THE OOLOGIST. 



23 



Among the birds I have seen liere in plenty 

 are the following : Kingtisher, Catbird, 

 Red-eyed Fly-catcher, Brown Thrush, 

 Morning Dove, blocking Birds, Red- 

 sht)uldered Hawk, Coots, Buzzards, Crows, 

 Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Robin, Shearwater, 

 Cardinal Grosbeak, Yellow Hammer, Sea- 

 chicken, Snipe, Cedar Bird, Cow Bird, 

 6ull Bats, and a great variety of Ducks. 

 To me this seasons collecting has been very 

 successful, as I have all of the above named 

 birds as well as their eggs. I remain a 

 constant reader of your splendid paper. 

 E. G. Lewis, 

 Wilmington, N. C. 



«-♦-• 



Whip-poor-will. 



Comparatively rare in many localities the 

 Whip-poor-will is, yet so Avell known by 

 name, at least, that a few words in regard 

 to him may not be amiss. His popular 

 name is a torably accurate rendering of his 

 note, which can be heard on a quiet spring 

 evening for a long distance and prolonged 

 in one unceasing series of repititious far 

 into the night. He is a nocturnal bird, 

 living on the insects that his sharp, owl- 

 like eyes spy out in the darkness and 

 gloom of the deep forest. In the dajiight 

 he appears stupid and as if half blinded by 

 the light. In breeding he selects rough, 

 unfrequented woodland, and deposits his 

 eggs, two in number, on the ground in a 

 mere apology for a nest. 



Last summer, Avhile passing through a 

 strip of woodland thickly covered with 

 undergrowth, a AVhip-poor-will suddenly 

 flew up and alighted on a decaying tree- 

 trunk a few feet from me, where she sat 

 keenly alive to my every motion. AYhile 

 flying, and at intervals, after perching on 

 the tree, she gave utterance to a hissing- 

 sound somewhat resembling the hiss of a 

 snake. I at once began searching for the 

 nest, which I soon found. The nest, a 

 very slight depression in the ground in an 

 exposed place, was lined with two dry 

 leaves on which the eggs were deposited. 

 The eggs, two in number, slightly incu- 

 bated, measure l.:38-\.90, are a soiled white 



color, spotted and blotched with gray and 

 brown. There was no attempt whatever 

 at concealment, but construction of the 

 nest, color of the eggs and solitude of the 

 locality were all so advantageous that any 

 attempt at concealment would only have 

 tended to les.sen the security. The parent, 

 when she observed that I had found her 

 nest, abruptly abandoned her vigil and 

 again uttering that peculiar hissing sound 

 rapidly disappeared through the thick foli- 

 age of the intervening trees. I waited 

 some time for her return, but in vain, and 

 I do not think that she ever afterward 

 visited the spot. H. A. Koch, 



College Hill, O. 



An Unusual Friendship. 



June 11, 1884, I saw what I took to be a 

 Robin's nest in a maple tree on a public 

 avenue. Upon ascending, was surprised 

 to see a Robin and an English Sparrow fly 

 from the nest, which was like an ordi 

 nary Robin's nest, except being thickly 

 lined with feathers, which were well em- 

 bedded in the cement of the outer nest. It 

 contained three eggs of the Robin and six 

 of the Sparrow, all evenly and highly incu- 

 bated. The eggs were not intermingled, 

 each kind being on a side in a slight de- 

 pression, but not separated from one an- 

 other. The feathers which lined the nest, 

 except the small ones on the bottom, were 

 stuck quill ends in the cement, and the 

 tops or feather ends curved inward, so as 

 to nearly conceal the eggs. The Robin and 

 Sparrow had been setting side by side on 

 their respective eggs. 



It may be mentioned that these birds are 

 usually enemies. L. P. B. 



Queens Co., N. Y. 



Coues' Wrong. 



In Coue's Key to N. A. Birds, 1872 edi- 

 tion, he says: "American Gold-finch — 

 nest small, compact, downy, eggs four to 

 five, icliite, speckled." I thought the eggs 

 of the American Gold-finch were of a uni- 

 form pale blue color. How is this? 



J. C. W. 

 Richmond, Ind. 



