180 



THE OSPREY. 





NEST AND EGGS OF THE EUKuTEAN KOIilN. 

 PHOTOGRAPHED IN ENGLAND. FROM G. F. DIPPIE. 



>A^-^- 



first nest of the Prothonotary Warbler 

 that I ever found, was discovered by see- 

 ing a snake crawl slowly out of a hole in 

 a stump with a beautiful egg in its 

 mouth. 



A memorable visit was made, a year 

 or two ago, in the congenial company of 

 my friend, B. F. Bolt, to Spring Lake, 

 a veritable paradise for the Golden 

 Swamp Warbler. This lake is one of 

 the many lying along the Illinois Iviver, 

 and has gained the reputation of being 

 one of the finest fishing and hunting re- 

 sorts in the State. It is situated between 

 the wooded bluffs on the east and the 

 river on the west, bounded on all sides 

 by miasmatic swamps, luxurious growths 

 of aquatic vegetation, impenetrable and 

 vast in extent, interspersed with heavy 

 willow growths, miniature forests of 



dead and lifeless trees, in many of which 



Both females were near and they appeared quarrel- are visible, for a great distance, the bulky nests of 



some during the time I watched them." the Cormorant. Isolated patches of beautiful and 



Another interesting feature connected with the graceful trees, some of them venerable forest mon- 



nesting of the Prothonotary Warbler is the imposi- u ■ i . j- •. ^ .u . c 



° ^ li.puoi archs, give a pleasant diversity to the monotony of 



tion of the Cowbird. It is not universally known or ,, . , . rr j , . j 



,,.,,,,. . .,, -^ this marsh, and afford summer homes to many wood- 

 believed that this parasite will enter a cavity to de- 



r^^o.-f v,^^ „„ u i. -x • . 1 ,- , land species. At a low stage of the water, the lake 



posit her egg or eggs ; but it is not unusual to find ^ ^ 



one or more eggs of the Cowbird in a prothonotary's P''°P^'' '^ comparatively small in area, and has no 



nest. Mr. R. M. Barnes informs me that he has in outlet, save the canal cut some years ago from the 



his possession sets as follows : Two eggs of the river to the lake. Nowhere is the water very deep, in 



Warbler and three of the Cowbird ; three of the many places not exceeding a foot. Its surface is 



Warbler and two of the Cowbird ; four of the War- bordered by a dark, rich carpet of the leaves and 



bier and two of the Cowbird ; five of the Warbler and blossoms of the water-lily, among the roots of which 



one of the Cowbird. Some have expressed their be- brilliantly colored sunfish, palatable bass, and the 



lief that the Cowbird only deposits her eggs when 

 the nest is in a large, natural cavity, and that she 

 never enters an excavated hole for this purpose ; but 

 the entrances to many of the nests containing the 

 parasites' eggs are so small and round, that appar- 

 ently only the owner can slip through. How the 

 large and awkward Cowbirds deposit their eggs is a 

 question yet to be solved. 



wary pickerel play. 



At the time of our visit, the water being at a high 

 stage, the aspect of the country was far different. As 

 we stood early that morning on the high bluffs over- 

 looking the whole river valley, an immense expanse 

 of water met our view. No small lake was discerni- 

 ble, as that and the river had joined as one, covering 



The Warblers never wander far from the location everything from bluff to bluff except the timber. 



of their nest, and the song of the male bird can al- 

 ways be heard in the immediate vicinity. In fact, 

 when looking for a nest, I invariably listen for the 

 song, and with a little searching, I soon have the 

 cavity located. When a nest is molested, unless it 

 contains young, the birds are very indifferent and 

 seldom come near. The female sits very closely, 

 and can easily be caught by clapping the hand over 

 the entrance. 



Our arrival at the small inn-like hotel the night 

 previous had quite astonished the natives. The 

 month of May was far too early in the season for 

 fishing and too late for hunting, and what else did 

 we desire? The object of our visit being made known, 

 they were equally astonished to learn that we had 

 come for the sole purpose of seeing a Cormorant 

 roost. The landlord's wife being busy in getting 



Perhaps the only enemies this bird has to contend our supper, we chatted with the men on bird lore 



with, except the egg collectors, are the snakes. I and kindred subjects, and soon had the exact location 



have seen many sets destroyed by the intrusion of a of the roost. By this time a great number of the 



water snake before the clutch was completed. The surrounding farmers had dropped into the tavern, 



