126 



THE OOLOGIST. 



means of the rope, ou the moiuiug of 

 July 4, were blcvu easil3% without es- 

 pecial pains. 



But what a morning of what a day 

 was that June 22 to rael The sets of 

 Short-billed Marsh Wren were my first 

 find, of that species; the set of Swamp 

 Sparrow my second; while that after- 

 noon, I took at Heron Lake my first 

 set of Red-head Duck, and my third and 

 fourth sets of White-faced Glossy Ibis, 

 with a magnificent male, the first ma- 

 ture bird of this species ever taken, to 

 my knowledge, in the state of Miuneso-. 

 ta It will be long, indeed, before I 

 enjoy again a day so crowded with suc- 

 cess. 



P. B. Peabody, 



St. Vincent, Minn. 



Three Facts. 



On July 2, '93 a friend and myself 

 searched some willows bordering a 

 slough pear my residence in California. 

 I passed a Mourning Dove sitting on 

 her frail nest nine feet up in a crotch of 

 a young willow tree leaning over water, 

 to see if he would spy her. He did, and 

 farther investigation proved that that 

 nest contained three eggs, incubation 

 as follows: one addled, one fresh and 

 one badlj'. 



On May 19, '94 while strolling down 

 ihat way I was surprised to see a Dove 

 sitting on a nest in the exact crotch of 

 the same tree of the above-mentioned 

 nest. "Now for a set of three,' thought 

 I, in the way of a joke. Sure enough, 

 there were three eggs iu it, incubated 

 thus: one slight and two badly. 



Ou April 2, '94 while collecting Rap- 

 tore sets on Alisal creek, I came to a 

 nest in a sycamore at the edge of a pas- 

 ture-field. A male, Western Red-tail 

 Hawk circled and screamed softly over- 

 head and the female left the nest as I 



climbed up. Imagine my surprise at 

 finding/o«/' eggs in that nest. 



I do not feel sure Ihat the same fe- 

 male laid all the eggs iu the cases of 

 the Dove, but I do in the case of the 

 Red- tail as those she left were all about 

 the same size and shape. Only one 

 was marked and that faintly with yel- 

 lowish. The above "nestfids" were 

 taken as sets but, as accidents olten- 

 times happen, all were lost. 



L W. Brokaw, 

 West fie Id, Ind. 



The Great Auk a'^d Egg in the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 



Mounted bird:— About twice the 

 size of Razor-billed Auk, white breast, 

 webbed feet; back, tail and neck black; 

 neck white from breast, meeting the 

 black neck half way up in a triangle; 

 wings short and black; eyes black, with 

 white spots, about size of a half dollar, 

 and beau-shaped between the eye and 

 bill on both sides; bill about four inches 

 long, black with gray markings radiat- 

 ing downwards and forwards; bill three 

 inches long, three Inches thick and one- 

 fourth of an inch broad, and tapering 

 to a point. Bird was abundant on At- 

 lantic coast, now entirely extinct; none 

 seen since 1814. 



Egg:— One of three in the U. S , the 

 other two in the museum of Vassar col- 

 lege, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; and at the 

 Smithsonian Institution, WashingtonD. 

 C. This egg is quite large and a hand- 

 some specimen, being twice the size of a 

 Murre, and similar in markings to same. 

 Ground color is of dark white or buff 

 with irregular markings of brown 

 streaks principally at the larger end. 

 The egg is exceedingly rare being worth 

 several thousand'tlollar- I am told. 

 M. T. Clkcklky, M. D. 

 Philadelpliia. 



