September, 1892.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



139 



Nesting of the Great-crested Fly- 

 catcher in Eastern New England. 



The Great-Crested Flycatcher {Myiar- 

 chus crifii'tus), as is the case with many 

 other birds, is becoming more abundant 

 every year. As lately as three years ago 

 I considered myself lucky if I found two 

 sets of eggs in a season, but now their 

 nests are in almost every orchard. Arriv- 

 ing by the second week in May, they fre- 

 quent the woods and orchards in search of 

 food until the latter part of the month, 

 when the nest building begins. The nest 

 is usually placed in a decayed limb of an 

 apple tree, the birds scraping out the de- 

 cayed portions until they are satisfied. 

 Sometimes the deserted nest of a Flicker 

 is used or a natural cavity in the body of 

 the tree. Tlie hole usually varies from 

 one and a half to two and a half feet in 

 depth, but one which I found was scarcely 

 eight inches. 



The nest is composed of straw, grass, 

 feathers, cast off snake skins (always) , 

 cedar bark and fur. It is completed and 

 the set of eggs laid from the fourth to the 

 ninth of June. Incubation lasts about ten 

 days ; but, as the bird is on the nest only 

 about two thirds of the time, the nest 

 usually contains one or two addled eggs 

 when the young leave. The number of 

 eggs in a set varies from five to six. Five 

 eggs are most often found and six are very 

 rare. 



The ground color of the eggs is a creamy 

 yellow, which is marked, as if done with a 

 pen, with lines of brownish-purple and here 

 and there a blotch of the same color. Some 

 eggs are evenly marked over their whole 

 surface while others have a thick ring 

 around the larger end, leaving the rest of 

 the surface thinly marked. A few eggs 

 that I have found were spotted with no 

 scratches, but I think these are very sel- 

 dom found. The measurements vary from 

 .606 inches to .701 inches in width by .807 



inches to .905 inches in length. I think 

 that the reason this Flycatcher's nest is 

 not more often found may be accounted 

 for by the fact that whenever a person 

 comes within sight of the bird it silently 

 disappears. 



I have but once heard it complain or 

 seen it appear while its nest was being 

 examined, which contrasts greatly with the 

 actions of the Kingbird, Wood Pewee and 

 other Flycatchers. 



I have heard them use but one note, a 

 harsh, loud whistle, which they utter at 

 intervals from the time of their arrival till 

 they leave, which is usually in the first or 

 second week of September. I have never 

 heard of any really good reason for the 

 use of snake skins in their nest. Some 

 nests are full of them, others have a few 

 small pieces ; but I have never as yet found 

 a nest without at least a small piece. 



I think that the theory of frightening 

 away unwelcome visitors is not correct, as 

 in several cases that I have seen the skins 

 were completely hidden by the rest of 

 the nesting materials. 



Can anyone give a good, substantial 

 reason.^ J. H. Bowles. 



Owl Acquaintances. 



When a youngster of ten or twelve I 

 had given me a pet, that I have always 

 held in the tenderest remembrance and 

 regarded as the most knowing and alto- 

 gether charming pet I have ever pos- 

 sessed. Always on the lookout for any- 

 thing in the pet line, I heard one day that 

 a lady living a few blocks from me had 

 an owl she wished to dispose of. This 

 was quite enough to send me off immedi- 

 ately in search of that charitable woman 

 who was willing to delight the heart of 

 some pet-loving little boy like myself, 

 with the presentation of that most desir- 

 able of all pets — an owl. 



The owl I had held, like the Romans, 



