118 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol 7-No. 15 



Finches were daily singing in our garden 

 on Broadway. Later, the mating of these 

 Finches is a common and interesting phase 

 of oiu- Spring birdJife. In a newly 

 ploughed fiirrow, with the brown earth for 

 a background, I have seen seven males 

 dragging their crimson coats in a circle 

 around one bewildered female. At this 

 season both sexes have a pretty habit at 

 sunrise of soaring vertically a few yards 

 above the tree-tops and hovering in the 

 rays of the rising sun, in singing ecstasy. 

 March 1st, I had a Woodcock for din- 

 ner, caught by a fanner's cat. Last year 

 I had one under the same conditions, but 

 it was not quite so early an arrival. 

 Lynch, a farmer on the Poquetannoc road, 

 told me that his cat also brought a Wood- 

 cock into the house alive. Now, here 

 appears a new element of destructiveness 

 to game birds not commonly taken into 

 consideration, and against which it is use- 

 less to legislate. — J. M. IF., Normch, Ct. 



Hatching Hawk's Eggs. 



Friend Wade : Agreeable to your re- 

 quest, I send you my experience in hatch- 

 ing eggs of our Eapacia. The result has 

 not been very satisfactory thus far, but 

 enough so to satisfy me that some of our 

 Oologists who are very positive in their 

 statements are mistaken (18 to 22 days). 

 Mr. E. M. Jerome, of Plum Island, who 

 has watched the nests of the Fish Hawk 

 for years, says the period of incubation of 

 this bird is about twenty-eight days. (See 

 Familiar Science for June, 1880). From 

 my observations I am satisfied that this is 

 the time occupied by all oiu- Hawks. In 

 my articles published in Familiar Science, 

 I stated that I lielieved twenty-one days 

 was the period of incubation of all our 

 diurnal birds of prey. This statement I 

 made on the assertions of my collectors. 



May 2d, 1879, 1 put two Eed-shoitldered 

 Hawk's eggs under a lien May 20th, I 

 took the eggs and broke them, expecting 



to find dead birds, as it was several days 

 past the time of incubation given by any 

 of our Oologists (27 days), but judge of 

 my surprise on finding two lively Hawks, 

 evidently just ready to hatch. 



In 1880, through the kindness of " J. M. 

 W," I received eggs of the Barred Owl, 

 Cooper's and Eed-shonldered Hawk. The 

 Baired Owl's eggs were so thin-shelled 

 that they were broken before two weeks 

 had expired. On the 26th day the hen 

 accidentally got shut out from her nest, 

 and I did not find it out until the eggs 

 were cold. On breaking them, two well 

 developed chicks of the Cooper's Hawk 

 were found dead. The Eedshoiddered 

 egg was addled. The jjast season, through 

 the politeness of W. W. Coe, I received 

 four eggs of the Marsh Hawk and one of 

 the Eed-shouldered. On the 30th day I 

 examined the eggs and found two chicks 

 of the Marsh Hawk had cracked the shell, 

 but had been unable to extricate them- 

 selves. The other eggs were addled. 



From the above I am satisfied that the 

 period of incubation of our Hawks is from 

 twenty-eight to thirty days. I have made 

 arrangements the coming season to test the 

 matter with an incubator. If those inter- 

 ested in this subject will send me fresh 

 eggs of our Eapacia, I hope to be able to 

 settle positively this question. — • William 

 Wood, Emt Wiiidxor Hill, Conn. 



Brief Newsy Notes. 



Herons.— On the 4th of Augiist, 1879, 

 I saw an adult Little Blue Heron ( Florida 

 C'jerulea) at Mount Sinai Harbor, L. I., ac- 

 companied by a flock of eighteen or twenty 

 Snowy Heron ( Garzetta eandidissiina). One 

 of the Snowy Herons I secured, which 

 proved to be a young male. — A. 11. Ilelme, 

 Miller's Place, N. Y. 



Purple G.^llinitle, (Jonornis )nnrti)tica.) 

 A specimen was shot near a small pond in 

 Middle Island in the Summer of 1879 by 

 Mr. F. Edwards, who stUl has the bird in 

 his possession. — A. H. Helme. N". Y. 



