THE OOLOGIST. 



89 



given its citizens educational advantages 

 of wliich they may well be proud. That 

 this museum, free and of interest to all, 

 will and does help the advancement of 

 science in this country is certain. Though 

 it was not, like Bartram's gardens, the 

 birthplace of American botany and ornith- 

 ology, it has since sheltered and supported 

 them. I hope all Americans interested in 

 ornithology may have an opportunity to 

 visit this their country's monument to that 

 science. A. B. F., 



Bennings, D. C. 



Beaver County, Pa., Notes. 



Feb. 4. — Saw a flock of ab(jut fifteen 

 Cedar Waxwings on a tree near the river. 

 They were feeding on the berries of the 

 tree, and were quite tame, allowing me to 

 approach very close to them. There were 

 two robins among them. 



March 26. — A flock of Canada Geese, 

 which had alighted near the mouth of Rac- 

 coon Creek, were fired upon ])y a party of 

 lumbermen upon a raft, whereupon they 

 immediately took flight, soon assuming the 

 triangular form. This is the first instance 

 I know of wild geese alighting within our 

 limits. 



April 11. — First set for '87, being a set of 

 two Mourning Dove, fresh, taken out of a 

 shallow nest in an apple tree, composed of 

 rootletts, dried grass and a few small twigs. 

 One egg is very long, the other nearly 

 spherical. Birds seen. 



May 9. — Took a set of three Chewink or 

 Towhee, nearly fresh, out of Ja bulky nest 

 on the ground composed of grape vine 

 bark, lined wiih pieces of stiff dried grass. 

 The nest contained one egg of the Cow- 

 l)ii-d, which is rather remarkable, as the 

 Cowbird usually deposits its eggs in the 

 nests of birds smaller than itself. 



May 12. — Saw a Summer Yellowbird 

 stealing horsehairs from the nest of a Chip- 

 ping Sparrow as yet unfinished, and flying 

 with them to its own nest some rods dis- 

 tant. The Chipping Sparrow drove it off 

 several times, but it returned again. 



May 14. — Black cappe i Chickadee, nine 

 nearly fresh eggs. Nest composed of moss 



lined with what appeared to be cowhairs; 

 placed in a hollow fence post sixteen inches 

 from the top. The old bird was on the 

 nest, and I had a hard time inducing her 

 to leave. 



May 16. — Rose-breasted Gi'osbeak, four 

 fresh eggs. Nest composed of dried weeds 

 lined inside with finer; situated in a small 

 apple tree seven feet from the ground, and 

 so thin that the eggs could be counted from 

 below. This bird is' very common here; 

 the ne.sl is usually made in apple trees; a 

 nest found in June contained five young 

 birds. 



May 28. — Took a set of six House Wren, 

 one egg having the spots around the smaller 

 instead of, as usual, the larger end. The 

 ne.st was situated in a hollow post, and was 

 composed of twigs, dried grass, horsehairs, 

 feathers, etc. , and lined with blue feathers 

 and a large piece of cast off snake-skin. 



June 3. — To-day I found the nest of a 

 Tufted Titmouse in the hollow knot hole 

 of a tree on the border of a woods. It con- 

 tained several young birds, the exact num- 

 ber I do not know, being unable to get 

 them all out. The old birds were identi- 

 fied at close quarters. This is, 1 believe, 

 the first instance known of the Tufted Tit- 

 mouse breeding in this county. On the 

 same day, as I was walking along in a piece 

 of dry woods, a bird flew out which 1 

 recognized as a Whippoorwill. A half 

 hours search resulted in the discovery of 

 two young birds, just hatched, on some 

 leaves under a huckleberry bush with not 

 even a semblance of a nest. The old bird 

 w^as much alarmed, and would every once 

 in a while fly to a rail fence near by, and 

 while sitting lengthwise on the top rail, 

 extended her wings downward — looking as 

 if she was straddling the rail with her 

 wings, and making a piteous cry, mean- 

 while causing her wings to tremble vio- 

 lently — a habit 1 never read about before. 



June 8. — Wood Pewee, three eggs, nearly 

 fresh. 



June 16. — Cedar Waxwings, five eggs, 

 incubation advanced. 



July 27. — American Goldfinch, five fresh 

 pure lohile eggs. W. E. Clyde Todd. 



