72 



THE OOLOGIST 



nest, but the tiuy inmate refused to 

 Jnove. Meanwhile the other bii'd had 

 commeuced to circle around my head 

 and making feints as though it would 

 dash into my face. When I had com- 

 pelled the occupant of the nest to re- 

 tire percipitately, I gazed with curious 

 interest into the delicately wrought 

 nest. Its inside was lined with soft, 

 •dow^ny matter, pure white, while at the 

 bottom lay the objects of my search, 

 two tiny eggs, whose snowy whiteness 

 was only rivaled by the bed on which 

 they reposed. 



Both birds now continued to Hy 

 around my head, occasionally settling 

 on a branch, but quickly returning to 

 the wing. I confess, I felt a twinge of 

 conscience, never before experienced, 

 as I prepared to abstract the property 

 of this innocent and harmless little 

 bird, which subsisted entirely from the 

 nectar gathered from near-by flower- 

 gardens and the disagreeable insects 

 that infest the air. However, my oolo- 

 gical instincts quickly asserted them- 

 selves, and forthwith I determined to 

 to ascertain the fighting qualities 

 which they would develop in defense 

 of their home. First I made a feint of 

 i-eaching for the nest, this produced a 

 furious onslaught from the entire forces 

 -continuing for about a minute. Next 

 I placed my hand, or rather tinger, in- 

 ■side the nest; this brought into full 

 play their desperate courage, both par- 

 ties dashing toward my head, and fear- 

 lessly settling within an inch of my 

 hands, while ever and anon they would 

 return to the wing and circle round 

 ;about me and the nest, undoubtedly 

 bewailing their sad fate and the un- 

 timely end of their prospective pro- 

 geny, in sorrowful cadence, apparently 

 recognizing the uselessness of further 

 resistance. My heart went out to these 

 poor dumb creatures whose undaunted 

 courage was sufficient to excite admi- 

 u-ation in the coldest breast, but my 

 sympathy was not strong enough to 

 vcause me to relinquish my purpose and 



so I decided to put an end to the mat- 

 ter by taking both eggs and retiring 

 from the tied, leaving iheui. indeed, in 

 possession, but without the spoils. 



H. C. SCHWEIKERT. 



Bernville, Pa. 



Early Nesting- of Zenaidura 

 Macroura. 



While trimming orebard April 8, 

 1893. I found a nest of the Mourning 

 Dove, containing two slightly incubat- 

 ed eggs. The nest was composed of 

 dried grass and weed-stems and was 

 built on a horizontal fork of an apple 

 tree ten feet from the ground. 



Davie in his "Nest.s and Eggs of 

 North American Birds," mentions tak- 

 ing the eggs of this bird as early as 

 April 10; but April 8 seems an unusual- 

 ly early date for macrowa in this local- 

 ity. Frank H. Botsford. 

 Lyndonville, N. Y. 



Nests of Chimney Swift. 



A novel scheme for securing the nest 

 of the Chimney Swift is as follows: 



Take a common cigar box and on 

 one side nail a sti'ip of tin the exact 

 length of the box and reaching about 

 an inch or so above it. On the other 

 side nail a pole, anywhere from ten to 

 twenty feet in length as the depth of 

 the chimney may require. The box 

 should then be filled with cotton. 



Lower the box down below the nest 

 and then pull it up so that the tin edge 

 will sever the nest from the chimney. 

 Carefully pull the box to the top of the 

 chimney and remove the eggs. 



F. W. Parkhurst, 

 Lawrenceville, Pa. 



Ought Not to Have Advertised 

 IN THE OOLOGiST: — I received so many 

 answers to my April ad. that I could 

 not answer all — R. Neville. 



