170 



THE OOLOGIST. 



The Black Tern. 



This a very coinnion spce-ics thi-ougii- 

 oiit the states of Wisconsin, Micliifj^an, 

 Illinois, Minnesota and Dakota. Tliis 

 l)ir(l is sometimes t-alleil the Short-tailed 

 Tern, Imt is more eomiuonly known 

 as the Black Tern. These l)irds lup.c 

 Inrge wings in proportioji to the size of 

 the l)ir(l, and when it is on the wing- it 

 looks not nnlik>' a large swallow. 

 These birds nest in (juite large eohniies, 

 but they do not inerease verj' rapidly 

 eaeh year eeeause there are too many 

 oologists eolleetirig their eggs. There 

 is one thing quite singular about this 

 bird. This is: If you eolleet a set of 

 their eggs oue day, 3'ou ean go to the 

 same nest two oi' three da^'s afterward 

 and you will hnd just as mauy eggs in 

 the nest as there were the ])revious day. 

 This bird ari'i\'es in \Visconsiii about 

 the first of May, ami liegins ineub^ition 

 al)out tlie first of June. It does not 

 have to work as hard as some ))irds do 

 to huild its nest. It simply linds a suit- 

 able mud iiat. (iloating on the water.) 

 and lays a few reeds and grasses around 

 on the mud to keep the eggs from roll- 

 ing aljout. The eggs, whieh are of a 

 greenish color, thickly l)lotlie(l with 

 brown and lilac, are then laid in this 

 nest. After the eggs haxc been laid 

 incui)ation sets in, and continues for 

 about three \veeks, when th(! young ap- 

 pear. These are fi'd on worms and 

 snails until they are alilc to take care 

 of thenischcs. Then another set of 

 eggs is deposited the the same nest anil 

 another broad is reared in like manner. 

 I collected a set of three eggs of this 

 si)eeies June (J. 1SS!). Incidiation ad- 

 vanced They nu'asured as follows: 

 i 1.46x1.00, I 1.4r)x.J)8, 3-3. 1.8r)\1.0(). 

 This set resembh'd very nuicli, both in 

 color :ind in markings, those df 1 lie 

 Spotted .Sandjnper. In blowing these 

 eggs one has to lie M-ry careful so as 

 not to destroy the bloom. These Ijirds 

 as a rule are very fond of low, m;nshv 



lakes for their Ininnts. They go larther 

 South when it Iiegins to show signs of 

 winter. 1 will close now lio])ing this 

 article \vi!I Ik of some benelit to the 

 re;idei-s of Till". OoLOGIST. 



F.S.N. 

 Madison, Wis. 



The Yellow-rumped Warbler. 



While rami)ling through the swamps 

 in the vicinity of Iliglihmd Vavk on 

 June 1, '811, I c;ime iinexpectedly upon 

 a nest of the Golden-crowned or Yellow- 

 rumped Warbler, situated in the crotch 

 of a small hemlock tree about ti'ii feet 

 from the ground. I would undoubted- 

 I3" have passed it, as it was in a ]>!aei' 

 one would not think of looking for a 

 nt'st, but the old i)ird, frightened l)y 

 ni}- aijproach, Hew off and thus attract- 

 ed my attention. 



I had some difficulty in climbing, as 

 the tiH'c was very slender and easily 

 bent, but ])y the aid of a neighboring 

 tree I finally succeeded in reaching tiie 

 ne.st, whieh I held in my teeth until I 

 reached the ground. There in ;i soft- 

 warm bed of thistle down lay four small 

 eggs. They wei'c of a creamy-white 

 color, covered s])arccly with s])ots and 

 blotches of diil'ereut shades of reddish- 

 Ijrown, thickest at the largest end of 

 the egg. Dimensions of tlie eggs, ".(ibx 

 .50 inch, .UTx. -jO inch, .UGx.4y inch, .ur.x 

 .4U inch. The nest was a small strin'- 

 ture, hrm and comiiact. the outer parts 

 formed of silky tillers from different 

 ])lants, attached to the tw igs near it by 

 m i ';i n s of gl net i nous m:itter, mixed with 

 tlie inner bark of the wild gr:i])eviiie, 

 within this is a deep and warm bed of 

 thistle-down and the inni'r l;iyer coni- 

 l)ose(l of b'athei s and the line hair of 



small (|n;idi n]!eds. 



H. ('. A. 



Detroit, Mich. 



