120 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Yol. 7-No. 15. 



small spnice tree about fourteen feet high- 

 The Robin's nest was about seven feet from 

 the ground and the Warblere about twelve 

 feet. Both nests contained eggs. 



Mr. Banks also reports finding a Robin's 

 nest built on a rock partially sheltered by 

 shrubbery. 



A few days ago I was shown by Mr. J. 

 W. Mon-ison the nest, or nests rather of a 

 pair of Robins, Merula niujratorinit. (new 

 version.) built on a window cap under the 

 peak of the roof of a house. Mr. Mon-ison 

 says that on May 28th the first brood of 

 young were hatched and the parents at 

 once began to build a new nest immedi- 

 ately above the first. A second comple- 

 ment of e^%» were deposited and hatched 

 out, and for the third time the birds pro- 

 ceeded to build, selecting for the site of 

 their new home an adjacent tree. The 

 nest was completed here, but the old birds 

 were so bothered by their youngsters that 

 they finally aljandoned this nest in the tree 

 and returned to their old stand imder the 

 peak and put their fourth nest on the top 

 of the two already there, and from this 

 third story they broiight out their brood. 

 — Montague Chamberlain, Saint Johns, 

 K B. 



Lost to Science. 



What a vast amount of assistance comes 

 to the aid of science sometimes from a 

 humble and unexpected source, and the 

 collector who is the recipient thereof how 

 fortunate to become the medium of commu- 

 nication for such imj)ortant revelations. 

 The scientific world jirobably never heard 

 of " Chet. Brooks" but everybody in Mid- 

 dlesex County has, and most people that 

 have been much in the street here have 

 probably met him with barehead and bare- 

 feet, a snapping turtle in one hand and a 

 gun in the other. He has shot a great 

 many niuskrats. and once killed twenty-four 

 atone shot. "You don't believe it "said 

 he. " Oh, certainly," said I. " Well," he 

 said, he '• would swear to the fact and would 



explain to me how." They were on a long 

 log which was drifting down the river. He 

 got them in range and killed them all at a 

 shot. Going bareheaded in the hot sun 

 had tanned his complexion badly and made 

 the great mat of hair on his head decided- 

 ly kinky, though he boasted a descent from 

 King Philip. He heard that I was fond of 

 collecting rare and curious birds and eggs, 

 and he had foimd a nest and eggs of one 

 of the rarest birds in the United States. 

 It was called a "Pincalo." He had never 

 seen but two or three of them in his life, 

 and he had travelled a great deal. It was 

 a beautiful bird, the top of its head was 

 red, its neck and back were beautifully 

 marked with blue and black, its wings and 

 tail the same, only tipped with white, and 

 its l)reast was white beautifully spotted 

 with black. He had also found its nest 

 and the eggs were the handsomest he ever 

 saw, and the nest, the most singular of all, 

 consisted of a large heap of seaweed and 

 debris from the shore, and the eggs were 

 laid in the heap as it was piled up, trusting 

 to the fei-mentation to hatch them. He 

 had saved a whole set of the eggs at his 

 house, eight in number, what would I give 

 him for them ? Five dollars, and veiy 

 much want the bird also, and would con 

 sider myself exceedingly fortiuiate in 

 bringing such an important discovery to 

 the attention of the scientific world. Welh 

 he would get the bird, which he could easi- 

 ly do and bring them all up to-morrow. 

 And would I be willing to pay him now ? 

 Well, no, hardly, for fear he might forget 

 to bring them up to-moiTow. Oh, he would 

 never forget nor fail, lint he was going to 

 the store and would like a little if it were 

 only ten cents. He would surely bring 

 them to-morrow, eggs and l)irds, and lie 

 would swear to that. And I, Oh, I lost 

 that chance, and the scientific world may 

 never have another, to introduce into the 

 fauna of New England as a Summer resi- 

 dent and breeding that remarkable and 

 lieautiful bird, the Pincalo.—./. N. Clark. 



