April, 1S93.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



59 



by remaining concealed near where they 

 pass to and from their feeding grounds in 

 the sandy lots and stubble fields. 



As I was getting over a hedge into a lane, 

 an Ovenbird, Scnn-jis aurocapiUus, walked 

 away in such a peculiar manner that I was 

 led to suspect a nest, and on looking around 

 a little, sure enough I saw the nest, which 

 was quite conspicuous. A little cedar bush 

 had been cut off about four inches from the 

 ground and had commenced to sprout again ; 

 at the foot of this the bird had made a slight 

 hollow and built the nest, with the cedar 

 bush for a " pillar." It was arched over 

 very neatly and faced the south, being by all 

 means the most artistically situated nest of any 

 bird I ever saw. It was made of grasses and 

 a little hair, but was so loosely put together 

 that, on taking it up, it entirely lost its shape, 

 and gave no idea of its original beauty. 



I will close these reminiscences with a 

 short account of some of our nocturnal ad- 

 ventures. My notes on the Whippoorwill 

 say "exceedingly common." On the night 

 of the 29th, during a walk of two miles, I 

 must have heard as many as 25 individuals 

 (I counted up to 15). I stayed in the 

 country four nights, during each of which 

 the moon shone brightly (full on June 3) 

 and the chorus of Whippoorwills was such 

 as I have never heard, before or since, and 

 to the ears of a city ornithologist it was pe- 

 culiarly delightful. Just about 7.30 p.m. a 

 single bird would open the concert, and 

 almost at once their weird and melodious 

 song would resound from e\'ery point of the 

 compass ; the singing continued with more 

 or less regularity till after 10 o'clock and I 

 cannot say how much longer. My host said 

 he heard one at 3 .a.m. The birds were 

 quite tame, and by stepping cautiously we 

 could approach within ten feet of the singer ; 

 but, unless he sat on the fence, it was impos- 

 sible to see him. They sang almost as fre- 

 quently from a stump or the bare ground as 

 from the fence, but always in one of these 

 three positions. The song is quite ventrilo- 



qual, sounding much nearer than it really is, 

 and, as one approaches, it does not grow 

 any louder, thus leading one to think that 

 the bird is receding. I have been deceived 

 in this way time and again and have e\en 

 fired a charge of shot at the place from which 

 I was positive the sound proceeded, and 

 where I thought I saw the bird, only to find 

 that I had missed my aim by about three 

 feet. The clucking note, preceding the 

 song proper, was very noticeable. 



This wandering over the moonlit fields in 

 pursuit of these ghost-like birds was a novel 

 experience, and gave me a very "uncanny" 

 feeling, manifested by chills up and down 

 the back and the desire to don an extra 

 coat. 



While walking across a ploughed field 

 about 9 o'clock we flushed a Vesper Spar- 

 row from her nest under an overhanging fur- 

 row ; it was sunk deeper than I ever saw- 

 one before, and contained three eggs, while 

 one cold and sandy one lay outside. 



The Nighthawk was not as common as 

 the Whippoorwill ; very few were seen in 

 the daytime and but few heard after dark ; 

 the period when the most were seen was 

 just before the Whippoorwills began to 

 sing. Then they were seen flying and 

 "booming" in every direction, the greatest 

 number being seen on the night of the 30th, 

 when as many as fifteen were flying over a 

 space of five or ten acres. 



Arthin- H. Ho-.vc//. 



Brooklyn, N.Y. 



They are having quite exciting' times in 

 Providence, R.I., and all about a Baby Ele- 

 phant. It seems that one was taken to 

 Roger Williams Park on approval. The high 

 authority decided that the price was beyond 

 the means of the Zoological funds, while all 

 the youngsters of the city approved of the 

 purchase. The press of the city took up 

 the case, and opened its columns to the boys 

 and girls. Penny subscriptions are the order 

 of the day, and we predict that " liaby Roger" 

 will remain. 



