12G 



OUNiriinLOGIST 



[Vol. If)- No. 8 



Caprimulgidae on the Sea Island. 



The Clmck-wiirs-vvidow came on April 12tli 

 this year, and the Night Hawk on tlie istli. 

 This was about tlie right time, thongli I have 

 known them both to vary a week cither way. 

 The Chucks are now (April 20th) in full song, 

 and as near as 1 can count them there are five 

 which join in concert close about my home 

 every night, as soon as the suu gets down. I 

 shall not interrupt the mu.sic by collecting for 

 about a month, for I want them to lay first. 



The Night Hawk also lays here, and in the 

 fall migration may be calle<l " very abundant." 

 Judging from my record of times of laying, 

 they must often raise two broods. 



The Whip-poor-will may be called quite rare. 

 I have obtained it twice — on the 14th of 

 March, 1887, and the 15th of March, 1884. 

 Have also seen it November 2, 1885, and heard 

 it once when the Chuck-will'.s-widows were in 

 full blast, but omitted to record the date. 

 This latter case would seem to show that they 

 may occasionally breed with us. 



.Someone else ni.ay have a collecting pistol. 

 Finding I could not obtain No. 32 rim-lirc 

 long shells for my collecting pistol, L have 

 rigged a loading block and can now use the 

 shorts. I lengthen them with a cylinder of 

 pa])er, glued to the inside of the short shell, 

 then insert in a hole in a block that lets the 

 end come clear through and load through a 

 paper funnel, using pellets of soft newspaper 

 for wads; no wad on the shot; twist the 

 projecting end of the paper tube and ram it 

 down into the block. I find this nearly as 

 quick as the old way of loading with cut wads, 

 and the shells never stick. I can use several 

 sizes of .shot, marking on the paper with ink, 

 and it makes a nice Sunday gun for all sizes of 

 birds. I have killed Quail often and one Fish 

 Crow with it. Waiter TIo.rie. 



Nesting of Yellow Palm Warbler at 

 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. 



On tlie 2(jth day of Last month (May), when 

 hunting for my Ruby Kinglet nest, I tramped 

 to and fro pretty considerably over a swampy 

 piece of ground, and, while thus covering tlie 

 ground, 1 startled from beneath my feet a 

 yellowish-looking bird, that fluttered along 

 dragging its wings and spreading the tail, show- 

 ing a couple of white spots on end of tail 

 feathers. I knew at once that the nest was 

 near, and, dropping my handkerchief to mark 



the spot, I set to work, and in a very little 

 while was rewarded by finding the nest. This 

 was placed in a wet, damp piece of ground, 

 sunk a little below level of the soil and covere<l 

 over and partially concealed by a dead branch. 

 It contained four eggs. Aflcr examining it 

 for a while, I marked the spot, and resumed 

 my search for the Kinglets. After locating 

 the Kinglets, which took me from 2 o'clock 

 until 5.15, I came back to the nest on the 

 ground, and, drawing near it very carefully, 

 started the bird oil, and then, am sorry to say, 

 1 had to "gather her in," and, through your 

 kindness, she was identified A. O. U., No. 

 <JT2a. The dimensions of the nest are as 

 follows: Depth outside, from tcqi to bottom, 

 two and one-half inches; circumference out- 

 side on top, eleven and one-half inches; cir- 

 cumference outside at bottom, nine and three- 

 fourths inches; depth inside, one and three- 

 fourths inches; breadth inside, two inches. 

 Outside is made of grasses, stalks, pieces of 

 mo.ss, fine roots and hay. Inside is lined with 

 very fine grass, then a few black horse hairs, 

 and then a complete lining of feathers. The 

 eggs are about the size of those of the Black- 

 throated Green. They have a white back- 

 ground with a faint reddisli tinge, marked at 

 the larger end with a ring of blotches of red 

 and brown. Here and there in the ring ap- 

 pear some large blotches. The rest of the 

 egg is plain, dotted faintly with red, with one 

 or two scattering large blotches. 



I have never noticed this bird stay about 

 here before in the breeding se.a.son. Have 

 seen an odd one in the early part of the 

 season, and .again towards the fall, when they 

 are migrating, and therefore consider my find 

 a rare one. 11. Austen. 



The latest trust that h.as been formed is for 

 the purpose of securing all the available elk 

 heads ami horns that can be procuied, says 

 the Cathlamet Gazette. It is a well-known 

 fact that elk are getting steadily scarcer, and 

 in a few years they will be extinct like the 

 buffalo. Elk horns, when polished and 

 mounted by a skilled taxidermist, are very 

 beautiful and make handsome hall ornaments. 

 The elk trust has now parties out in the 

 mountains in Eastern Oregon, securing all 

 the elk heads that can be procured. John 

 W.allacky, a famous Indian elk hunter of this 

 place, has been out this week hunting elk. 

 lie says he has been otTcred ip50 apiece for all 

 the good specimens he can get by this 

 company. 



