22 



THE OOLOGIST. 



ground unbroken, and the shell of another 

 egg. Noticing that the nest had been al- 

 tered some I climbed to it and found an- 

 other egg. The bird, some variety of 

 Heron, had merely laid a few sticks on the 

 top of the nest and laid its eggs on so shal- 

 low a platform that I did not wonder that 

 they rolled off. Last, on July 3d I took a 

 set of Mourning Dove's eggs from the 

 same nest. Now, if any reader of the 

 OoLOGisT ever took a greater number of 

 eggs from one nest I would like to hear 

 from them. C. \. Babcock, 



Harper Co., Kan.sas. 

 Summary : Four sets of eggs, of three 

 different species, taken from the same nest 

 inside of sixty days. Who can beat this ? 

 —[Ed. 



Davie Correct. 



Will you please tell me the names of the 

 following two kinds of birds' eggs, both 

 being described as eggs of the Black 

 Thi'oated Bunting. Wilson's Ornithology 

 describes the egg of the Black Throated 

 Bunting as a " white egg with spots and 

 streaks of black," like an Oriole, and Da- 

 vie's Egg Check List describes the egg as 

 ligl,'^ blue, almost exactly like a Blue- 

 birds." Which of the two descriptions is 

 correct ? 



June 23, 1885, while hunting, I found an 

 Indigo Bunting's nest containing three 

 eggs ; two were of the common color, 

 while the third was exactly like the others 

 in size and color, except on the larger end 

 were dark, reddish brown spots. Is that 

 not something unusual ■? W. S,. 



Kewauee, 111. 



From a North Carolina Collector. 



Never having noticed any notes from 

 collectors in this vicinity, in your valuable 

 paper, the Oologist, I thought that a short 

 report of my own work for last season 

 might be interesting to some of your 

 readers. 



On June 16th I left Wilmington, N. C, 

 for the mouth of the Cape Fear river on a 

 collecting tour. Arriving there I secured 



the assistance of two young boys and 

 started for the beach. After some little 

 walking, we succeeded in reaching the 

 nesting ground of the sea birds of this 

 locality. Upon our arrival dense clouds 

 of Shearwater, Oyster birds. Tern, Gulls, 

 Snipe, Plover, etc., arose, deafening our 

 ears with their cries, but in spite of their 

 great number it was some little time before 

 I could lind any eggs, on account of their 

 being so like the sand in color. We were 

 very successful, getting numbers of set.'^ of 

 all the above named varieties, besides a 

 pair of the old birds of each variety, all of 

 which now grace my collection. While 

 collecting these eggs, I came iipon a speci- 

 men of egg which has puzzled me greatly- 

 It was about the size of a hen's egg, of 

 light blue color, but was not perfect in 

 shape., looking as though two eggs had 

 pressed into each other, so that the four 

 ends were perfectly distinguishable, and 

 was evidently partly petrified, being as 

 heavy as lead; it was in a freshly made 

 nest with one other egg, that of the Shear- 

 water. Can any of your readers give me 

 any information on this? On June 11th I 

 went on a collecting tour to a portion of 

 Pamlico Sound, about ten miles from the 

 city, where the Herons had their nesting- 

 place in what are called The Hammocks. 

 I succeeded in getting numerous sets of 

 the small white and blue varieties. The 

 nests were built in low trees, and were a 

 flat mass of sticks out of which the eggs 

 would roll upon the least disturbance. I 

 also found a nest of the Marsh-hen or Coot, 

 with eleven eggs, all fresh but two. The 

 usual number of eggs in a Heron's nest 

 was three; but I found two nests with four 

 each. At night when the Herons come 

 home to roost they completely cover the 

 trees, making a beautiful sight. I shot a 

 pair of blue and also a pair of the white 

 ones. 



The Fish Hawk is common here, there 

 being four nests in one small pond close 

 by the city, all of which are placed upon 

 dead trees, from ten to twenty feet high, 

 and standing in the water. The ' ' Shite- 

 poke," (American Bittron) is very common. 



