THE 001X)GIST 



155 



rough-wings; wliile those that regu- 

 larly inhabited holes in banks, 1 was 

 led to believe were bank swallfows. 



Recent literature relating to these 

 swallows implies that riparia invar- 

 iably lines its nest with feathers or 

 similar material while serripennib 

 uses blades of grass, pieces of yel- 

 low straw, and at times, horse hairs. 

 In addition to such lining there are 

 frequently found, small leaves of 

 black willow (salix nigra) ; leaflets ol' 

 the locust (Rabinia psevdo-acacia), or 

 petals from the blossoms of flowering 

 dogwood (Cornus florida). 



May 24, 1898, 1 found what I then 

 supposed was a nest of the bank swal- 

 low. It was built one foot back in a 

 burrow which had fallen away in the 

 lower part, causing the excavation to 

 extend upwards about 30 degrees. 

 This burrow, I am quite positive, was 

 not made by the swallows. The nest 

 was composed of weed stalks and 

 blades of dry grass and small leaves 

 of the willow, (salix nigra). The 

 swallows flew about near the run 

 which bordered the five foot clay bank 

 that contained the nesting hole. 1 

 watched these birds for some time 

 and concluded they were bank swal- 

 lows. After a careful examination of 

 the five eggs, and considering the con- 

 ditions of the nest and its site, 1 feel 

 sure that they belonged to Stelgidop- 

 teryz serripennis. 



A number of other nests which I 

 examined were lined with blades of 

 grass or small leaves, and none held 

 feathers. The burrows used by the 

 swallows were in most cases partly 

 excavated and abandoned ones of the 

 belted kingfisher. In several instances 

 the burrows had coved in towards the 

 entrances, and had drifted out some- 

 what, making the identity of the orig- 

 inal excavator of them quite obscure. 

 However, I feel safe in stating that 

 all holes in banks, occupied by swal- 



lows, were originally made by king- 

 fishers, and I at once concluded that 

 the birds inhabiting them were not 

 bank swallows but rough-wings; since 

 bank swallows are said to excavate 

 their own nesting burrows. 



To make further proof, 1 examined, 

 during the past spring, several swal- 

 lows and each proved to be S. serri- 

 pennis. 1 feel sure that Riparia riparia 

 does not nest in this locality. 



The Yellow Breasted Chat. 

 Mr. Edward P. Bigelow, president 

 of the Aggasiz Association, calls our 

 attention to the remarkable fact that 

 so far as his investigations go, the 

 Yellow-breasted Chat has never been 

 photographed in life. We had never 

 thought of this before, but if it is a 

 fact, it is remarkable, and we trust 

 that the cameras will shortly be point- 

 ed in goodly numbers at this yellow 

 gowned vocal acrobat. 



Happy Family. 



On June .5th, 1914, Mr. John Bell 

 called our attention to a Yellow Warb- 

 ler's nest containing four Warbler's 

 eggs and one Cowbird's egg in a tangle 

 of Prairie roses along the edge of the 

 Lily Pond Highland Park, Rochester, 

 N. Y. 



The Cowbird's egg and one of the 

 Warbler's eggs hatched out on June 

 9 and as none of the other eggs were 

 hatched the two lived in comfort and 

 good fellowship. 



The nest was visited almost every 

 day and no evidence of quarreling be- 

 tween them was seen, in spite of the 

 fact that the Cowbird was twice the 

 size of the Warbler. 



The day before they left the nest on 

 June 20, they were side by side and 

 well feathered out, the Warbler was 

 beginning to show the yellow tinge 

 beneath. Wm. L. G. Edson, 



Richard E. Harvey. 

 Rochester, N. Y. 



