IHE OOLOGIST. 



1G9 



and one set of iiiiii". 'I'hc^ nests were 

 nothing iiiit a i)il(' of lloating, dcc-aying 

 uccils. Till' hinls do not incubate the 

 eggs durino- tlie day lint cover them 

 \\ itii weeds, so it is not ])os.sil)U> tf) am 

 Ihi- eggs befor*! removing tlie covering. 

 As it was now getting late 1 started 

 across lots foi- home. In going tiirongh 

 a wheat Held 1 fonml a set of live held 

 sjiarrows's (.'<Xi:^s. Shortly after tliis I 

 (•cached the clnb gi-oiinds. In front of 

 the li-ajis is a, pile of sti'aw to ]irc\'cnt 

 any of tlif clay birds from breaking 

 that are not hit. 1 was stooping (h)wn 

 to pick up a perfect ])ird wli'-n, lo! 

 Ihci'c on there on the sti'aw was a lU'st 

 containing three Horned ]„)rk's eggs. 

 Truly a (picei' ])lacc for a bird to ))uild, 

 when twice a \\cek the sjxji'tsnu'n as- 

 semble to shoot. W. d. 1. B., 



jMinneapolis, Minn. 



Bell's Vireo. 



I liave made a special study tliis sea- 

 son of this interesting mend;er of (uu- 

 (ivi-fdund, by no means an uncommon 

 bird. I have had abundant opportunity 

 for observing its habits. Its usual nest- 

 ing place is in a hedge or in a plum 

 thicket. The nest is usually placed 

 within three fe-;'t of the ground, !)ut I 

 ha\e ^I'vw one nest, built no dou'ot, by 

 an eccentric pair of Vii-eos, which Avas 

 at least six feet from the ground. I 

 have found nests in hedge, on small 

 |.'lum trees, on sumachs, a])ple trees, in 

 fact the nest may be looked for in 

 almost any small trei^ or bush where 

 the foliage is dense enough to conceal 

 it fi'om al)()\'c. The I'ggs are always 

 four in number, except when a cow- 

 bird deposits an egg m the nest; then 

 only three eggs are laid, if, liowcNci- 

 the eowbird slioidd lay ati egg before 

 the second Vireo's egg is laid, the Vii-eo 

 will desert the nest. The eggs ai-e us- 

 ually white, speckled sparingly with 

 iirown or reddish brown spots; however 

 I have found nests in which jiart of the 



eggs were spotted as usnal, the rest 

 being pure white, nnspoMcil. 



I found one nest ciMitainiug three 

 Vireo's eggs, and returning that way in 

 a few days, was som(!what sur]u-ised to 

 Hndtlie Vireo's eggs gone, and in their 

 place a fresh Cowbird's egg. 



Qnery: Hid the A''i)-co iciiuvc tin; 

 eggs to an<»ther nest oi' wci'c they dcs- 

 lioycdv Ha.s their cNcr l;ccn an autlicu- 

 ticated rc])oit of a bird icmo\ingits 

 eggs from one nest to another'.-' 



There were no shells about or other 

 c\idence of the eggs being destroyed, 

 and I am (piitc :^\\vv that no other col- 

 lectoi- had any kiuiwlcdgc of the nest . 



During the nesting season the famil- 

 iar song of the male is heard, generally 

 within ten feet of the nest; but as any 

 person approaches, the bird gradually 

 tlys away fnnn the nest, stopiung anon 

 to repeat its song, (?) which, by the 

 way, when once lu-ard, can never be 

 forgotten. It somewhat resembles a 

 Black-throated Bunting's notes, but the 

 harslniess in the Bunting's is softened 

 in the Vireo's. The notes slightly re- 

 senible Chccd-n-lccd-d-h'cl-a-lcc-c-e with 

 the last notes very high. 



When the nest is (liscov',;red the fe- 

 male noislessly steals away, unless the 

 nest is disturbetl or contains j-oung 

 when >hi' will begin chattering, whii'h 

 is not unlike that of a wren. 



AlBUHT O. (tARKETTE, 



Ft. Scott, Kansas. 



Additions to the Ari-Fanna of Orleans 

 County. 



Since the Axi-Faima of Orleans t'oun- 

 ty was ])ublished in the May Oologist, 

 tlie following additions have been re- 

 [lorled. 



17."». Xi/c//hn>f/ii/s ri()l(ic(_)is. Wliite- 

 ci-o\\ned Night Heron. 



ITii. F/i'</(i(h'.-t fiilciiiflliis. (Uossy 



Ibis. A specimen of this bird, sliot in 



Tov.'anda Swamp, was brought to Mr. 



Hedley in May, 1889. It is a straggler. 



Resi)ectfully, Neil F.Posson. 



