THE OOLOGIST. 



59 



Although considered very impartial to eggs were a light buff color, covered all o- 

 water, I collected my first nest within two ver with lines and dashes of brown and pur- 

 feet of the current of a small stream ema- pie, and were very fresli. The birds did 

 natiu"- from the lofty peaks of the Unaka not make much outcry, but flew to a limb 



range in eastern Tennessee. I was follow 

 iug the banks trout fishing, when my atten- 

 tion was attracted by a wisp of straw, caught 

 it seemed, by some previous inundation, in 

 a species of large fern. On closer exami- 

 nation, I found it to be a nest composed en- 



near by and watched the proceedings. 



8. Cunningham. 



A CORKESPONDENT oi' Fovcfit and Stream, 

 C. H. Munger, makes an interesting state- 

 ment in regard to the nesting of Ortyx vir- 

 ginianus. He says : '•' 1 noticed an arti- 

 tirely of straw, and woven with great labor | ^,^ -^ .^ j^^.,^, ^^.^p^^. ,^^^.^ yesterday, stating 



that a gentleman, while out luuiting in Cal- 



into a homogeneous mass. In this nest, 

 which was about six inches from the ground, | 

 lay one egg, which, owing to a transient ( 

 visit, I was compelled to ap])ropriate, 1 

 took anotlier nest of this species at Morris- 

 town, Tenn., Aug. 1st. Its structure did 

 not differ essentially from the first speci- 



away Co., a county adjoining this, in the 

 mouth of .January, found a Quail's nest with 

 fifteen or sixteen eggs, and the mother bird 

 sitting on the nest. After she flew off the 

 nest he examined it carefully, the bunch of 

 crass covering it beins filled with ice and 



men, but it was built m a bush soine four ^.,^^^^^ ^^^.^^^ ^_^,^^. .^^^^ ^^^^^ ,,^ ^,j,_ 



ieet from the ground, in the centre of a high , ^^^. .^ ^^^. ^,^^ ^^j^.j ^^^;^j j^^^. ^^^^^^ ^,^^,^ ^^ ,^^^.^ 

 pasture. 1 he complement of four eggs 1 ^.^^ ^^j^^ ^ ^^^^ ^^ ,^^.^^^, ^^^^^y -^ ,,^ 



were of an azure blue, and presented an av- 

 erage measxn-ement of .73 by .89. Their 

 principal charaeteristics are lost when plac- 

 ed by the side of eggs of Sialia sialis. 



G. 8. 8mith. 



Oological Notes for March. 



Nest of Great-crested Flycatcher. 



— While collecting last June, on the 15th 

 inst., with my friend Howard 81iields, we i 



and other parties went to examine it again. 

 This time they found the bird still sitting on 

 the nest, but frozen to death. A portion of 

 the eggs had been hatched, but the young 

 were also frozen. Was this not a very sin- 

 gular occurrence? I should have been 

 somewhat skeptical in regard to it if I had 

 not met with very nearly a similar case 

 while out Quail shooting four years ago this 

 winter, in company with a venerable sports- 

 man, Mr. Pratt, of this place. Our dogs 



,, , 111 made a rjoint. We flushed a single bird af- 



were i)assinLr tl!rou";h an orcliaro, Avhen we ! . , , i ■ i • ^ " ^^ 



, , , , '^ , ^i ^ p., t^ ^ . 1 ter considerable kicking around in the grass 



suddenly lieard the cry of the Great-crested ^ -i r ^ ^ ^ ^ , •".• 



,., , I 1 • 1 ij !• 11- and snow, and found she had been sitting: 



iMycatcher, which new from a hole m an , ' . . , . 



■' , , ., . 1 ] r I I on her nest containing three apparently 



apple tree, then to a dead limb near by. „ , „ ° ' ^ -' 



I \ 1- r 1 »i t fresh ejjcs. 



On ascending, we found the nest as we sup- 



posed we would, in the hole from which the 

 bird had just flown. It was about two feet 



About the first of last June while passing 

 by a small thicket of alder bushes, I dis- 



deep and the bottom was lined with dried covered a nest of the Yellow Warbler. As 

 grass, cow-hair, &c. I did not notice any i it contained no eggs, I left it, in about a 

 snake-skin, which however, I might have ; week visiting it again, but still it contained 

 overlooked in my haste. It contained three ' no eggs. I took it home and on close ex- 

 eggs. The uest was not more than twenty amituition found with surprise two nests in- 

 rods from a farm-house, and about nine feet stead of one. One fitted closely inside of 

 from the ground. We did not take the the other, so as to have the appearance of 



nest, as we supposed we should be able to 

 obtain another set ; but on returning a week 

 after we found the birds had deserted. The 



one. The under nest contained three eggs 

 of the AVarbler and one of the Cow-bunt- 

 ing. W. B. Dickinson. 



