back of the skull; then 

 connect these two by a cross clip of the 

 skull just above the foramen magnum; 

 remove the brain from this opening. 



Always put a small stick covered 

 with cotton in the neck. The stick 

 should extend some distance back in 

 the bodj\ 



Never put the skin in a paper cylin- 

 der. It will make it look like anything 

 but a bird. Take a thin s eet of co.- 

 ton. lay it on a board, and by putting 

 strips under the edges of the sheet, 

 make a trough to fit the skin. Lay the 

 skin in, breast up, and arrange it. 



These suggestions have come to me 

 after handling thousands of skins. 



J. O. S. 



How a Canon Wren had Revenge. 



In a large room of an adolie liuilding 

 usetl as the ollice of the Silver Mining 

 Co., in south western Chiliuahua, Mex. 

 on the edge of the wall just under the 

 roof, a Canon Wren had the audacity 

 to build her nest. I was after eggs 

 myself, so I permit»ed the nest to be 

 completed and a full complement 

 of eggs to l)e laid then-in, then they be- 

 came my property, much to the dis- 

 CDHiforl of the builder. Notiiing daunt- 



