Feb. 1891.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



23 



A little farther on we start a Lepus 



Jack Rabbit from his form 

 among the sage brush, (Arte- 

 misia filifolia), and bounds 

 away almost as lightly as 

 though possessed of wings. 



At 100 yds. he stops, sits upon 



his liaunches and listens, then 



is off again and soon lost ro 



sight over a swell in the jirairie. 



We come to a zigzag row of Crdinysii. 

 , .,, , ^ . ,. , palliilus 



liillocKs a foot in diameter and 



•> or 8 inches high. 



It is tlie work of tlie Pocket 



Gopher, and a fresh one at the 



end shows that the tenant is 



still active. 



We leave the plain and enter Apjelaius 

 11 r.1 i-i 1 11 A i)li0Bniceus 



the Platte bottom. As we 



cross the corner of a field we 

 start a flock (+100) of Red- 

 winged Blackbirds from tlieir 

 feeding. 



.Selecting a ta'l Cottonwood 

 they alight, and commence 

 tlieir creaking chorus. 



Though ornithology and oology may he your 

 hobby you cannot afford to be blind to all el.se 

 which confronts one in the woods In the hot 

 midsummer days birds will commence to de- 

 compose even before you can reach home, and 

 require immediate attention when you are hot 

 and tired. Besides, they are in poor pluin.age 

 at this season. At such times what better 

 opportunity to turn a portion of your attention 

 to botany or entomology, or to make a collec- 

 tion of the reptiles of your region? 



To most persons there is something repel- 

 lent in a snake, and I confess I am not an ex- 

 ception to the rule. I cannot bring myself to 

 handle them. When partially stunned by a 

 blow they (the non-poi.sonous ones at least) 

 may be safely placed in stiff paper cones, 

 securely pinned up at both ends, and carried 

 in your bag or basket. You will probably find 

 them lively enough on reaching home, as the 

 following incident will show. 



The chief actoi' was a little snake some two 

 feet long, which was a very docile reptile when 

 placed in the jiaper several hours before. On 

 reaching my museum I unpinned the cone and 

 shook him into a glass jar jiartly filled with 

 alcohol. Instinct taught him that to swim he 

 must hold his head high, and he did swim out 

 of the j:ir t(i Mie table, thence to the floor, and 

 glideil around I hi' r.)om in a very lively manner. 



Groing outside in quest of a weapon of some 



kind I returned with a stick, but no snake was 



to be found. I shook all the movables and 



carefully probed under the several cabinets, 



but could feel or dislodge nothing, and half 



made up my mind that in following round the 



room he had come to the door (which I had 



left ajar in my h.aste) and made his exit. 



At intervals on the succeeding days I peeped 



in the room in hopes that he might come forth 



from his hiding place, but it was not until the 



third day that I caught |liis snakeship sunning 



in a corner. You may be sure he did not 



escape me this time for he now fills a place in 



the National Museum at Washington, D.C. 



Horace G. Smitli, Jr. 

 Denver, Col. 



Snow Buntings in Nova Scotia. 



Thui^far during the present winter I have 

 personally observed six flocks of Snowflakcs 

 near Halifax. The first, which contained 

 about thirty birds, was noted on November 

 19th, — an early date for the species toariive 

 here, although some thirty years ago it is .said 

 it occasioiLiUy made its appearance during the 

 first week of that month. The second flock, 

 numbering from fifteen to twenty, was seen on 

 December .iOLh, and another, comprising about 

 thirty, was observed on the l6th of the follow- 

 ing month. Other flocks were noted on Jan- 

 uary 2Uth (six birds) and January :ilst (one of 

 .seven, and another of over twenty birds). 

 This season the species seems more numerous 

 than it has been during recent winteis. Great 

 numbers visited us years ago, but they have 

 been steadily decreasing, until now they are 

 not at all common. Harry Piers. 



Halifax, N. S. 



Abnormal Eggs. 



Seeing an occasional notice in the O. & O. 

 under the above heading, I have a few in my 

 collection that may be noted. There are three 

 in all: One of the Kingbird (Tyrannux tyran- 

 nu.t), which is nearly spherical in shape, meas- 

 uring ..')() X ..5."); one of the Brown Thrasher 

 {Harporliyiirliii.i rufii.i). which measures 

 .4Sx.(10, and the other is an English Sparrow's 

 {Pa.tKtr diimeslicu!'), which measures .."lOx.liO. 

 All of the above are exactly like the normal 

 eggs in regard to coloration. 



.s. I!. Iiiiierxiill. 



