THE OSPREY. 



85 



blyornis. Before the cottajre there is a meadow 

 of moss. This is broug^ht to the spot and kept 

 free from grass, stones, or anything- which 

 would offend the e^'e. On this g^reen turf, flow- 

 ers and fruits of pretty colour are placed so as 

 to form an elegant little g^arden. "The g"reater 

 part of the decoration is collected round the en- 

 trance to the nest, and it would appear that the 

 husband offers there his daily g^ifts to his wife. 

 The objects are very various, but always of 

 vivid colour. There were some fruits of a Gar- 

 cinia like a small-sized Apple. Others were the 

 fruits of (iardenias of a deep yellow colour in 

 the interior. I saw also small rosy fruits, prob- 

 ably of a Scitaminaceous plant, and beautiful 

 1-OS3' flowers of splendid new Vaccinium (Ag-a- 

 petes Ambh'ornidis). There were also fung-i 

 and mottled insects placed on the turf. As soon 

 as the objects are faded they are moved to the 

 back of the hut. 



"The g-ood taste of the Amblyornis is not only 

 proved by the nice home it builds. It is a clever 

 bird, called by the inhabitants Buruk Gurea — 

 master bird, since it imitates the songs and 

 screamings of numerous birds so well that it 

 broug-ht niA' hunters to despair, who were but 



too often misled by the bird. Another name of 

 the bird is Tukan Robon, which means a gar- 

 dener." 



Ground plan of the Gardener Bird's hut, showing 

 the lent pole, openinj;;, and garden. 



NESTING NOTES ON THE WADERS OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION. 

 By EugEXE S. Rolfe, Minnewaukan, N. Dak. 



Let those who will list among- the Waders of 

 this reg-ion those mereU' observed in passag"e 

 during- the mig-rations. I see nothing- distinc- 

 tive in lists of this description and speak onlj^ 

 of thosv.' species known or believed by me to 

 make this their summer home. 



Wilson's Phalarope is very abundant and to 

 be found after May 15, about the edges of all 

 sloug-hs, ponds, lakes and wet meadows. On 

 two small flat islands in Devils Lake, that but a 

 few years ago were mere sandbars and are now 

 covered with scant grass and weeds, I observed 

 them this month (June, 1899,) in great numbers. 

 Their nests, of which I chanced upon some half 

 dozen, were placed invariably on the ground in 

 the midst of a slight tussock of grass — the tri- 

 fling lining, sometimes, being necessarj' to keep 

 the eggs up out of the damp ooze beneath, which, 

 four in number, are sometitnes so hig^hU' polish- 

 ed and rich in coloring as to make it difficult to 

 mark them leg'ibly with a pencil. 



When flushed from the nest the hurried flight 

 of the sitting male for some dozen feet or more 

 before alighting is amusing, the head being 

 held high while the feet and legs dangle slightly 

 downward. Then follow the usual subterfuges 

 to lure the intruder away such as are only com- 

 mon to the female of other species. 



The onU- note I have ever heard is that aptly 

 described by Elliott as a "nasal, quack-like 

 sound", so faint, however, as to be scarceh- 

 noticeable and heard onU' when the birds circle 

 about close overhead after being disturbed on 

 their nesting ground. 



The American Avocet is becoming somewhat 

 ttncommon here as the country' is developing so 

 rapidly. Four years ago about the mudd3^ 



shores of an alkaline lake a colony of some 

 twenty-five pairs made their summer home. 



Since that time I have at no time been able to 

 locate a colony of more than three or four pairs, 

 and this 3'ear a scattered pair at rare intervals 

 is the sum of my observation. In my experi- 

 ence the nest is invariably placed on the flat, 

 muddj', alkaline shore within a few feet of the 

 water, without the slightest effort at conceal- 

 ment and much after the manner of the common 

 Tern, a cominon associate of the Avocet here- 

 abouts. The eggs are generally four, and, ex- 

 cept for their larger size and pyriform tendency, 

 not wholly unlike many examples of eggs of 

 their comrades, the Terns. Oftentimes the eggs 

 are completely encrusted with alkaline mud from 

 the feet of the sitting bird. 



I never yet succeeding in observing the bird 

 on the nest. She is of such bright, conspicuous 

 colors, and her nest is so exposed that she finds 

 it expedient to vacate the premises while the in- 

 truder is yet hundreds of 3-ards away, foolishly, 

 however, setting up such a clamor, joined in by 

 her mate, as to give assurance of a nest near bj'. 



I read in Davies', Goss' and Elliott's that the 

 nest is placed in tall grass, and while this may 

 happen, yet, as I have elsewhere stated, I re- 

 gard the crude picture given b^- the notorious 

 Raine at p. 54 of Bird Nesting in Northwest 

 Canada as very graphic and true to life, both as 

 to the favorite breeding" haunts of the species 

 and location of the nests and the general ap- 

 pearance and demeanor of the birds. 



Whether Wilson's Snipe ever nests in this 

 region, I cannot sa^' with certainty'. Twice, I 

 think, I have noted solitary- individuals here 

 about July 1. 



