16 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Mr. John V. Crone of Marathon, 

 Iowa, Avrites: 



' H. E. Berry, formerly of Damariscot- 

 ta, Me-, now" of Boston, Mass., is a 

 fraud. Some 17 months a^o I sent him 

 eggs for rubber stamps and other eggs. 

 In the course of some six mouths, after 

 repeated "duns" I received part of the 

 eggs, the remaining balance of our ac- 

 count amounting to $8.65. I have 

 not been able to get though I have writ- 

 ten many times and have received 

 raauy promises a typical one being: "/ 

 will settle with you with good interest in- 

 side of five days," received some months 

 ngo. i am not the only one he has 

 fleeced as the following extracts Avill 

 show." 



Lack of space prevents our printing 

 the "extracts" from the letters of sever- 

 al collectors. 



Mr. Berry we believe to be honest, 

 intentionally at least, but by dealing in 

 "fut)U-es" fell by the way— with us his 

 fault has always been in promising 

 specimens thathe Avas "agoing to ob- 

 tain or collect" and during the past sea- 

 son he has apjiarently bitten oil' more 

 he could masticate. 'Mr. Berry's home 

 friends and businessmen all speak well 

 of him. 



P. B. Peabody, of Minnisota writes: — 



"Careful collectors should be on the 

 watch for Iowa, Kansas and Mississippi 

 ])arties who are sending out eggs of 

 Flicker and Mourning Dove for those of 

 Poor-will." 



In conclusion we advise, collectors to 

 make purchases and exchanges of re- 

 liable and knoioi dealers and collectors 

 only. Their j)rices nv^y seem higher or 

 their terms less advantageous but the 

 results will prove far more satisfactor3^ 



Adv;inced collector's should not enter- 

 tain the idea of exchanging with "boj^s" 

 and the latter must for the time being be 

 content to exchange among themselves. 

 We do not knowingly publish adver- 

 tisenu'uts or exchanges of any but relia- 

 ble parties, any of our readers finding 

 them othewise should promptly advise 

 us stating fidl jjarticulars. 

 NrWe will investigate the matter, and 

 if f(Muid as reported will give them a 

 gratuitous edit(jrial puff and if circum- 

 stances demand Avill place their cases 

 iu the iiands of proper Government 

 officials. 



this vicinity, ranking next to Olive- 

 laacked w'hich is our rarest Thrush. 

 They are invariably found iu dense un- 

 dergrowth on the borders of low thick 

 w^oods. Never more than one pair in a 

 place as I have observed here. 



It is a very shy bird, generally prefer- 

 ing to skulk otf ou the ground rather 

 than fly. They do not sing any such 

 song as the Wood and Wilson's Thrush- 

 es do, at least w hen I have been within 

 hearing. Their usual note is a low 

 inourntul whistle- The nest is general- 

 ly placed iu the midst of a small thick 

 bush and close to the ground. I have 

 not found any placed more than 10 in. 

 from the ground and most of m_y finds 

 were much closer. In this vicinity they 

 are made entirely of dead leases, inside 

 and out. I found a nest on June 9th 

 containing four eggs nearly fresh. 

 They w^^-e slightly smaller than the 

 Wilson's and darker colered, but in 

 some cases they resemble each othei* 

 closely. Nest as described. 



Ernest H. Short, 

 Chili, Monroe Co., N. Y. 



The Homed Grebe at St. Clair Plats. 



In the December OoLOGiST an :irticle on 

 the Horned Grebe as an abundant resi- 

 dent in this locality which I think must 

 be a mistake as during tliree seasons 

 nesting in the marshes of Detroit River 

 1 have never seen but the Thick-billed 

 Grebe, -which is very common during 

 the breeding season, and from the des- 

 cription of nest in this article I will add 

 that it is identical with tlie nest of the 

 Thick-bille(l Grebe as far as my obser- 

 vations are concerned. I will say, how- 

 evei", that Horned Grebes have been 

 shot at-the "Huts" during the late fall, 

 and I am (juite confldent that they 

 nest to the north of here. 



W. A. Davidson, 

 Detroit, Mich. 

 [A few years since Prof. H. P. Att- 

 waterseutus .several sets of the Horned 

 Grebe, collected ou Mitchell Bay, St. 

 Clair Flats, Canada side. Ed.] 



Hermit Thrush- 

 The Hermit Thrush is verv rare in 



"Our Birds in Their Haunts" 



Our Friend, the Rev. J. H. Langille, 

 of Box63,Smithsonian Institution, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, under date of Dec. 21st, 

 writes as folh^ws: 



"The subscriptions to my new edition 

 of "OurBii'ds in Their Haunts"are com- 

 ing in very hopefully; but the number 



