94 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-No. 6 



northern country, I added nothing more that I 

 have not before mentioned. One day I was 

 successful in seeing the large Pileated Wood- 

 pecker, and heard several others at different 

 times, but as they were very wild I was unable 

 to take one. 



In one respect my trii) here was not a 

 success, I am sorry to say, inasmuch as 

 during the entire time from June 21st to July 

 5th, I was unable to take a single nest con- 

 taining eggs ; every nest was either empty or 

 contained young at least two weeks old. 



IF. P. UadU'u. 



Nesting of the King Rail Near 

 Philadelphia. 



I was out on the meadows on the Schuylkill 

 Iliver below Philadelphia, on June 7, 18!I2, 

 looking for nests of the Swamp Sparrow 

 (Melospiza georyinnna) which breeds plenti- 

 fully in that locality, when I came across a 

 nest which amazed me. 



It belonged to the King Rail {Balhis ele<jans) 

 and contained six eggs. They proved to be 

 fresh and the bird would have undoubtedly 

 laid more, but I was afraid to leave tliem 

 owing to the number of persons fre(inenting 

 the meadows. 



This is the iirst instance that I am aware 

 of where this bird has bred in this locality. 



Isaac S. liU'JI'. 



riiilatlelpliia. 



Nesting 



of Junco 

 thurberi. 



hyemalis 



There are in the central portion of Cali- 

 fornia, places where birds, instead of migrat- 

 ing north and south, move upward and 

 downward and it is practically but a few days' 

 journey for the sub-arctic breeders to reach a 

 land of perpetual summer. Probably tlie 

 most common of all our birds to which such 

 unusual advantages are offered, are the Junco 

 {J unco hyemalis thurberi) and the White- 

 crowned Sparrow (ZonotricJiia leiicophrys). 

 Their nesting habits are so nearly alike that to 

 describe one, is practically to describe both. 



Junco hyemalis thurberi arrives at its breed- 

 ing grounds in the high Sierras at an altitude 

 of about !),r)00 feet about the first of June, and 

 by the end of the month nest building has 

 commenced. Generally the nest is placed on 

 the ground or under an overhanging bank of 



a stream. In all cases it is sunk level with 

 the surface of the earth, but even here it is 

 not safe from being trami)led upon by the 

 cattle which are driven up to these mountain 

 meadows to browse on the short succulent 

 grass which they are denied on the desert at 

 the eastern foot of the mountains. 



One nest was found beneath a pine branch 

 which had but recently been chopped off. It, 

 like all others, was made of grass with a few 

 fine twigs as a foundation. 



Three eggs constituted a set, as was evi- 

 denced by the several nests found. At this 

 time, the parents utter little less than a 

 nervous chirp, though later, after migration to 

 the lowlands, it has a note almost identical 

 with that of Parus (jambell, I think that they 

 are able to raise but one brood a season, for 

 until the middle of June snow is on the 

 ground, and by the middle of September the 

 earth is again covered with a white mnntel. 



Fred IP. Koch. 

 Twin ( )aks. Cal. 



New Publications. 



List of N. A. Birds now in the mu.seum of 

 the University of IVIichigan "Ann Arbor," by 

 Filibert Roth. The collection at the time 

 consisted of 4,308 skins. 'The yeneric and 

 specific names are taken from the latest edition 

 of Cones' Key to N. A. Birds. Contributions 

 are solicited by Prof. J. B. Steers, the curator. 



Abstract of the Proceedings of the Linnwan 

 Society of New York. All through its pages 

 appear the names of those well known to us 

 as ornithologists. Mr. L. S. Foster, we notice, 

 takes a lively interest in this society as well as 

 in the A. O. U. We quote the last paragraph : 

 "Dr. C. S. Allen supplemented his paper of 

 January 0th with additional facts about his 

 dangerous pets, and thrilled those i)resent by 

 shaking out of a bag a large rattlesnake and a 

 moccasin, alive, and then endeavoring to pro- 

 voke them to coil and strike." 



Just tiiink of that dignified assembly sitting 

 around Dr. Allen and really believing they 

 saw snakes. Whew ! 



The University Marine Biological Association 

 of Sea Isle City, N. J., founded for the purpose 

 of increasing our knowledge of American food- 

 fishes and mollusks, is an enterprise that 

 opens facilities for study of marine life that 

 should be known to the public. Full particu- 

 lai's can be obtained by applying to the above 

 address. 



