.1.1 1 V 1888.] 



AND OOLOGLST. 



101 



from tli(! partially Jeiayod limb of an oak, that 

 I was quite suspicious that thoy were exeavat- 

 iiijf, or at least enlarging a hollow in which to 

 build; and I do not think it would be a sur- 

 prising fact to find a nest in such a location. 



.\ general rule for all birds seems to be that 

 the greater tlieir range of adaptability to ob- 

 tain subsistence, tlie greater is tlieir range in 

 nest architecture. Tins observation does not 

 neeessarily imply a wide geographic.il distri- 

 bution, which would of itself explain iiiiicli of 

 the local variation in nesting habits. IJiit a 

 bird that inbaliits the moss-shrouded swamps 

 of tlie sea coast, tln^ open sunny pine barrens 

 of tli(^ back country, and even extends liis 

 laiige into thi; hard wood foicsts of tlic foot 

 hills, must of necessity be well able to rear liis 

 young in such widely dill'erenl places as a 

 bunch of hanging moss or an open nest placed 

 against, the trunk of a pine tree. 



Ratio of the Minor to the Major 

 Axis of an " Ideal " Egg. 



1!V WAl.TEli IlnXIK 



A casual glance through a series of measure- 

 ments of ditrercut species of eggs, shows that 

 tlie minor axis is in the majority of cases 

 somewhat less than three-fourths that of the 

 major. To determine this ratio experimental- 

 ly, I have selected at random one hundred 

 eggs, reduced the minor axis to hundredths of 

 the Major, and taken the measure of all. 'I'he 

 result is that .7;{ 2-10, which oddly enough is 

 the numerical com|)lement of the constant 

 .208 suggested in a former article for the pur- 

 pose of ascertaining the caiiacity of eggs. 



Fifty of the eggs measured ditl'erent but one 

 per cent, from the mean. The greatest ditt'er- 

 ence was a little less than five per cent — five 

 eggs. The mean variation of the fifty eggs 

 which dilfcred most from the " ideal," was little 

 more than three per cent. From these results 

 it is easy to compute the probable error in ca- 

 pacity where all eggs are considered to be of 

 one form. 



The Yellow- Bellied Sapsucker in 

 Bristol County. 



ISV A. C. BKNT. 



Mr. J. C. ('alH)on in the April number of tlie 

 O. itO., refers to my records of the Yellow-bel- 

 lied Saiisneker {Sphi/rapinis variiis), with some 

 doubt as to their genuineness. 



I sliould like to say in reply that my records are 

 positive in every case. The tirst bird observed 

 by me in Bristol County was shot last fall and 

 is now in my cabinet; there is no doubt that 

 this specimen is Siihiirapicus vitriuii, although 

 not in full adult |>luinage. 



While shooting at Norton a tew days after- 

 wards, ,1 Woodjiecker tlcw |)ast me and aliglited 

 on a willow tree a few feet ahead of me. I was 

 so close to him that I easily ideiitined liim as a 

 fine specimen of this species. While retreating 

 to get a fair shot at him, he darted around the 

 trunk of the tree and disappeared. 



The third ree(n-d is equally good ; a bird of 

 this species was shot by a boy living on the out- 

 skirts of the city, and brought it to Mr. if. G. 

 White to be stutt'ed. fie will also vouch for 

 the identity of this bird. 



I also have two other records tor the past 

 year which I cannot guarantee as good from 

 personal experience, still the birds were seen by 

 persons who ought to know them by sight. 



I'erhaps I made it ai)pear to Mr. Cahoon that 

 the species was common. I do not consider it 

 so, and tliink it was rather unusual to meet so 

 many of tliem in one season. Still, there is no 

 reason why tliis bird should not occur in l?ris- 

 tol County regularly, as it is coininon in the ' 

 New England Fauna. 



I think it rathei- strange that Mr. Cahoon has 

 never met with It here, and he may he fortu- 

 nate enough to take some during our next mi- 

 gration. But they are shy birds and easily 

 overlooked, and very hard to get a shot at 

 when seen. 



[During four years experience in the taxider- 

 mist business in Boston, I do not think that I 

 have received over half a dozen specimens, 

 nor do I remember a single instance of one in 

 full plumage.— F. B. W.] 



Notes on the Savannah Sparrow. 



liY WAI.TKK IKlXIi:. 



Last week while searching for a nest of the 

 Sea Side l''incli, I shot a Savannah Sparrow, and 

 on picking it up was surprised to find also a 

 half finished nest. 1 regretted that 1 had not 

 watched the bird a few minutes loug(u-, and 

 made sure that it was its own nest in the vicin- 

 ity of which it had met its fate. But as it is, 

 its ownership can only rest on a sort of " color 

 of title." 



It was a late date (May 3, 18.S8), for finding 

 the bird here. My latest record is May 4, 1870, 



