THE OOLOGIST. 



101 



eight together; tliey are as noisy as a 

 Jay and keep up a continual screaming. 

 They lly similar to a Crow while their 

 cry resembles a Jay. They are wary 

 and generally keep at a «afe distance 

 when they suspect danger. 



This is my tirst year up here and of 

 course [ had a great deal to learn about 

 our feathered friends. I soon learned 

 the name of the Nutcracker, who has 

 been nicknamed up here a s'Camp 

 Robber." My brother told me he found 

 a nest last year in April containing 

 young so I concluded they were early 

 nesters. Along in February the voicH 

 of the Nutcracker was about all si- 

 lenced, so said I to my brother, they 

 must be getting ready to keep house. 

 Time went on until one day in March 

 while logging, in passing a tren I no- 

 ticed a nest in it which 1 had not no- 

 ticed before, so I concluded it was a 

 new nest and one of the Clarke's Nut- 

 cracker. 



I watched and soon seeing some of 

 the birds around concluded they were 

 the owners. I climbed the tree which 

 was a young pine with limbs from the 

 ground up and nest about twelve feet 

 up. I looked in the nest and saw it 

 was not finished, so I waited. That 

 day I saw the old bird carry some ma- 

 terial for lining so I knew the nest was 

 nearly finished; so I waited longer. 

 One day, or rather the next day, whiles 

 hauling logs I saw the bird on, so I 

 counted ahead, if the bird laid every 

 day I would get the eggs on such a day. 

 That day came and up I went. Old 

 Mrs. Nutcracker was at home and 

 would not leave but opened her mouth 

 in surprise at the horrid being coming 

 up the tree. I reached towards her 

 but she would not leave so I took her 

 gently by the bill and pulled her from 

 the nest and held her in my hand until 

 I looked in the nest, then let her lly. 



Yes, I looked in, there were three 

 eggs and such nice ones. I quickly 

 came down and went away so the bird 



could go hack, which she soon did, and 

 I was compelled to wait for I wanted a 

 full set. Well, to make a long story 

 short, the day before 1 intended to get 

 them I passed the tree and saw the old 

 birds hopping about and picking in the 

 nest, so 1 watched them and very soon 

 concluded something was wrong, so up 

 the tree I went, when lo and behold the 

 e^gs were gone. 



A fresh snow ha<i fallen and the tell- 

 tale tracks of a \nne squirrel told the 

 story. He had got there a day ahead 

 of me. I cut down the tree and exam- 

 ined the nest, vvhich looked like a 

 Crow's nest on a small scale, and here 

 is a description of the nest as I wrote it 

 then. Outer nest of freshly broken 

 pine sticks, next a layer of bark, a 

 thick layer of dry rotten wood in bot- 

 tom, the rotten wood extending up the 

 sides a piece, then a thick lining of tine 

 inner bark. Nest was deeply cupped 

 and situated in young pine about 

 twelve feet from ground. 



The dav the squirrel got the eggs was 

 the 18th of March, 1897. I found an- 

 other nest on the 30th of March con- 

 taining young, which were about a 

 month old. The nest made same as 

 one described; another nest of last yea^" 

 on tree very near made same way. An- 

 other nest I found but eggs were gone, 

 nest built same as the others. 



I waded in snow knee deep but could 

 find no more nests. So you see why I 

 did 7ioi collect any eggs of Clarke's Nut- 

 cracker this year. 



Amos M. Pyfek, 

 Salesville, Montana. 



Oologfist Association Notes. 



Members of theOologists' Association' 

 will please forward their votes upon the 

 following amendments to the Constitu- 

 tion of the Association to the President 

 at once: 



(1) To amend Sections of Aritcle IV 

 of the constitution, by omitting all after 



