JuxE 1891.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



85 



here rise in a slieer precipice of jagged rocks 

 and ijinnacles with not a flat place visible. 



The harljt)rs are generally magnificent, as 

 they are surrounded by high hills, with so 

 narrow an entrance that it seems marvellous 

 for a vessel to enter in a fog or at night. The 

 various towns at which we touched seem very 

 much alike, and consist of two chapels, a post- 

 office, a Salvation Army ban-ack, with a long 

 line of fish houses. 



At Bonavista Harbor the "scjuid" had set in 

 and all was excitement. About thirty boats, 

 containing from one to six men, were out 

 jigging for them, and more were coming out 

 from the shore. Tlie water was aboil with their 

 motions and the streams of water which they 

 eject on being hauled over the side. At noon, 

 on the 12th, we steamed into the harbor of St. 

 .John's once more. 



Inquiry showed us that a schooner would 

 sail for the south coast that night, and we had 

 to buy our supplies for the next three months, 

 and get them on board before 7 p.m. 



On Monday we took tiain for Placentia, and 

 were soon speeding toward the south coast. 

 At one of the stations we found a picnic in 

 progress, the first thing of the kind that I have 

 seen in Newfoundland. Everything was dec- 

 orated with flags and bunting, and everyone 

 having a general good time. 



Everywhere along the road the boys and 

 girls have great pails full of Ijlue-berries (called 

 "Hurts" in the vernacular), for wliich the 

 price seems to be about five cents a gallon. 



At Whittemore, where we waited about an 

 hour to change cars, there was a box with a 

 board cover, fastened with leather hinges, and 

 perched on top of a stick. It served the pur- 

 pose of a post-office. 



We reached Placentia in due time, and soon 

 had our goods in our old quarters. 

 (To be ( ontinued.) 



Oological Notes. 



On the 4Ui of June, ISSO, my brother and I 

 went to Sunapee in the southern part of New 

 Hampshire for a hunting trip. We went prin- 

 cipally for fish, but as we found birds (juite 

 abund.ant we also did a little nest-hunting. 

 Brown Thrushes, Redstarts, Catbirds, Chicka- 

 dees and many other common birds nested 

 almost everywhere, but we came across nothing 

 in particular till the 10th, w-hen, while walking 

 along a wood road, I saw an old stump about 



twenty feet away from the road. On examin- 

 ing I found a hole which was much smaller 

 than the entrance to a Chickadee's nest, and, 

 as there were a few feathers sticking out I 

 opened the nest and found a large cavity com- 

 pletely filled with featliers. In the middle of 

 these was the nest which, much to my disap- 

 pointment, the young had just left. If anyone 

 will tell me what this was I shall be very glad. 



We continued fishing with very fair luck, 

 catching pickerel, perch and bass, and on the 

 I3th finding two Snowbirds' nests, each con- 

 taining four eggs. One of the nests is like a 

 Song Sparrow's, only it has a thick lining of 

 rabbit's fur. It was in a bank beside a road, 

 with only a small hole for an entrance, and 

 although I knew that it must be near by it was 

 not until the third day after that one of the 

 birds condescended to fly to it, showing me 

 where it was. 



On the 16th we made the principal find 

 while trolling for pickerel. We were about 

 thirty yards from shore when my brother saw 

 a Blackbird's nest placed in an alder tree with 

 the bird on it. While rowing up to it one of 

 us remarked that it was rather'a queer-looking 

 Blackbird, and when quite close to it we saw 

 that it was an Olive-backed Thrush. I was 

 very much surprised at finding this nest liei-e, 

 as I have always understood that these birds 

 breed from Northern New England northward, 

 and I do not consider Sunapee so very far 

 north. The nest is a very bulky affair, being 

 made of bits of decayed wood and different 

 mosses, all thoroughly packed into a frame- 

 work of hemlock twigs and coarse grass. It is 

 deeply hollowed and lined inside with skele- 

 tons of dead leaves, and outside with Spanish 

 moss. The eggs were four in number, with a 

 bluish-green ground color and spotted with 

 brown and lilac. This set made a veiy welcome 

 addition to our collection. 



A little fartlier along we saw a (ireen Heron 

 sitting on her platform of sticks on the end of 

 a silver poplar branch. On climbing up to it 

 found five eggs, one of them being about twice 

 as big as the others. I supposed, and after- 

 wards found out, that it had two yolks. 

 This is the only wild bird's nest I ever saw 

 that had a double-yolked egg in it, and I 

 should like to know if they are often found. 



We found nothing after that but a Savannah 

 Sparrow's nest with five eggs and some Wood 

 Pewees and Phoibes' nests, and having had 

 good fishing we returned home very vvell 

 satisfied. J- H- 1^- 



Poiikapoag, Mass. 



