106 



OEXITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 13-No. 7 



only a small portion of the egg. Three or four 

 carpet tacks were then driven in the edge of 

 the cavity containing the egg, leaving the 

 heads a little above the wood. The block was 

 then marked across each way with a pencil, 

 and where the lines intersect showed just where 

 to drill. 



I then covered the to|) of the egg with plaster 

 of Paris, mixed to a proper consistency with 

 water, and covered the entire cavit}-, allowing 

 the plaster to come a little out on the wood. 

 When the plaster haidened, the tacks in the 

 wood prevented it from cleaving ort' while 

 working at the egg. The lines made on the 

 wood showed where to mark the plaster for 

 drilling, so as to have the hole cut in the rub- 

 ber. The plaster was left an J or 3-lG of an inch 

 thick over the egg in the spot to be drilled. In 

 drilling, I first cut away with the point of a 

 sharp knife a small hole to start the drill, as the 

 plaster did not drill easil}-. The hard plaster 

 over the top of the egg prevented the hole from 

 breaking any larger while extracting the em- 

 bryo. The rubber over the egg prevented the 

 plaster from sticking to the shell, and the only 

 care that had to be taken was in breaking the 

 shell from the inside with the embryo hook. 

 After the egg had been emiitieil, I raised the 

 plaster oft' by means of a strong knife, and the 

 egg came out whole and good. 



Of course, it is only rare eggs that it will 

 pay to handle in this way, but it is often the 

 case that a person is willing to go to a consid- 

 erable trouble to save an egg. .Some brother 

 Oologist ma3' have a better method of emptying 

 badly incubated eggs, and if so, I should like 

 very much to read it in the O. &. <). 



Fun Among Birds. 



BV H. 1). TAYLOR. 



A number of observers have written of the 

 playful habits of various birds, and the follow- 

 ing incident may be of interest as showing that 

 very often birds, as well as animals, know the 

 nature of a good practical joke. 



In the early part of February of the present 

 year, while out walking one day, I was greatly 

 amused by the playful action of a Sparrow 

 Hawk. 1 was standing on the railroad in 

 town, and about a hundred yards away was a 

 vacant lot next a house, where a number of 

 hens and roosters were strutting about and 

 busily scratching for food. 



The little Falcon, frequenting the neighbor- 



hood, saw the chickens also, and doubtless 

 thought to have some fun at their expense. 

 Dashing down to a foot above the ground, he 

 flew along at that height toward them. Pass- 

 ing under the lowest bars of two fences en 

 route, he struck tiirror into the heart of a big 

 rooster by clawing him on the back as he 

 came up unawares. Then oH' the joker flew 

 again, chuckling I doubt not, at the success of 

 his strat.igem, and the general scattering it 

 had caused amonir the fowl. 



Curious Nests of the Sparrow Hawk. 



BY .1. r. N. 



Dr. J. C. Merrill, U. S. A., while in Montana, 

 collected twenty-five or more sets of eggs of 

 this bird, and noticed a most peculiar fact in re- 

 gard to their nests. He has kindly permitted 

 me to quote from his notes on Montana Birds 

 the following; 



" Of the many nests examined, most were in 

 cavities in trees, either natural or made by 

 Flickers. The eggs are placed in a slight bed 

 of leaves and grasses, or a few chips, or on 

 the bare wood. Holes of suitable size and 

 shape in rocky difts or river banks are also fav- 

 orite nesting sites. 



"In nests found along the lower streams, 

 five eggs are the usual complement, while 

 those found in the mountains generally con- 

 tain fewer." 



This is the first authentic instance that has 

 come to my knowledge where this bird has 

 taken linnig of any kind into the hole occupied 

 by it as a nest. Their almost universal habit is 

 to lay their eggs on the bare wood, and Dr. 

 Merrill's experiences are therefore all the more 

 interesting. 



The Canadian Grouse in Captivity. 



BY .1. P. N. 



Mr. Watson L. Bishop, of Kentville, Nova 

 Scotia, has kept several Canadian Grouse 

 {Caiiace canadensis), in captivity for some time, 

 and has had some beautiful photographs of 

 them taken. These exhibit the male bird in 

 the act of strutting before the female, and are 

 probably the first pictures ever taken which 

 show this curious performance. 



