Sept. 1889.] 



ANT> OOLOGIST. 



130 



that have been sitting two weeks, and I have 

 not known the old bird to voluntarily leave the 

 nest yet. I have been out in a boat twice to 

 look at them, and as in the case of the 

 others the old bird gets the eggs pretty well 

 covered up by the time I get to them. The 

 eggs, as in the case of the others, were al- 

 ways warm on the ujjper side and cool on the 

 under, although I once visited them before 

 the sun was up to make sure that that was not 

 tlie direct cause of their upper side being warm. 



The eggs are placed about on a level 

 with the water, and when first laid are of a 

 pea green, but soon become brown thiough 

 contact with the decaying matter of which the 

 nest is generally composed. 



I took a large series of sets of the Eared 

 Grebes about a month ago that all retained 

 their natural color owing to no decaying matter 

 being used in their nests but live grass. That 

 alone would upset the decomposing theory, 

 plenty of decaying material was at hand, but 

 they chose a variety of grass that grew on the 

 bottom of the lake in water six feet deep, and 

 this they deposited on this water moss, but a 

 gale of wind a few days after I had visited 

 them carried away all their nests and eggs. 



1 shall attentively watch the new colony near 

 my residence and will inform the readers of 

 O. & O. later. Wm. O. Smith. 



Loveland, Colorado. 



Variation in the Nesting Places of 

 the Purple Grackle. 



In the New England States the typical nest- 

 ing places of the Purple Grackle {Quiscalus 

 jjurpnreu.t) is among the thick evergreen trees, 

 but occasionally in a few localities the nest is 

 built like that of the Redwing, in low bushes 

 over or near watei". 



A third instance of its nesting differently 

 from the usual manner came to my notice at 

 Newburyport, Mass., on May 10, 1889. Tliis 

 time a pair of Grackles had chosen as a nest- 

 ing site a cavity in a dead branch of a tall 

 button- wood tree where they seemed to be per- 

 fectly contented, although a number of their 

 kind were nesting in the typical manner within 

 fifteen rods. 



The variety (Bmm is, I believe, frequently 

 f<nind breeding in a like manner, but I am un- 

 aware that the type is known to show similar 

 traits here in New England. 



Harry Gordon White. 

 Gloucester, Mass. 



Contents of the Stomachs of Certain 



Birds Collected in Brevard Co., 



Florida, Between Jan. 5, and 



April 15, 1889.* 



65. Royal Tern: 9 specimens dissected, all 

 containing small fish about four inches in 

 length. 



118. Snake Bird: .5 dissected, all containing 

 fish. 



120rt. Florida Cormorant: 2 dissected. One 

 crop empty; one crop contained a Mullet 1.3 

 inches long. 



126. Brown Pelican: No. 1 contained 72 fish, 

 average 8% in. long; No. 2, empty; No. .3, 2 

 Mullet 10 in. long; No. 4. 1 Mullet, 16 in. long; 

 No. .5, 1 Mullet, 13 in. long; No. 6, stomach en- 

 tirely empty; No. 7, 1 Mullet 10 in. long and 

 1 Mullet 14 in. long; No. 8, in stomach, 1 fish 

 7 in. long and 15 fish 2 to 3 in. long; in pouch, 

 1 fish 10 in. long and about 40 fish 3 in. long. 



lU. Florida Duck: Small shells of the fol- 

 lowing species: Cylichua orizo (lotten.), Utricu- 

 liLH canaliculatuH (Say.), Truncatella suhcylin- 

 drica (Say.). 



135. Gadwall, and 



136. Widgeon: Contained shells of Frunea- 

 tella Hubcylindrica (Say.) and small seeds. A 

 large number dissected. 



140. Blue-winged Teal: 10 dissected and all 

 contained shells of the three above-named 

 species together with the seeds of some water 

 plant. 



142. Shoveller: Contained shells. 



143. Pintail: 15 dissected, all containing the 

 shells of Truncatella sitbcylindrica (Say.). 



149. Lesser Scaup Duck : Small .shells. 

 194. Great Blue Heron: Fish, Mullet. 

 196. American Egret: Fish, Mullet 4 in. 

 long. 



199. Louisiana Heron, 



200. Little Blue Heron, 



201. Green Heron: 5 of each were dissected, 

 all containing fish of an average length of 

 6 in. 



206. Sandhill Crane : One specimen only dis- 

 sected, containing three frogs and the remains 

 of some small fish. 



248. Sanderling, 



258. Willet: All contained shells of Odos- 

 tomia impresm (Say.). 



270. Black-bellied Plover, 



273. Killdeer Plover: Contained small seeds 

 and shells. 



* The numbers on the left correspond to the 

 A. O. V. check list. 



