THE OOLOGIST. 



over the eutire surface, but most thickly at 

 the larger end . Measurement, .73 by .o3, 

 .71 by .54, .73 by .54. .73 by .54, .74 by .54 

 and . 74 by . 53 in. 



My fourth set was collected on the l'.)th, 

 same month. It also, contained six fresh 

 eggs, very much like the i^receding set in 

 size and markings. The nest was made of 

 leaves, grass, bark and some fur, placed in 

 natural cavity in top of dead oak stub, 

 twenty feet from the ground. 



My fi f th and last set was also collected 

 on the 19th. It contained four eggs, white, 

 with a very slight creamy tinge, marked 

 with fine reddish brown specks about the 

 larger end, with lilac scattered evenly over 

 the whole surface. The average size is . 70 

 by .54 in. The nest was placed in hollow 

 '• stub." fifteen feet from the gi'ounil, and 

 was made of leaves, grass etc. 



Peculiarities in Sets and Eggs of a 

 Few of Our Commoner Birds. 



Lately there have appeared several 

 articles on peculiar eggs and sets, and I 

 wish to add my mite. 



About 1877, 1 went with an older collect- 

 or to a swamp not far from Marietta, Ohio, 

 and among others, we found a set of Red- 

 wing Blackbird, one egg of which was 

 a runt. It contained an embryo, however, 

 but was so cracked in blowing that I can 

 only approximate its size: it is about 

 .4-2 X .5U. 



Either the Ked-wing is more addicted to 

 laying odd eggs than other birds, or its 

 abundance brings such cases oftener to our 

 notice, for almost every oologist can show 

 some freak of this kind. I have two sets, 

 one of foiu' eggs, all which are unspotted, 

 and another set of seven, cif which three 

 were i^robably laid by one female and the 

 rest by another: for there is great difference 

 between the two lots, and the four were 

 almost hatched when taken while the others 

 were beginning to addle. 



"White Robin and Bluebii'd eggs are so 

 frequently reported that I will merely say I 

 have found both. 



Passing over a runt egg of the Goldfinch 



measuring .35 x .40, and a set of seven 

 Purple Gracklc, I came to a set of four 

 Crow's that is very similar to "Aye Cave's" 

 in the Jan. Oologist; Xos. 1 and 2 cor- 

 respond perfectly; No. 4 only lacks the 

 large blotch, but No. 3 i.s just like No. ]., 

 and only mea-sures 1.10 x 1.4-5. 



Last year I found a Brown Thrasher's 

 egg in a Crow nest, but from appearances , 

 I judged some small boy had put it there. 

 It was addled, while one of th-^- Oow eggs 

 was pipped. 



Large sets of Flicker eggs are so common 

 that one of 24 barely deserves mention, and 

 the same holds good of_ unspotted eggs of 

 the Red-shouldered Hawk: but albino egg 

 of Wilson's Tern is quite a rarity; I took 

 mine List year, on GuUIslau 1, N. Y. ; there 

 were three eggs in the nest, and the other 

 two were of the usual type. 



I would say in reply to W. J. S., in the 

 Dec. No., that in the two cases that I ob- 

 served of albinism in the Bluebird eggs, the 

 parents were unusually brightly colored. 

 C. R. H. , New London, Conn. 



"White-rumped and Log-gerhead 

 Shrikes Tne Difference. 



Editor of the Oologist : 



C. B. C, of O'lin, III, wishes to know 

 through the colums of the Oologist, the 

 difference between the "White-rumped and 

 Loggerhead Shrike. Perhaps, the following 

 taken from a comparison of both species 

 may be of use to him : 



The most noticable difference, and the 

 one of greatest importance, is the ir/iite 

 rtnnp feathers of the White-riimped Shrike, 

 which are gray in the Loggerhead species; 

 again, the entire underparts of the former 

 are nearly white, while in the latter species, 

 they are light gray. The Loggerhead 

 Shrike has a larger bill, but as a rule 

 shorter wings and tail than its white-rumped 

 cousin, for these birds ai'e certainly closely 

 related, and I have no doubt that there are 

 birds in certain stages of plumage so closely 

 resembling both species as to cause the 

 best ornithologists to scratch their heads 

 before separating them. 



Bespertfully yours, S. W. Dentox. 



