THE OOLOGIST. 



2T 



keen pleasure to uote in him a trait that 

 would seem, somehow, to have escaped 

 the notice of the bookmakers. We had 

 supposed the Ruddy to be quite dumb; 

 but this lonely fellow is sailing about, 

 with his head bobbing queei'ly, up, and 

 down, first in quarter-seconds of 

 rhythm, and in succession, like the 

 drumming of Bonasa, with more than 

 double that rate of rapidity, and, at the 

 end of each succession of head bob- 

 bings, a single choking note. The 

 whole performance, which would seem 

 to be for the performer's sole edifica- 

 tion, is many times repeated, and ap- 

 pears like this: , , gup, , 



, giq:). But the clown in chestnut 



sails around the corner of things, and, 

 almost at the same instant a Ruddy's 

 nest sweeps into view, over the waving 

 grass tops. This grass is the coarse, 

 palm-like angular-stemmed sort, that 

 grows everywhere in- the west, amid 

 the water of the sloughs. Of this grass, 

 the nest is made, green blades and dead 

 being woven together into the snuggest 

 basket that ever a Ruddy wove; all be- 

 ing fastened to the grass tops, that 

 waved above ten inches of water. 



As finally taken, some days later, the 

 nest was heavily lined and decorated 

 with down; and the nest contained 12 

 eggs. These w^ere piled three-deep, one 

 having been nest-cracked, and become 

 imbedded at the bottom, eluding all 

 the mother's care, in the upbringing, 

 and OYer-turning that ever goes with 

 incubation. The eggs were all laid, 

 without a doubt, by the same bird. 



To show, in closing this already too- 

 long-spun yarn, the constant need of 

 verification, ones mind goes back to a 

 nest found last June, in the Geroux 

 Marsh. It was the ne-t of an Aythya, 

 no doubt of that, but the eggs were 

 pale green. 



After six days, with e.xercise of most 

 scrupulous care, the female is found at 

 her nest, and closely scrutinized, to 

 prove that she is what she ought to be — 



a Canvas-back; and, sure enough, with 

 her round head, stubby beak, and white 

 head feathers she is — a — Redhead. 

 P. B. Peabody, 

 Hallock, Minn. 



Prairie Horned Lark in Illinois. 



"Life is too short to learn all about 

 even one bird" says Olive Thorn Miller. 

 This quotation may with appropriate- 

 ness be attributed to our Illinois mem- 

 ber of the Shore Lark family — the Prai- 

 rie Horned Lark— for the study of this 

 interesting little body affords a never 

 ending source of pleasure to the enthu- 

 siastic and observing lield-student. 



Each time we seek him in his haunts 

 (and he is always to be found), we may 

 conlidently expect to learn something 

 new of this attractive bird. 



It is not the knowledge of well-known 

 facts and the desire to view a repetition^ 

 that imparts to us a bouyant, elastic 

 step when we start for an hour in the 

 field. Is it not the delight we exper- 

 ience in making nctv discoveries— those 

 very interesting Uitle details, usually 

 deemed of too small a significance to be 

 given space in our Ornithological Jour- 

 nals. 



Naturally, to the Oologist, the nest- 

 ing habits of "Practicohi" must prove of 

 of paramount interest, but I find the 

 two ' ologies" so closely connected, so 

 inseparately linked that I am unable to 

 separate them, and what Oologist can 

 long pursue his favorite theme, with- 

 out unconciously digressing— to Orni- 

 thology. 



The Prairie Horned Lark is a charm- 

 ing singer and contributes to our enjoy- 

 ment, one of the sweetest of all bird 

 songs. 



Simple and child-like as the song of 

 the Indigo, it combines the sweet mel- 

 low tones of the Meadowlark with the 

 huirying time of the House Wren; not 

 loud and distinct as with Slurnella mag- 

 na, but so soft and low that one must 

 needs be quite near, and all attention. 



