July, 1892.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



109 



Oyster vs. Kingfisher. 



Some years ago I lived in tlie little city of 

 Annapolis, Md., a great place for the oyster 

 and its numerous enemies. During a walk 

 along the shores of one of the three creeks 

 that surround the place, I witnessed an 

 incident that I had read of but never before 

 seen, of tlie oyster's many adversaries. The 

 Kingfisher, in this locality, isn't the least, by 

 any meaiis. Many a fine oyster falls victim to 

 the rapacious appetite of this king of fisheis 

 during tlie sunny hours of a summer day. 



Walking along the shore looking out for 

 anything that might turn up, I noticed soine- 

 tliing black tiuttering and screaming on tlie 

 siiore opposite me across the water. Failing 

 at that distance in finding out what it was, 1 

 procured a boat and crossed over. I was sur- 

 prised to find a full-grown Kinfisher, evidently 

 hurt, lying on the sand. 1 ran up to it and 

 attempted to pick it up, but found that it was 

 attached to something in the sand. Closer 

 examination discovered its bill held fast 

 between the shells of an oyster. I soon liber- 

 ated it and found the tongue quite black from 

 non-circulation of the blood, which showed 

 tiiat it must have been held prisoner for some 

 time. This rogue was evidently caught thus : 



At flood tide the oyster opens up to receive 

 its food brought up by the rising water to the 

 shore, and at the first sign of the ebb, closes 

 ]n-omptly. Our rogue went to work just a 

 little late and found the oyster in the act of 

 closing up for the night. The bird was quite 

 weak from its struggles to free itself and 

 rested for some time in my hand before it 

 took advantage of its timely rescue. 



//. C. Hopkins. 



H.iltimore, Md. 



Late Nesting of the Great Horned 

 Owl. 



Mr. Purdy's note as to late nesting of the 

 Great Horned Owl makes the notes I have for 

 this season of probable interest. On March 

 14th, from an old nest in an isolated wood near 

 this locality, I took a set of eggs of the Bubo. 

 At the tirst rap on the tree, a gray squirrel 

 left the nest, followed almost immediately by 

 Mamma liubo. The nest contained three eggs, 

 one sligiitly stained by the blizzard of March 

 lltii, the others immaculate. This set I note 

 both for tlie unusual number and for the small 



size of the eggs, viz.: 2x1.69; 1.93x1.62' 

 1.93 X 1.62 ; incubation, 1-6 to 1-4. Mr. Purdy's 

 late date is March 20th ; but on March 31st 

 in Polk County, Wis., my brother, discov- 

 ered a Bubo's nest in a black oak thicket 

 near the top of a thirty foot oak, a very 

 unusual nesting site. The nest was a bulky 

 one, built by the Owls, and undoubtedly tlie 

 first work of the season. The nest contained 

 three eggs which were but slightly incubated, 

 one egg, at least, being subsequently blown by 

 the boy, through a hole into which the tip of 

 the blow-pipe could easily be inserted. The 

 sizes of these eggs are 2.1x1.75 ; 2.1x1.75 ; 

 2.1x1,69, the eggs being "larger" says Mr. 

 Hehne (to whom they now belong), " than any 

 I have taken in the East." 



One mile from the thicket where this nest 

 was found is a tamarack swamp where the 

 Bubos used to nest. For several years, up to 

 1888, a set from this swamp was regularly 

 brought to me. Of late the swamp has been 

 thinned out and I failed myself, on the 19th 

 of April last, of finding any nest though a pair 

 of Owls were there. P. B. Peabody. 



Owatonna, Minn. 



The Red Phalarope. 



About the twenty-first of May, a large 

 flight of these birds while passing Cape Cod 

 were driven in and quite a number secured. 

 The plumage was full. Captain Gould says, 

 " There was a large flight yesterday (21st) and 

 I collected quite a number. I never saw as 

 many. They were seen along the beach in all 

 directions. The government telephone wire 

 was certain death to many, numbers being 

 killed between here (Chatham) and Monomoy. 

 We found over forty within four hundred 

 yards of the station, but they were useless, 

 being torn and wingless from flying against 

 the wires. The following day not one was 

 seen." 



This bird is very hard to obtain, not on 

 account of its being rare, but because it flies 

 outside, beyond the reach of the collectors. 

 Another party sent us in some twenty-five, a 

 part of a lot that he had received from 

 Provincetown. There were a very few of the 

 Northern Phalaropes with them. 



The proportion of males in the entire lot 

 was about three to one and there were but two 

 in the white plumage. The birds were not as 

 fat as is usually the case. Reports were 

 received of single specimens being taken along 

 the coast. F. B. W. 



