June, 1892.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



91 



21. White- winged Scoter (1G5). Abundant 

 during the t:dl. This species seems to be tbe 

 least shy of the three and on this account are 

 killed in large numbers. 



22. Surf Scoter (166). The most numerous 

 of the Ducks which occur at Cohasset. During 

 September tliousands on thousands pour by, 

 but, unless driven in by severe storms, Hy far 

 out of reach and furnish poor shooting. 



23. Kuddy Duck (167). Common during 

 some years and scarce during others. Easily 

 taken when plenty. 



24. Canada Goose (172). Fairly common. 

 Taken inland by Mr. C. L. Curtis almost 

 annually. 



25. Brant (H-)). Common, but hard to 



secure except during heavy storms. 



C. U. E. 

 Boston, Mass. 



Notes on the Flicker. 



Spring is here again and before many weeks 

 all our feathered friends will be hard at work 

 with nest building and egg laying, and the 

 collector's field will once more be free for him 

 to roam and enjoy himself to his heart's con- 

 tent. The professional collector, too, will be 

 reaping his harvest of eggs and skins, and the 

 outlook for 1892 is favorable for all of us. 



I want to tell you of some curious notes I 

 took last summer in various parts of the 

 country. They may not be new to some of my 

 fellow ornithologists, but they are to me. 



I was staying near Middletown, Del., a little 

 while last summer and made observations on 

 three pairs of Flickers. The first pair built in 

 a live tree within ten feet of the house and the 

 peculiarity was that the cavity was natural. 

 It was merely a hollow about six inches deej) 

 in the top of a stump caused by a dead 

 limb and was about ten feet from the ground. 

 This hollow was entirely natural and had in 

 no way been altered by the birds. 



I watched them carefully and hoped to be 

 able to discover something peculiar in the 

 birds, but after catching both the adults and 

 carefully examining their bills and feet, 1 

 could see nothing to cause them to depart 

 from the regular order of nest building of their 

 species. About a week after the young birds 

 were hatched, there came a heavy rain-storm 

 and on ascending to the tree, I found the nest, 

 which as I said was a mere cup and entirely 

 improtected, filled with water and the young 

 of the interesting family all dead. 



Another peculiar instance in the same local- 

 ity was a nest by a pair of birds of the same 

 species in an apple tree. The hollow in this 

 instance was fully a foot and a half in diamater 

 and extended to the ground, the birds enter- 

 ing through a knot hole about five feet a hove. 

 I noticed them entering and being unbale to 

 reach anything, procured an axe and cut out 

 the bottom of the trunk. The eggs were five 

 in number and laid on the ground at the 

 bottom of the hole. To make sure of these 

 birds I shot the male and have him, together 

 with the eggs, now in my possession. 



I have on record another instance of this 



sort but it being similiar to the others I will 



not relate it. I should like to know if these 



habits have been observed in any other part of 



the country as they are entirely new to me. 



M. C. Coaioell. 

 Baltimore, Md. 



A Strange Bird Shot. 



On Sunday last, Mr. S. C. Yost shot a bird 

 which is said to be a stranger in this part of 

 the world, while on Ward's island. It is said 

 to be a specimen of a bird known as the Crest 

 in the West Indies and South America, and 

 that none of its kind has ever before been seen 

 in North America. There were two of them, 

 evidently a male and female, and Mr. Yost 

 shot both, but the female bird fell on the 

 Missouri shore, and when Mr. Yost crossed 

 over from the island he was luiable to find it 

 He met five fishermen in a boat, who said they 

 saw nothing of the bird, but Mr. Yost believed 

 that they picked it up and had it under their 

 nets in the boat when he talked to them. 



The bird in the possession of Mr. Yost is a 

 beauty. It measures nine feet from tip to tip 

 of its wings and six feet from neck to tail and 

 weighs forty-eight pounds. Its body is cov- 

 ered with pure white feathers as soft as down, 

 while its wings are jet black. It has short legs 

 and four claws on each foot, and these are a 

 brilliant red. A broad crest crosses its head, 

 and this has given the species its name. 



Mr. Yost has made arrangements to have 

 the bird embalmed, and it is now being done. 

 It is no doubt a rare specimen, as not a single 

 person who has seen it ever saw a bird like it 

 before. 



Can any one identify this species? 



O. C. Poling. 



Quincy, 111., March 19, 1892. 



