72 



THE OOLOGIST 



Windmill Nest Box 



—Photo by J. F. Taylor 



accord with surrounding circumstan- 

 ces that I was immediately led out- 

 doors to identify the noonday vocal- 

 ist. It was a young male Red-breast- 

 ed Grosbeak, closely attended by his 

 mother. Hopping from one station to 

 another, he frequently paused to give 

 expression to that murmured melody, 

 not the consecutive songs which char- 

 acterize the singing of the mature 

 songster, but a continuous flow of 

 touching minor measures. I took it 

 to be the first attempts of the young- 

 ster to attune his vocal mechanism to 

 the lyrics we love to hear in the ver- 

 nal season. While the promising young 

 songster practiced his measures, the 

 mother bird kept within a suitable 



distance, uttering approvingly the well- 

 known "chick," and quivering her 

 wings and tail with all the fervor of 

 material admiration. 



Yes, Mr. Editor, there are many 

 strange and interesting things we can 

 see and hear in birdland if we only 

 listen and look for them. 



P. M. Silloway. 

 Virden, Illinois. 



Index for 1912. 

 During the year 1912 THE OOLO- 

 GIST published contributions from 89 

 different contributors, and 50 illustra- 

 tions, and published observations re- 

 lating to 420 different species of birds. 

 Some "Oologist," Eh? 



