Dec. 1888.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



187 



eggs were taken fioiii it. The bird was seen 

 and fully identified. It was two feet from the 

 ground, siispiMidcd from the limb of a small 

 tree, well liidden. Il was on a sort of plateau, 

 or elevated pieee of level ground, eoverod with 

 trees atid bushes, and having a eonsiderablc 

 slope on each side. .\t tlie bottom of one side 

 was a small stream. It was within an eighth 

 of a mile where the first .set was taken, in 1887. 

 The nest was similar to the other. The eggs 

 measure .74x.55; .73x..57; .73 x .55 ; .74x.57. 



Nest No. 3 was found iMay 30th, 1888, com- 

 pleted, and was left until .June 5th, when it 

 contained four eggs of the Vireo and one of the 

 Cowbird. It was in a low, swampy woods near 

 Dihvortbtown, and was suspended from the 

 limb of a sni.ill tice one and one-half feet from 

 the ground, and was similar in construi'tion to 

 the former ones. The eggs measure .64 x .4!) ; 

 .69X.50; .73X.51; .71 x .50. 



Nest No. 4 was found June 18th, 1888, and 

 was, I believe, the second laying of the same 

 parents as sot No. 2, as the nest was not more 

 than twenty-tive yards from the situation of 

 that one, and the eggs were found thirteen 

 days after the former ones. It was suspended 

 from a limb of a small sassafras bush, on a steep 

 wooded bank above the stream previously 

 mentioned. It was not more than a foot from 

 the ground. The eggs are quite large for this 

 bird and measure .75x.58; .7()X..58; .75x50. 



The eggs of this species are usually smaller 

 than those of V. oUvaceus. 



Some Additions to the Avifauna of 



North Carolina and also to that 



of Raleigh, N. C. 



BV C. S. BKIMLEY. 



Last winter I'lof. G. F. Atkinson pul)lished 

 in the "Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific 

 Society" a "Preliminary Catalogue of the 

 Bii-ds of North Carolina" in which 252 species 

 and sub-species are enumerated as occurring in 

 the State. .Since that time the list has been in- 

 creased to 25!) as follows: — 



ColumbiynVinii passerina (Gnmnd Dove). Re- 

 corded as accidental in Buncombe Co. by J. S. 

 Cairns (vide O. & O. Vol. 12, No. 1, 1888), and 

 omitted from the list by an oversight. 



Porzanajamaiccnsis (Black Kail). Mr. Cairns 

 tells me a pair bred near Weaverville in 1887. 

 Mr. McLaughlin also records it from States- 

 ville. 



Clivicola riparin (i$ank Swallow). A single 



specimen taken by H. II. Brimley near Raleigh, 

 April 25, 1888 out of a large flock of other 

 swallows. Careful search failed to <letect an- 

 other, though the one taken was easily dis- 

 tinguished from the Uouglnvings by its smaller 

 size and th(! white under parts. 



Tiirdus aliciae. (Gray-cheeked Thrush). Two 

 males taken Oct. 2, 1888, two more on Oct. 5, 

 and a female on Oct. 12, by C. S. Brimley near 

 Raleigh, add this bird to the Avifauna of N. C. 



The hj'brid " IMminthophila riicohranc- 

 hialis" taken on Sept. 6, 1888 by II. H. Hriinley 

 near Raleigh may also be reckoned in some 

 sense as an addition to the list. 



Besides the above we have taken the fcjllnw- 

 ing at Haleigli, which though not new to the 

 State are new to tliis locality as to us. 



Brtxid-winijcil Hawk (May 23, 1888, two?'s). 

 previously' taken by J. L. Busbee. 



Wilson's Warbler (May 17, 1888, one J) 

 previously taken by J. L. Busbee. 



Li'as/ Bittern, set of 3 eggs taken June S, and 

 $ killed Sept. 11. 



Blui'-v'im/ed War/ih-r, ? taken Aug. 21, J" 

 taken Sept. 4. 



B('irici:'s Wren, $ taken (>ct. 27, in com- 

 Ijany with another bird of the same species 

 which escaped me. 



Now let us hear if otlier North Carolina 

 collectors have increased their lists during the 

 past year (1888). 



Breeding Habits of the Mountain 

 Plover. 



IIV WM. G. SMITH, I.OVELANI), COI.OIiAIX). 



Amongst the earliest of our feathered friends 

 to arrive in spring is the Mountain Plover 

 {Podasocijs montanns). It is never very numer- 

 ous, yet always to be met with on the prairies, 

 and about one pair to a quarter section of land 

 is about the average of dlstril)ution. They are 

 very tame, and upon approaching them they 

 rarely fly, but their powers of running are some- 

 thing marvelous for so small a bird. They can 

 outrun a person who is walking. 



Although many breed in this vicinity, 1 have 

 never been able to find their eggs. The male is 

 always on the alert and acquaints his paitiier to 

 take charge of them, and they do Jiot keep to- 

 gether at .-ill times, but possibly within trailing 

 distance. Il is very easy to catch the young 

 birds, if one is not too old or lazy to run, as 

 they never try to hide as most young birds do. 

 I found three sets of eggs on June 1st while 



