78 



THE OOLOGIST. 



hood. N j:ir'y opp jsite Noank, on tlie 

 rjcks iu Fis ler's Island Sjiind known 

 as middle L3dgj and Clay Point Raef, 

 a small coinpan}' of Cormorants remain 

 througU the summer months. They do 

 not brjed, thju^'h a sailor picked up a 

 singe drjppad e'^^ on thase rocks in 

 the spring of '79. I did not see the 

 egg, which was djscribed as pliin white 

 and could not have been laid by one of 

 the few Hei'ring Gails which at this 

 point assDcij-te with the cormorants in 

 summer. A whipp^jrwill was shot in 

 Noank Nov. 1st. 



While skating on the Yantic C^ve at 

 Njrwich, Feb. 9th 10th and 11th 1830, 

 I flushed a Night Heron several tim^s 

 iu the open spaces of water by the 

 shore. I believe there are other refer- 

 ences to Uie presence of this wader at 

 the North in the opan winter of '79 and 

 '80. A well-grown young male Fox 

 Squirrel was shot here a few weeks ago. 

 Was this a straggler or an escaped cage 

 pet'? M^rriam says the Hooded Mer- 

 ganser is rare in Connecticut during the 

 migrations. This appears to be true 

 here as I have never seen but three 

 specimens. I hav.e a fine male mount- 

 ed, shot on a pDnd in Canterbury late 

 in October, 1883. 



Bird Notes. 



The following interesting notes from 

 Mr. Fred. T. Jencks of Prov R. I. reach- 

 ed us about the 1st of Sep. but we are 

 sorry to say, were mislaid. 



Cape M.\y Warbler. — I notice in Au- 

 gust OoLOGiST an account of a specimen 

 of the above bird being taken in Central 

 N. Y. My friend Frank S. Wright of 

 Auburn, has also a specimen that was 

 taken there. 



RjsE Breasted Grosbeak. — During 

 the past week a flock of half dozen Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeaks have been staying 

 about my neighborhood in this city, 

 three of them were eating buds in our 

 Althea Bushes at one time. 



Baltimore Orioles — are in finer Plum- 

 age at this season, then when they first 

 appear in the spring. 



Humming Birds. — During a trip 

 {hrough Centra], N. Y. and while at 

 Watkins Glenn, I took a Humming 

 birds nest, which was built on a j^iece of 

 driftwood h.ilf inch in diameter, that had 

 caught on the end of a branch about 8 

 feet from the ground. It contained two 

 eggs which were nearly hatched. 



Female Tanager. — Have you ever 

 heard of a female Tanager singing? If 

 you would like the facts I have them. 



Least Bittern. — Have heard of 4 

 nests being tdien in Rhode Island this 

 year. They are the first that have ever 

 come to my knowledge. 



Rugby, Tenn., July 17th. Found a 

 nest of Field Sparrows in an oak tree 

 five feet from the ground. It contained 

 three fresh eggs. 



July 27. S ivv in a log cabin the tar- 

 sus of a golden Eagle. It is very uncom- 

 mon to find this bird in this region. 



August 7. Shot two Red Crossbills 

 from a flock of six. Subsequently saw 

 several more and shot two. 



On June 17, tojk from a barn near 

 this city, (Boston), a set of five barn 

 Swallow's eggs. While blowing the 

 eggs in the bam, the female returned 

 and sat on the empty nest. On visiting 

 the place two weeks later, found in the 

 same nast three eggs, far advanced in 

 incubation. 



Found, a peculiar Robin's nest last 

 year. Thf locality was a thick cedar 

 swamp occupied by a colonj- of Green 

 Herons. The nest was in a cedar some 

 five feet from the ground. Its founda- 

 tions were cedar twigs, much like a cat- 

 birds nest. On these were laid the 

 usual quantity of mud and straw, inter- 

 mixed with a few leaves. The whole 

 exterior surface was ornamented with a 

 covering of moss and lichens not un- 

 like a Wood Pewee's, or Pewee Fly- 

 catchers nest. The structure was near- 



