230 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Among the eggs he had thiee sets 

 which were taken from one nest on 

 Wall Lake, twenty miles distant. The 

 dates of capture were April 28, May 16 

 and June 6. Two of these sets much 

 resemble each other, while the other 

 set was quite different. However, as 

 two pairs of birds would hardly occupy 

 the same nest the same season, it is 

 reasonable to suppose that the same 

 bird laid the six eggs. It will be seen 

 on counting the days that nearly the 

 same interval occurred between the de- 

 position of the sets. This note will also 

 give an idea of the lateness of the pos- 

 sible nesting of the Loon, which is a 

 species which never lays a second time 

 in one season if unmolested. 



Kalamazoo, Mich. 



Nesting of the Mountain Plover. 



TheMountain Plover builds its nest on 

 open prairie. The tirst egg is laid on 

 bare ground and as the set is finished 

 and incubation advances the bird gracl- 

 ually makis a nest of dirt, pieces of 

 hard grass, roots, etc. It takes tive or 

 six days to complete set of three eggs. 

 I have never found more nor less than 

 three eggs in a nest that I thought com- 

 plete. Old birds will fly ofl' the nest 

 w^hile a person on foot is 80 rods away 

 but will sit closely for man on horse- 

 back or in a buggy. Very young birds 

 resemble piecies of walking plush and 

 stay with the old birds all summer. 

 Only one brood in a season. 



H. G. FosKiN, 

 Beloit, Col. 



Barred Owl. 



On March 28th, 1891, I found a nest 

 of this bird. He is quite rare in this 

 county. The nest was in a patch of 

 woods near a farm and placed in a large 

 chestnut tree about 40 feet up. The 

 hollow in which the nest was placed was 

 quite shallow. The nest was made of 



sticks and leaves matted firmly toge«^her 

 with a few feathers for lining. The 

 hollow of the nest was four inches deep 

 and 1 foot across. It contained 3 eggs 

 which would probablj' have hatched 

 in a dayor two. The hole was not 

 inhabited last or this year. 



H. T. Greene. 

 Montclair, N.J. 



The Cooper Ornithological Club- 



The above club was organized in San 

 Jose, California. June 2and, under aus- 

 picious circumstances. The following 

 (jfficers were elected for the coming 

 quarter: President, W. H.Osgood; vice- 

 president, H. R. Paiuton; secretary, C. 

 Barlow; treasui'er, F. A. Schneider. 



The object of ihe club is the mutual 

 study in Ornithology, and it will meet 

 every two weeks. We are desirous of 

 having the assistance of all honest or- 

 nithologists, and' invite those residing 

 in Santa Clara or adjacent counties to 

 join us. Those wishing to join will 

 please correspond with the President 

 or Secretar}'. 



C. Baklow, Secretary. 



The History of a Cowbirds Egg. 



It was on the 9th of June 91, I placed 

 a fresh egg of the Cowbird in the nest 

 of a Chipping Sparrow containing two 

 of her own that had an advance of one 

 and a half days incubation over the 

 tirst. I watched results. About the 

 19th, Mr. Cowbird emerged from his 

 prison walls, large and vigorous. A 

 day later a little Sparrow came fourth 

 from his delicate shell, but much small- 

 er, and exhil)itiug less strength than his 

 foster-brother. The other egg failed to 

 hatch. The daily increase in dimen- 

 sion of the Cowbird was something im 

 mense, while that of his younger com- 

 pamon seemed rather to dimmish than 

 enlarge, until finally, at the end of three 



