THE OOLOGIST 



While I was watching it, off flew the Owl 

 that I was in search of. I climbed to the 

 nest, and found that the lower part certain- 

 I3' had once been occupied by a gray squir- 

 rel, but now simply forms a rest for the 

 nest of the Owl, which this time they had 

 built themselves of coarse sticks, roughly 

 placed together, and lined (I will call it a 

 lining) with smaller sticks and some leaves 

 of the pine. Tiiere were also several breast 

 feathers of S. nehulosum in the hollow of 

 the nest, whether placed there for lining 

 purposes or were simply the worn plumage 

 of the bird, pulled out by accident, I was 

 unable to determine. The nest contained 

 three eggs, of a very globular appearance, 

 yet not ditfering materially from the first set. 

 They average a trifle larger, measuring 

 2.06 by 1.65, 2.10 by 1.68 and 2.10 by 

 1.69. Had I a gun with me, I should 

 have shot the bird as it left the nest, for I 

 think there is no possibility of my being 

 able to send a postscript of au account of 

 the third laying of this pair of birds to The 



OOLOGIST. 



Since writing the above account, I again 

 visited the second nest referred to on May 

 3i'd, and found that in spite of her former 

 fruitless attempts to propagate the sub-fam- 

 ily SyrninxE, she had again laid three eggs, 

 not differing materially from the first two 

 sets. 



Oblogical Notes for May. 



I TOOK the first full set of Magpie's eggs 

 (7) April 12. H. W. Nash. 



Puehlo^ Colo. 



In my note book 1 find an entry under 

 the date of May 10th : Set of 10, Ruffed 

 Grouse, fresh ; same date, set of 11 eggs, 

 nearly fresh. Both nests were found on 

 the 4th of May, and each had 7 eggs. A- 

 bout a week ago [about April 26] a boy 

 told me that he had found a Partridge nest 

 with three eggs. C. iCrnest Knight. 



Wiscasset, Maine. 



The question as to whether Cow Birds 

 ever deposit their eggs in the nests of larger 



birds is permantly settled, so far as I am 

 concerned. April 28th I saw a Robin's 

 nest finished, but empty ; to-day, May 5th, 

 I visited it again, and found the female sit- 

 ting on three of her own eggs and one Cow 

 Bird's Q^^. Rev. J. Walton. 



Rochester, N. Y. 



Set of 2 eggs Barred Owl, . March 15 

 4 Mottled Owl, . April 11 



4 Blue Bird, 11 



3 Red-should. Hawk, 11 



4 Mottled Owl, 14 



5 " " 16 

 4 " '' 16 

 4 " " 16 

 3 Red-should. Hawk, 26 



Brooklyn, N. ¥. T. B. Stearns. 



[Our correspondent is of the opinion that 

 the publication of brief memoranda as above 

 from all parts of the country will be of great 

 benefit to collectors. It is a good idea, and 

 we accordingly invite oologists to send such 

 notes for publication, with items concern- 

 ing any observation made in connection 

 with the discovery of nests and eggs, that 

 will be of interest. — Ed.] 



The eggs of Swallows differ as much as 

 their modes of nesting. As might be ex- 

 pected from consideration of the slender- 

 bodied form of the birds, the eggs are rath- 

 er narrow, elongate, and pointed. In the 

 typical hole diggers, who retain their orig- 

 inal habits most tenaciously, the eggs are 

 pure white, as in the case of the Bank Swal- 

 low, and as the rule is with birds which, 

 like Owls, Kingfishers, Woodpeckers, and 

 many others, lay in holes. Many Swal- 

 lows' eggs, however, are colored, and, in 

 fact, profusely speckled with reddish and 

 brown shades. I presume, without the 

 slightest proof, but judging by reasonable 

 analogy, that Swallows' eggs were original- 

 ly or primitively white, and tliat they be- 

 came colored somewhat according to in- 

 creasing degree of exposure to which they 

 may have been subjected during the long 

 time in which the nesting habits of the 

 birds have undergone modification. 



Coues : Birds of the Colorado Valley. 



