60 



TRE OOLOGIST 



Tko, ©^to^ist 



OCTOBER, 1880. 



MO UN TAIN ASH. 



Ornithologists who are planting trees 

 should not forget the "Mountain Ash," the 

 berries of which remain on the tree through 

 the winter, if not devoured by birds. It 

 is a beautiful tree, and of quick growth^ 

 bearing its berries while quite young. In this 

 town we are spe,cially favored, having a 

 large number of them, so that during the 

 blustering storms of last January we were 

 visited by large flocks of Cedar Kirds. 

 These birds staid witli us in the fall as 

 long as the Wild Cherries held out, when 

 they left us, as we supposed for the south. 

 But as the winter advanced tliey came 

 back in large flocks, and remained until the 

 first of Marcli, when the Mountain Ash 

 berries being all gone, they dispersed in 

 smaller flocks over the country in search 

 of other food. ]\Iany of our more hardy 

 migratory birds would remain with us dur- 

 ing the entire winter, enlivenuig our dreary 

 winter days, if we were more thoughtful 

 in making our plantations. 



A gentleman here, not an ornithologist,, 

 informed us that a few winters ago "A 

 Robin remained all through tlie winter, and 

 it was interesting to see him fly over from 

 the 'Foundry window' to the tree and re- 

 turn several times daily. It was evident 

 from his manner of flight that one \\\\\)i 

 was injured." This Robin spent a good 

 deal of his time in the upper story of an 

 old foundry, and had it not been for the 

 Mountain Ash berries he certainly would 



not have lived through the winter, being 

 unable to migrate. 



Young trees of the Mountain Ash can 

 be had at any of oUr nurseries, and are 

 both hardy and ornamental ; or the berries 

 can be sown any time during the Fall in the 

 hedge- rows, along fences, in pastures, and 

 in open wood land, a very slight covering 

 of soil being sufficiv'nt. 



-«-«-• 



Eggs Badly Incubated. 



During ly78 we took one set of eggs 

 of Red Shouldered Hawks and found on 

 drilling one of them, that the chicks were 

 al)out ready to leave the shell, desiring to 

 save the eggs we gave one a sharp careful 

 blow with a table knife, which had the de- 

 sired effect, the egg opened- in two piec- 

 es, the chick was dropped out, and the 

 shells were put together again, and even 

 the mark of separation cannot be detected, 

 when large eggs are near the end of incu- 

 bation we sliould reccommend this course 

 but the blow must be given by a careful 

 hand. When not far enough advanced to 

 perform the above operation, and too far ad- 

 vanced for blowing out the contents, a good 

 way is to drill a fair sized hole, using 

 strong gummed pnper, through 'which to 

 drill the hole. Eggs thus prepared can be 

 placed in an ant hill and left over night, 

 when the industrious little fellows will of- 

 ten do the work better than the most care- 

 ful OoLOGiST. It is not safe to place 

 small eggs without the "ummed paper in 

 an ant hill, as they will enlarge the hole 

 by biting off tlie shell, when the specimens 

 will be spoiled for any one but the most 

 slovenly collector. 



■ A m* ■ — 



The White bellied Swallow. 



Dr. Elliott Coues in his birds of Colerado 

 Valley, nuxkes the following statement in 

 reference to this bird ; "Unlike the Barn 

 and Eave Swallows, the Glossy Viridh 

 of Wilson is a confinued hole breeder, 

 rather, jealous of the ancient customs of 

 its family, and slow to yield to the allure- 



