140 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 14-No, 9 



320, Ground Dove: C dissected, containing 

 seeds, 



.32'). Turkey Vulture: All contained remains 

 of carrion. 



3:^0, Everglade Kite : 4 dissected, containing 

 the animals of Pomus depressus (Say,), a fresli 

 water shell, 



339o, Florida Red-shouldered Hawk: Con- 

 tained two chickens. Only one specimen dis- 

 sected, 



360, American Sparrow Hawk: Contained 

 the remains of small hirds. 



364. American Osprey: All contained Mul- 

 let. 



368a, Florida Barred Owl: Contained re- 

 mains of the white-footed rat {Hesperouiys 

 leucopiis gossj/pinus) and a skull of the Sora 

 Rail (Porzana c(trolina). 



300. Belted Kingfisher: Small fish. 



402. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 



405. Pileated Woodpecker, 



400. Red-bellied Woodpecker, 



412. Flicker: All contained berries of the 

 cabbage palmetto, 



4.56, Phoebe: Seeds, 



477n, Florida Blue-jay, 



479, Florida Jay: Insects and seeds, 



488o. Florida Crow: Cabbage palmetto ber- 

 ries. 



498. Red-winged Blackbird: Palmetto ber- 

 ries, 



501. Mexican Meadow Lark: Seeds and in- 

 sects, 



51 Iff. Florida Grackle, 



512, Boat-tailed Grackle: Palmetto berries 

 and insects, 



542o. • Savanna Sparrow, 



584, Swamp Sparrow: Seeds, 



587, Tohee : Palmetto berries, 



593, Cardinal: Palmetto berries. 



622, Loggerhead Slirike: Insects and seeds. 



636. Black and White Warbler: Insects. 



6.55, Myrtle Warbler, 



672. Palm Warbler: Palmetto berries, 



703. *Mocking-bird : Palmetto berries and 

 garden trvick, such as tomatoes, etc, 



•704, Catbird : Seeds, orange peel and a few 

 shells belonging to the genus Pupa. 



761. American Robin: Palmetto berries. 



It will be seen by the foregoing that the food 

 of most of the birds consists of palmetto ber- 

 ries. It is not known (to my knowledge) posi- 

 tively, how large a fish tlie Brown Pelican 

 {Pelecanns fusrus) will take. The largest fish 

 dissected from a Pelican's crop by me meas- 

 uied 10 inches. It has also been denied that 

 th.e Pelican carries liis food in his poucli. I 



took from a Pelican's pouch 41 fish, one meas- 

 uring 10 inches and 40 measuring 3 inches in 

 length. I know that the Pelican had been 

 flying at least four miles with the fish in his 

 pouch. F. C. Baker. 



Nesting of the Sora Rail. 



Five or six years ago a friend brought me 

 a set of sixteen eggs of the Sora Rail {Por- 

 zana Carolina) which he found in a marsh, and 

 on blowing them I found they were in all 

 stages of incubation. Some were perfectly 

 fresh while some were nearly ready to hatch, 

 I thought it strange at the time that there 

 should be so much difference in their advance- 

 ment, but concluded that tlie reason was, tliere 

 being so large a set for so small a bird, that 

 they did not get even warmth. 



Towards the last of May, 1888, however, I 

 found a nest myself of the Sora Rail. It con- 

 tained three or four eggs when found, and I 

 watched it closely. The bird laid an egg every 

 day until she had a complete set of thirteen, 

 when I collected them, on June 4, 1888, feel- 

 ing sure that I had a set of fresh eggs. On 

 blowing them, however, I found some of tliem 

 so far advanced that^I could not save them. 



Again on May 19, 1889, I found another nest. 

 It contained six eggs. There was a fresli egg 

 added to the number each day until May 26, 

 when the nest contained thirteen eggs, when 

 fearing to leave them any longer on account of 

 incubation, I collected it, hoping this time to 

 get them fresh. But strange to say some of 

 them were so badly incubated that I had to 

 drill and blow what I could, and after filling 

 the others with water, I sunk them in a bowl 

 of the same and left tliem there until the em- 

 bryos softened, and then it was with difficulty 

 that I saved them, 



I am thoroughly convinced that the Sora 

 Rail begins to set almost as soon as she begins 

 to lay, and by the time her set is completed 

 her first eggs are far advanced. It must take 

 at least ten days from the time' that the first 

 young bird appears until they are all hatched. 

 Therefore collectors who expect to take a full 

 set of fiesh eggs of the Sora Rail will get disap- 

 pointment unless they take a few of the first 

 eggs that are laid before the set is completed. 



Since writing the above, I had tlie good 

 fortune on June 16, 1889, of finding four more 

 nests of the Sora Rail, one contained ten eggs, 

 another twelve, anotlier fourtt en, and another 

 sixteen eggs; and a few days later, one of thete 



