Oct., 1882.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



107 



small end is much more taperinjif than the 

 other. Thirteen specimens in my collec- 

 tion are decidedly jayi-iform, while twenty 

 others may be described as ])yriform, but 

 they are much more bluntly so. 



The stnicture of the shell is very differ- 

 ent from the eggs of other species of owls, 

 and seems to be less compact in tex- 

 ture, and the surface is not of that glossy 

 smoothness which belongs to the Burrow- 

 ing and other owls : it has a more chalky 

 whiteness, a more dead, non-lustrous white 

 than they. There is a certain oily appear- 

 ance about these that is entirely wanting 

 in the eggs of the Barn Owl. 



Capt. Bendire writes me that he thinks 

 the eggs of the little Saw-whet Owl 

 (^yctale acadica. Gmel. Tip.) most resem- 

 ble those of the Barn Owl in this respect. 

 Ha^^ng no eggs of that species by me at 

 jiresent, I am imable to make any compar- 

 isons of them. — B. W. Everman, Ihir- 

 lington, Indiana. 



Notes from Shelter Island. 



Blue Yellow-backed Warbler. — June 

 12, took a set of six eggs, being the second 

 set of that number taken by me. Once 

 found a nest containing eight, but was sat- 

 isfied it belonged to two females. One 

 nest found contained two eggs and one of 

 the Cowbird. It is a mystery how the Cow- 

 bird gets into the nest of the lilue yellow 

 back. 



(Docs this not tend to confirm the theory advanced that the 

 Cowl)ird and Cuckoo of Europe lay their e^i^s on tlie <;roinid 

 and phu-e them in the nest with the beak.— Ed.) 



Mottled Owl. — In examining a hollow 

 tree occupied by one of these birds, (proba- 

 bly a male.) I found the headless bodies of 

 a Robin and a Kingbird, which jiroves 

 that it is not so harmless quite as repre- 

 sented. 



(Tliesc l)irds must have been caught in the niylit when 

 off their ^uard. — Ed.) 



Wood Pewee. — Number of eggs in a 

 set. Jxme IS, 1879, saw a nest of this bird 

 before it was taken from the tree. It con- 

 tained four eggs which is an extreme set. 



(Three is tlie usual number. — P^d.) 



Eggs in a Set. 



Catbird {Gd/eosroptes airolinetisis). — 

 Nest and five eggs. Collector N. A. Eddy, 

 Lake "WTiitney, New Haven, Conn., May 

 22d, 1878 : incubated. 



Robin. (3fenda vdfjratoria.) — Nest and 

 five eggs. Collector D. Dimcan, Vinal Ha^ 

 ven. Me., Jime, 3d, 1879 ; fresh. Suggest- 

 ed by your editorial in Jidy nmnber. 



I should like to inquire if four eggs are 

 often taken in the Fish Hawk's nest '? 



In May 9th, 1879, my friend Mr. Daniel 

 Duncan, of Vinal Haven, Me., collected 

 for me at that place a nest containing /o««- 

 fresh eggs ; at the same time he collected 

 and sent me a large number of the eggs of 

 this species, and as this set was imusually 

 large. I made inquiries of him regarding 

 it. whereupon he assiu-ed me that they were 

 taken from one nest. 



This season I spent a week in that local- 

 ity, collecting — with Mr. D's assistance — a 

 large number of sets of the Fish Hawk 

 were taken, and in order if possible to fur- 

 nish me with additional jn-oof as to the set 

 sent me in '79, for I think he was of the 

 opinion that I was still a little' doubtful re- 

 garding it. Mr. D. took me to the same 

 nest from which he had collected four 

 eggs, and much to the surprise of us both, 

 it this season contained the same number. 



Mr. D. also informed us that some time 

 ago a gentleman from Mass., spent two sea- 

 sons collecting in that vicinity and al- 

 though he took a large nmnber of eggs of 

 the Fish Hawk, he took no nest contain- 

 ing more than three. — JSf. A. Eddy, Ban- 

 (/or. Me. 



[Three is the number of eggs laid by the Fish Hawk, two 

 and four the exception. In a series of forty-live eggs taken 

 by us this Spring, in every case the full set was three. We 

 never saw but one set of four eggs and that was in tlie col- 

 lection of Messrs. Southwick & .Jencks. Knowing that M. 

 B. Grifling, had as large experience as any one collecting 

 these eggs, we dropped a line to him and received the fol- 

 lowing reply : "In four year's collecting Mr. VV. W. W. and 

 myself have taken ten sets of Fish Hawks containing 

 four eggs each. Capt. B. F. Goss has two of these sets, 

 W. E. Saunders, one, S. F. Rathbun, one, one set W. sent 

 to England, one set I broke. 1 now have three on hand and 

 W. has two. Three is the rule for a set, however, and four 

 the exception." 



