10 



THE OOLOGIST. 



patch of weeds about ten steps form my 

 door. This nest was also pensile, it 

 was about three feet from the ground. 

 The two nests were so much alike one 

 could hardly tell one from the other. 

 The last nest contained two fresh eggs, 

 they were pale bluish white, I accident- 

 ly let tliem fall on the floor. So I guess 

 you know the last so I'll tell you no 

 more. 



Kit Atkinson, 

 Dime Box, Lee Co., Texas. 



Maryland Yellow-throat; Chewink. 



In reply to Mr. A. B. Call's query in 

 Vol. 8, No. 10 of the Oologist, would 

 say, I have collected seven sets of the 

 Maryland Yellowthroat and have seen 

 .some six or eight nests with eggs and 

 young birds in which I did not take and 

 in the whole series I did not find any 

 placed on the ground as our good friend 

 Davie says they are. They are placed 

 in this locality in clumps of weeds, which 

 are mingled with flne grasses and are 

 placed from six inches to eighteen 

 inches above the ground. 



Robert Ridgewaj' in his Manual of J^ . 



A. B. says: "Nests on ov near the 

 ground supported between weeds or 

 coar.se sedge stalks, with a deep founda- 

 tion of leaves." Oliver Davie in his 

 Nest and Eggs of N. A. B. says: "Placed 

 on the ground tucked under a tuff of 

 grass." Eliot Coues in his Key to N. A. 



B. sa^'S: 'Nests on or near the ground." 

 Thus we see diversity of opinions. I 

 believe, however, all are correct for 

 l)irds of one locality use altogether diff- 

 erent nest material from some of same 

 species found in other localities.aml are 

 just as lliible to select dift'erent nesting 

 sites as to use diffei'eut matei'ial. Hop- 

 ing the note may he of interest to at 

 lea.stMr. Call. 



In Vol. 8, No. 11 i,f Oologist, Mr. 

 W. I). F. Luinmis in his article on the 

 Chewink, Chewee, Towhee, makes one 

 slight error of which I wish to correct. 

 He says that they do not dwell in fields 



pastures and clearings. I have observ- 

 ed this bird in Darke Co., Ohio, Madi- 

 son Co., Iowa and Marion Co., Ills, and 

 Itind them in greater uumbei's in clear- 

 ings, edges of woods, fence runs which 

 are lined with briers and brush than in 

 the dense timber, and think nothing of 

 seeing them in this locality in the or- 

 chards and along hedge fences in and 

 around town. I think if friend Lummis 

 will examine the clearings of Coon River 

 bottom near Des Moines he Avill find the 

 Towhee in clearings. I have and only 

 thirty miles west of his city. 

 Respectfully, 

 C. Byron Vandercook, 

 Odin, Ills. 



The Bronzed Grackle. 

 Quiscalus purpureus aeneas. 



This is one of our most interesting if 

 not most gayly colored birds. It inhab- 

 its the territoiy enclosed in the Missis- 

 sippi Valley, and those who have never 

 had the good fortune to see this bird 

 alive may know that it is ona of the 

 most energetic business-like birds in 

 category of North America avi fauna. 

 They are extremely gregarious, very 

 large flocks migrating together and 

 nesting in the same vicinit}'. They us- 

 ually make their appeai'ance from the 

 South about the middle of March and 

 leave for Avarmer climes about the mid- 

 dle of September. 



I had always supposed that our 

 (irackle was the "Purple Grackle," I 

 suppose because it was "i)urple," until 

 I received a skin of the Bronzed s"pecies 

 from a Kansas friend. It then dawned 

 upon me that our Grackle was the 

 Bronzed and not the Purple at all. 

 Then followed the task of changing in 

 mj' note books all references to the 

 "Purple Grackle" and making a note 

 in the margin as to the identity. 



The call of the Bronzed Grackle is by 

 far the most rasping, scraping sound 



