THE OOLOOIST. 



57 



markedly ovate; being thus, in bdth 

 shape and color, just like liliputian 

 examples of normal eggs of a Leg- 

 horn hen. All this, however, one 

 side: If it be worth while to collect 

 at all is particularly worth while to 

 verify all one's findings. The time 

 thus spent will be found invariably 

 fruitful in the acquisition of new ele- 

 ments of knowledge; and in delight- 

 ful experiences. To say nothing as to 

 the essential differences in size, form 

 and color between the two marsh- 

 wren forms one need but to contrast 

 the blithe, light and crisp "Chip-chip- 

 cher-chee-chee-chee" of the upland- 

 meadow-frequenting short-bill with the 

 more raucous and deliberate notes of 

 his fellow of the cat-tails. 



P. B. PEABODY. 



Another Odd Nesting Site. 



Seeing the article in The "Oologist" 

 by Richard C. Harlow, "The Crested 

 Flycatcher on Strange Grounds," re- 

 minds me of an experience I had. 



I was going across a plowed field one 

 hot day last summer and stopped un- 

 der a small Locust tree for shade, 

 while talking to the negro plowman. 

 On leaning heavily against the tree I 

 was surprised to hear the familiar 

 call of the Crested Flycatcher, and 

 looking up to see where the call had 

 come from, noticed a tin can hanging 

 or thf stub of a limb some three feet 

 ?l)Ovo my head. As the can was 

 slightly swaying, I decided to inves- 

 tigate, and on reaching the ground 

 with the can found a well made nest 

 and five fresh eggs of the Crested Fly- 

 catcher. The negro plowman inform- 

 ed me that he had hung the can there 

 some two weeks before, while plowing 

 that part of the field, so work must 

 have commenced in short order. The 

 can was twelve inches long by four 



by six. and while hanging on the stub 

 of limb the bottom was slightly lower 

 than the mouth, which was entirely 

 open, although close to the tree trunk, 

 thus making the entrance mostly con- 

 cealed. The date was May 29th, quite 

 late for them to have fresh eggs in. 

 this locality, and as one in a can was 

 quite a novelty, kept this as a show 

 addition to my collection. The nest 

 contained the usual amount of snake 

 skin. 



Spotted Robin's Eggs. 



In several years of collecting and 

 bird observation in Fulton county, I 

 have only found one set of eggs of 

 the American Robin that were mark- 

 ed in any way whatsoever. 



On May 19, 1904, Alan Wright and 

 I, while out for a walk south of GIov- 

 ersville, X. Y., discovered a robin's 

 nest in a willow tree, two feet above 

 the ground. The nest was perfectly 

 normal, both in size and construction, 

 but the eggs, three in number, were 

 immediately noticable because of their 

 unusual appearance. They were typ- 

 ically 'robin's egg' blue in ground col- 

 or, quite heavily spotted and blotched 

 about the larger end with a peculiar 

 shade of olive brown. The set was a 

 trifle smaller in size than the aver- 

 age, the eggs measuring: (1) 1.03 x 

 ..77 in.; (2) 1.01 x .78 in.; (3) 1.03 x 

 .75 in. The female bird was flushed 

 directly from the nest, so that mistake 

 as to identity is impossible. I would 

 be very glad to hear more about this 

 phase of the robin's economy. 



CHAS. P. ALEXANDER. 



An Egg of the California Vulture Com- 

 pared with Those of Other Vultures. 



Eggs of Cathartidae are unusually 

 handsome; the present example being 

 no exception to the rule. 



