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TILE OOLOGIST 



same number of Sparrows and other fam- 

 ilies, and we may well be amazed at the 

 productiveness of nature under such stern 

 discouragement. — Familiar Science. 



Birds in Texas. 



Last summer 1 saw some birds' nests 

 that showed some queer tastes in the build- 

 ers thereoi", and an almost "Yankee" tal- 

 ent for making the most of any material 

 furnished. One was in the skull of an ox. 

 I suppose you all know that among other 

 things Texas is famf)us for loug-horued 

 Cattle, and people in distant States often 

 desire specimen horns as curiosities. Even 

 here, we who see so many long iiorus, are 

 sometimes astonished. 



The particular horns I speak of were 

 very long, attached to the skull and meas- 

 ured more than four feet straight from the 

 tip of one horn to the tip of the other. 

 The head was fastened to a tree near a gate 

 and has been there several years. The 

 Wrens, go in at the back of the head and 

 down about six inches, where they make 

 their nests and i-ear their young secure from 

 harm. For even the most hardened bird's 

 nest robber could not find it in his heart to 

 abuse the bird's confidence in man. 



Another pair of Wrens built in an old 

 boot that hung in a crib, and reared three 

 broods of young this year. Here, in Tex- 

 as, many birds raise two broods of young 

 during the warm weather. I also saw a 

 Humming bird's nest after it had been 

 abandoned. It was lined inside with the 

 finest down, with here and there a feather 

 woven in. On the outside the birds had 

 glued bits of moss from the trunks of trees, 

 uo one piece larger than a grain of corn, 

 and had invariably put the inside of the 

 moss against the nest, which was fastened 

 to an oak branch. The tree grew beside 

 a public road, yet so skillfully had the birds 

 fastened it, making it resemble a mere knot 

 on the limb that hundreds had passed with- 

 out discovering it. The nest was the size 

 of a small black walnut with the green hull 

 on. 



About birds using an old nest ; there are 

 two sides to that question. I know when 

 a child I was permitted to take old nests, 

 being taught that the birds never used them 

 a second time. Here, one pair of birds 

 will use the same nest during our long 

 summer, rearing brood after brood, and I 

 also know that birds have built in that old 

 skull"-previously mentioned-— for a number 

 of years. — C'tcfioi. 



Texas. 



Female Birds. 



Ornithology seems deficient in determin- 

 ing many of the female birds unless seen, 

 associated with the male during the breed- 

 ing season. It is well-known, that in many 

 species the males preceed the females both 

 in the vernal and autumnal migrations ; 

 and at such times many birds are seen 

 which puzzle the observer. I have now 

 two sprightly brown birds in with my Ca- 

 naries, and about their size and build, 

 which are females of the Indigo bird, 

 ( Cyanosjriza Cyajiea) , I think, but am 

 not certain, if both are. They have a 

 general resemblance except formation of 

 the head, the one being a little smaller. 

 The one is very fond of bathing and the 

 other does not bathe at all. Have birds of 

 the same species individual peculiarities? 

 is the inquiry. — V. M. Firor. 



General Items. 



Robin's Nest : — Feb. 10. — Saw a nest 

 in Westerly, R. I., containing four full- 

 fledged young. After the heavy snow of 

 the 15th I went to the nest, but the young 

 were not there. It had been watched by a 

 number of people with much iuterest. 



March 1, 1830. — Blue Bird's nest in 

 orchard with three eggs. B. J. Peckham. 



The Ruby-Throated Humming-Bird. 



According to ornitholigists, is supposed to 

 build in this latitude about June 1st, but I 

 have a set, nest and two eggs, collected on 

 Shelter Island, May 19, 1880. m. b. g. 



