THE OOLOGIST. 



207 



otherwisi' contain tlieii- nests, are not 

 in Icnif wlien the lirst nests are l)uiit. 



For tlie most part tlie nests of any 

 one species are all built alike and any 

 variation from the general tj'pe is 

 worth notinjj. Late last summer the 

 writei- found a nest of the Meadow 

 Jvark wliicli was completely roofed 

 over — till' eut!'anc(> being on the side, 

 toward tli<' nortli; liic lu^st proper, that 

 is, tile part lielow the surface of the 

 ground, was composed entirely of need- 

 les from tiie wliite ))iiH\ the roof v\'as 

 of grass. 



On the I'.ltli of May, "Hi), a Kobins 

 iirst was found in a rather unusual 

 place, being built in a hole in a tree; 

 t'le mud wall was especially prominent 

 though it would seem to be of little 

 u-!e in such a place. 



W. N. C, Bingliamton, ]S\ Y. 



Yellow Billed Cuckoo. 



Cofc/j.r/fs A)iicricaii7(.^, LINN. 



This bird of which I have scvii little 

 mention of in th(; Oologist is plentiful 

 in this locality and is known to many 

 under tlie name of Rain-dove^ or Kain- 

 crow. It utters its note most frequently- 

 b.'fore storms, from whence it gets the 

 uime. The3^ are oftener seen than heard 

 aad again when heard they are seldom 

 s^en. The times of nidification of this 

 species, range from May to September 

 and I have obtained fresh eggs in the 

 latter montli. Of eight nests which I 

 have had o])portunity to examine have 

 found 'the bird on in every instance, 

 admitting of my a])proach to within a 

 few feet. If you are cantious and sto]) 

 at a respectful distance, the bird will 

 give you a good opportunity to look at 

 'her. The long curved bill is very con- 

 spicuous as so is the iris. The whole 

 plumage of the bird is gi"ay, darker 

 above, shading to white beneath, with 

 ^•erv beautiful black s]iots or Viars on 

 the under side of the taib ]\lost of the 

 lU'sts of this si)i'cies which I have found 



have V:)eeii lo.-ati'd in apple tr<'es fi'om 

 6 to 20 feet aliove the ground while a 

 few were placed in thickets and bushes 

 on marshy groimds. They are very 

 rudely constructed being but a few 

 twigs, little sticks and a few leaves laid 

 together to iVu'm a platform barely hol- 

 loweil sulliciently to prevent the eggs 

 from rolling off, which indeed I once 

 experieiiceil in making to hasty an as- 

 cent of a shaky liuib. The eggs are 

 fi-om two to four in nundier, though 

 sets of six are on record. Fresh and 

 incubated eggs are generally found in 

 the same nest owing to a lasije of sever- 

 al days Tietween the dejjositing of the 

 eggs. When fresh they have much the 

 color of eggs of the Green Heron but as 

 in(*id)ation advances, they become ligh- 

 ter Average size is 128x88. Elliptical 

 in form. The Black-billed, a closely 

 allied species differ, but little in general 

 description. The nest is somewhat 

 more substantiably built, and the eggs a 

 little smaller, 128x.80,of rather a darker 

 green. In many nests of the Yelhnv- 

 l.llled sjiecies haVe I seen the eggs from 

 below, whieh is impossible with the 

 Black-billed. J. P. J- Kelton, Pa. 



A Query. 

 Medina. N. Y.. Sept. U, "89 



There is a problem which by its re- 

 peated occurrence has forced itself upon 

 me for a solution, and as I am unable 

 to solve it, 1 bring it to you hoping 

 that either you or some reader of your 

 valuable joiu-nal may be able to. It is 

 this: Every year as soon as the first of 

 September" comes and all through the 

 first half of that month, at about sun- 

 down every night, large tlocks of Idack- 

 birds are seen living over to the north- 

 east. Now the ifact of their congregat- 

 ing in itself would be nothing of unus- 

 ual occurrence, but when we consider 

 that it is always in the same direction, 

 it appears to be not quite so common- 

 place, For several years I have noticed 

 this movement and it is always and in- 

 variably toward the n(n-theast. Now 

 the question arises, where are they 

 going? 



Hoping that I may receive some in- 

 formation that will set my curiosity at 

 rest. I am 



Very iesi)ectfully, 

 Nkil F. P<^sson, ^Medina, N. Y. 



