144 



OENITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 7-No. 18 



Purple Grackle ( Quiscahis Purpnreus\ 

 commonly known as ''Crow Blackbird." 

 Duringf a vdsit to Phim Island, the home 

 of the Osprey, it occurred to wa that the 

 Crow Blackbird was not at all particular 

 where its nest was placed. On this island 

 there are immense quantities of this bird 

 and their nests were in every conceivable 

 position. Under every Fish Hawk's nest 

 that were in trees, there were from one to 

 five or six nests of the Crow Blackbird. 

 Wherever the Osprey's nest had rotted oft" 

 the top of the pepperidge tree it left a 

 cavity in the to]5 of the trunk into which 

 this Blackbird placed its nest. They were 

 also very plenty in the trees alone and 

 also in the bushes within two feet of the 

 j^cround. On the main land we have found 

 them siufjly on maples by the roadside ; 

 • also saddled on the limbs of immense 

 elms, in the topmost branches: also in 

 Norway spruces, both small and large. 

 Wlierever circumstances favor it they 

 breed in colonies. We know of one ag;ed 

 white pine that contains from fifty to one 

 hundred nests each year, makinf2f it a]jpear 

 like an immense bee-hive, as the birds 

 were continually flying to and from the 

 tree. During a recent visit (May 17) to 

 the home of Willis P. Hazard, of West- 

 chester, Pa., where the Crow Blackbirds 

 were breeding very plentifully in the long, 

 horizontal branches of the white pines on 

 the lawn. There was nothing unusual in 

 this, but we noticed in the woodbine that 

 twined around the pinza posts, a lai'ge 

 nest, unusual for such jjosition. It was 

 just out of reach, l^ut a step-ladder enabled 

 us to look into the nest, which was filled 

 with young Crow Blackbirds. The family 

 and visitors were continually passing m\- 



<ler tliis nest. 



^ 



Correction. — On page 131, Vol. VII, No. 

 17, J. G. Cooper should read William A. 

 Cooper. No one regrets such mistakes as 

 much as we do. but occasionally MSS comes 

 to us that is very difficult for us or the 

 printer to decipher. 



Woodcock and Black-duck. — Passing 

 through an old pasture Thursday. iMay 4. 

 I started up a Woodcock from a small 

 thicket, which was immediately followed 

 by four more, an old bird and four young, 

 the latter so large as scarcely to be distin- 

 guished from the mother bird, except that 

 she flapped her wings as if flying with 

 difficulty and made a sort of whining cry. 

 I don't think I ever saw young of that 

 species so early before and very mature — 

 eggs must have been laid exceedingly 

 early, perhaps before April, though I do 

 not know- how long time is required for 

 their incubation. One of my neighbors, 

 sitting by a window, had his attention 

 called to a brood of young ducks running 

 across the street. It was an old Black- 

 duck and her young. He saw them enter 

 a cow-yard, and in one corner she called 

 her brood under her wings and covered 

 them. As he went near she flew some fif- 

 teen rods and watched his movements, 

 quacking her displeasure as he proceeded 

 to capture her yonng ones. He secured 

 ten of them, all the brood but two. After 

 he had examined all he cared to he set 

 them at liberty, and together they started 

 on a run through Main street, continuing 

 foi forty rods before they turned aside, a 

 distance which they accomplished inside 

 of five minutes: for the little things could 

 run like squirrels. This ocuurred on the 

 5th of May, and implies that the eggs 

 must have been laid much earlier than I 

 supposed was customary with the species. 

 There was no water near and they seemed 

 traveling from one creek overland to 

 another, nearly a half mile away. — ./. N. 

 f'lark. Old Sdi/hrook, Conn. 



Summer or Wood Duck. — Mr. Edwin 

 Sheppard, the eminent ornithological ar- 

 tist, is engaged on a plate of the aliove 

 duck, or a family of them, vrhich is to be 

 lithogi-aphed and hand colored, and in- 

 tended for fi-aming. In due time it will 

 be offered at a moderate price through our 

 advertising columns. 



