.Iax. IS'Jl.] 



AM) ()()L()(;iST. 



11 



ruaiy again the first sets were obtained. One 

 set of four fresh eggs of tlie Great Horned Owl 

 and one set of two. badly moubatcd. f)n the 

 17th a nest containing three young birds about 

 a week old was found. This proves that in 

 this ease, at least, the eggs were dcjiosited by 

 the middle of January. The nesting of tlie 

 hawks and other owls varied in the same way. 

 As Mr. Brimley suggested, however, it was 

 only the resident birds which were influenced 

 liy the wintei-. Indeed, scarcely any dilTerence 

 was noted among the migrants, especially 

 those arriving towards the last of the seascui. 



The open winter, however, had a great effect 

 upon the arrival of the early migrants at this 

 place. The winters of 18S7-8,s and l.SS8-S!l were 

 very nearly alike, and so we find but little dif- 

 ference in the anivals for those two years. In 

 isiio. however, we notice a large difference. 

 This ditl'ereiK'c was mostly among the early 

 migrants. The following table may be of 

 interest. 



]S8S. ISSl). ISIIO. 



C.mada (loose. 8-2 L'-L'T L'-4 



Mallard, ;!-:! 2-V> --'-4 



Red-tailed llauk. :'.-:! I'-i'T i'-l"i 



Robin, 2-24 2-27 2-11 



lihu-bird. 2-21 ll-l 2-1.", 



'I'hcsc. however, were all among those that 

 migrate towards the first of the season, but 

 when we come to the later migrants we find 

 little or no difference. The f<illowing table 

 will illustrate this point, 



1,8SS. ISS!). IS'.KI. 



.")-S .")-2 4-2'.l 



")-« .■)-2 .")-l 



5-:' u - ") .">-4 



.■)-21 .Vil .-)-!:! 



Kiiigbjid, 

 Wood Thrush, 

 Rose'breasted Orosbeal; 

 Xiglit Hawk, 



Of fifty species taken at ramlom from the 

 records for ISSII and IS'.IO it is fouiul that the 

 arrivals for 1890 averaged less than one day 

 ahead of those for 1S83. So we must conclude 

 that while the winters have a decided inlluence 

 upon the early migrants, upon the later ones 

 they have little^ffect. <'iiii h'llsri/. 



Crimiell. Inwa. Dec:. 11, IROil. 



A Moonlight Adventure. 



The glow of sunset was still in the west and a 

 nearly full moon gave a clear light across tlie 

 waters. I jieered this way and that, under the 

 overhanging boughs of the live oaks, but nary 

 a duck could I see. TbinUiug they had moved 

 behind some tufts of marsh and would soon 

 stir into sight I cautiously made myself a soft 

 seat ami listened and watched for some min- 

 utes. A Little Screech Owl was easily Inlln- 

 loninij off at the right. From far down the 

 river came the vociferous tinj {i-dmi-ihui of his 

 big cousin. -Marsh hens addressed high 

 pitched remarks to each other across the 

 water; a \Vood<-ock bleated close ar haiul. and 

 far off in tlie pasture arose the wailing note of 

 the Killdeei-. It was a tranquil, lovely scene, 

 and I soon lost all though t of the ducks in a 

 drowsy, couteiiteil enjoyment of my snrKunii!- 

 ings. 



Of a suilden. all was changed. The reflectiuii 

 of many monstrous waving wings circled about 

 over the calm waters before me, and hoarse 

 I and dismal cries seemed to make the whole 

 air vibrate Fiends seemed to be all at once 

 let liiiise. :iii(l Icir a moment I wondered what 

 I had (lone that these things should appear 

 befiire nie. Hut in a moment my uneasy con- 

 science was quieted .as six Oreat Blue Herons 

 alighted on the opposite side of the pool — a 

 long, very long, gun shot off. Then came 

 doubts. Should I try the open right or the 

 choked left barrel? I decided on the left and 

 cut loose. Away went five. The other I fcnind 

 in the morning. He was a small male and, 

 strange to say for a Uecember bird, in very 

 nearly full breeding plumage. I have never 

 seen one so perfect before, previous to the end 

 of February. 



['• Why,"' I seem to hear some one say, as he 

 chucks the magazine aside, "Why couldn't 

 the tiresome fellow just say December so-and- 

 so, collected a J Xo. so-and-so, in nearly full 

 breeding plumage. Rare in this region before 

 February." Well, my dear boy, so I niiglit, 

 and you would have been just as wise if I had, 

 but some people like it the other way. Vou 

 no doubt are a scientist. They are naturalists, 

 lovers of nature, and so am I.J 



l|-«//r/- lla.rle. 

 Tiennfolt, S. C. 



.Inst back of the bouse where I am now so- 

 journing is a little pool close under the liliifT 

 where I often get a shot at a duck. "Quite 

 recently ago," as the darkies .say, I heard a 

 Mallard call in that direction, so I sallieil out 

 with my gun and crejit cautiously down to my 

 usual hiding place. It was running high tide. 



How the Data of a Large Collection 

 of Eggs are Kept. 



I have often been struck with the make-shift 

 arraugemeuts for keeping data adopted by 



