THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



II 



large chestnut tree, the nest made of sticks, 

 and contained, March 6th, two eggs, both 

 of which had been picked by the chick, 

 and would have hatched in a few hours. 



No. 2 was in a black birch not more than 

 forty feet high, in an old crows nest, and 

 contained two eggs. 



No. 3 was in same nest as No. 2, and 

 contained three eggs. 



No. 4 was tmder fifty feet high in a 

 decayed chestnut tree, the cavity was on 

 the side of the tree and so small, that the 

 tail of the owl projected out, and to this 

 fact I am indebted for the find. The old 

 bird flew ofi at my approach, and not 

 having my climbing irons, I returned with 

 them the next day to find the owl had not 

 again been on the nest, and as it was 

 freezing weather, both eggs were frozen 

 and cracked. 



No. 5 was in a Maple tree sixty feet high, 

 old crows nest, and could easily be climbed 

 without "Irons," as cotild Nos. 2 and 3. 

 No. .'i contained 3 eggs. 



No. 6 was in a dead snag, the top having 

 blown off, leaving an uncovered cavity, a 

 snow storm two days before my visit had 

 piled in around the owl to the height of 

 eight or ten inches, leaving barely room at 

 the bottom for the eggs to rest on the 

 decayed wood, some ice and snow actually 

 being in contact with one of the two eggs. 

 To sum up, the eight nests noted : Six 

 contained two eggs each ; two contained 

 three eggs each ; two were in cavities ; six 

 were in outside nests ; three were easj' of 

 access without irons ; three were over 

 ninety feet high. 



I have frequently found the crows a 

 great help in hunting out these birds, a 

 flock of them will often follow and pester 

 an Owl for hours at a time, their continued 

 " caws " serving to locate the common prey. 

 " Orthx." 

 Kennett Square, Pa. 



Ready-made Burrov7s for the Bank 

 Svsrallow ; A Large Owl. 



1 do not have time to collect eggs or 

 watch birds, but have always, from a boy, 

 been a bird fancier, so I take The Young 

 OoLOGiST for the bird information it con- 



tains, and find it a very interesting journal. 

 Am pleased to hear of its prospective en- 

 largement. 



The perusal of Mr. Curtis' article on 

 Bank Swallows recalled to my mind a col- 

 ony of these birds I observed while living 

 in Virginia a few years ago. Several 

 miles south of Richmond, on the James 

 river, is situated the historical Drury's 

 Bluff. During the war, while the troops 

 were cannonading the enemy located on 

 the bank above, this perpendicular bluff 

 was closely perforated with erratic cannon 

 balls, thus forming ready-made habitations 

 for tliese birdburrowers, which myriads of 

 them were not slow in making available. I 

 have never, before nor since, seen so many 

 birds together ; the atmosphere over the 

 river and its banks was literally black with 

 them. 



I caught a very large and peculiar look- 

 ing owl in the Chickahominy Swamp, Vir- 

 ginia, once, or perhaps I had better .say the 

 ow! caught me. A friend and myself were 

 hunting "coons" one night, and walking 

 by a deserted cabin I was almost felled to 

 the ground by a sudden blow on the back 

 of the head (and perhaps two-thirds fright) 

 as that was the first intimation I had of the 

 presence of a third party. We succeeded, 

 however, in capturing it and I kept it in 

 the basement of a mill for several weeks, 

 after which time I removed a pane of 

 glass from a window and gave it free ac- 

 cess. It remained several months, going 

 out nights and raiding hen roosts, as I as- 

 certained later when a "darkey" brought 

 me the " last remains of his mis-spent life" 

 riddled wiUi buckshot. This was the 

 largest owl 1 ever saw. Long feathers 

 grew from the tlu-oat, very much resem- 

 bling a beard. Its queer antics and beard 

 reminded me of an ape very much indeed. 

 Its head and breast were of a light yellow; 

 I think the rest was brown. Can you. 

 from this poor description, name it ? 



I have contemplated writing you for a 

 long time, to manifest my appreciation of 

 The YorNG Oologist. I do not write 

 this for publication, yet if you think it ViiU 

 be interesting to your readers you may do 

 so, or portions of it. 



I am yours truly, 



G. D. P., Rhinebeck, N. Y. 



