THE OOLOGLST. 



size aud color. Au egg iu mj' colleotu)ii, of 

 the usual color, measures 1.30 x 1 inches. 

 This wasfouuil June 21 188(5 in nestcontaiu- 

 iug one other egg of the usual size; on 

 blowing found egg was rotten. 



T. S., White Sulphur Springs, '.V. Ya. 



An Unusual Nesting Site; Peculiar 

 Eggs. 



Did the readers of the Oologist ever 

 hear of a Catbird building her nest in a tree. 

 In the summer of "85 as I was walking across 

 au old orchard I spied some sticks and 

 twigs protruding from a natviral cavity iu a 

 dead apple tree. As I approached the spot 

 a Catbird tlew from it. The nest contaijied 

 four eggs, iinmistakeably those of the (i. 

 curolinensis. The birds had filled up a cavity 

 almost 9 in. deep with the usual bulky nest. 

 This is one of the most remarkable depart- 

 ures from their usual style of nesting that 

 has fallen under my notice but I as have 

 other collectors often found singularly 

 deformed eggs of various species. One of 

 the most remarkable of these is an egg I ob- 

 tained from a boy who brought it to me for 

 indentification last summer (1887). This 

 was found under a small tree containing a 

 nest with three ohere. It is of the usual 

 lateral diameter but its length is exactly 2^ 

 times. Another peculiar instance fell un- 

 der my notice in the summer of 1885. I 

 found a nest containing four eggs of the 

 Catbird. Two were of the common size, 

 one was almost as large as a Robin's egg 

 and the other was perfectly round and hard- 

 ly larger than a pea! The large one had an 

 almost imperceptible embryo forming, the 

 otheis were perfectly fresh, lliis circum- 

 stance was commented upon liy a friend as 

 follows. ••That liird bad tmly material 

 enough for four eggs. She made a mistake 

 in making the first to large and so had to 

 retrench on the other.' Who can offer a 

 theory/ 



W. N. C, Biddeford. Me. 



From "Western North Carolina. 



To THE EdiToi; OF THE Ooj.OOlST: 



I see articles iu your highly esteemed 

 aud interesting magazine from almost every 

 other southern State, except North Carolina 

 Now yon must not infer from this that we 

 are wanting in bird life. Ou the other 

 hand, there are few States riclier endowed 

 with the feathered tribe. Here iu the 

 western part, near Morgauton is as good a 

 field for the oologist as he could desire. 



Thrushes. Blne])rds, Nuthatches, 



Warblers. Vireos, Swallows, Finches, 

 Groslieaks, Tanagers, Orioles, Crows, Jays, 

 Cuckoos, Doves and Woodpeckers are quite 

 abundant; American Quail are plentiful 

 both in the hunting and breeding seasons; 

 Ruffed Grouse are rare; they breed here 

 though, .\mong the rarer birds are found 

 the Nighthawk, Wtiip-poor-will, Owls, 

 Hawks, Kildeer. Kingfisher and some 

 Herons. There are also a few Wild 

 Turkeys, but I have never found them 

 breeding: I have an egg, that was said to 

 have been taken near here . I collected 3 

 sets of Ruby-throated Hummingbird last 

 season: also a Whip-poor-will. Turkey 

 Buzzards breed on the V)luffs near the 

 Catawba River: the nests and eggs are very 

 difficult to get to and I have not been re- 

 warded yet with a set of my own collecting. 

 In and around M on a summer day can 

 be found as many nests as at any other 

 place, I think. 



The English Sparrow has within the last 

 three years became an abundant resident ; 

 It now surpasses any other bird in numbers. 

 Baltimore Oriole is also common, but it is 

 only recently that I have been able to 

 capture any of their eggs. I yot a beaiitif ul 

 set in June last, by means of the appaiatns 

 described in the Oct. -Nov. Oolocust l)y 

 A. A.. Germantowu, Pa. It is not the 

 easiest thing in the world to accomplish 

 this; it requires a steady hand. Hoping 

 your many readers may find something 

 interesting in these lines, I remain 

 Yours Oologically, 



J. A. B., Morganton, X. C. 



