The OoLOGiST. 



VOL. XVIII. NO. 7. 



ALBION, N. Y., JULY, 1901. 



Whole No. 178 



The Oologist. 



A MontMy Publication Devoted to 



OOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY AND 

 TAXIDERMY. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



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How Some Birds Capture Their Prey. 



The ruacner in waich the different 

 species of birds capture their prey is 

 very interesting to the observer. There 

 are divers, snappers borers, grubbers, 

 ficoopers, skimmeis, diggers and many 



others of devious ways. In swimmirg 

 and flying most of the birds pive evi- 

 dence of their habits of securing their 

 prey, as seen in the methods of the fly- 

 catchers and in the movements of the 

 Ducks in the water. But the habits of 

 nest construction are often quite dissim- 

 ilar from the methods of food capture. 

 We know that the Woodpeckers can 

 bore for food and at the same time hol- 

 low out their nest, but the Kingfishei^ 

 uses its beak in securing iis prey in the 

 water, and yet burrows in the sand 

 when forming its home, while tho Wood- 

 cock, which bores for its food, builds its 

 nest on the surface of the ground. The 

 Bank Swallow captures its prey in the 

 air, but burrows in the bank like the 

 Kingfisher. The Great Blue Heron 

 spears or snaps up its prey in the water 

 and yet it builds its nest of sticks quite 

 similar to the ways of many small birds. 

 There are no groups of birds which 

 have not marked variations in some 

 habits and it is interesting to note them 

 in comparison. 



Loons, Merganser.^, Auks, Guillemots 

 and many other birds secure their prey 

 by diving, and many can and do remain 

 a long time beneath the surface and 

 make long flights, so to speak, through 

 the water in pursuit of fishes. I have 

 twice seen birds swimming under the 

 water and they seemed to be flying. In 

 capturing their prey they undoubtedly 

 use their winas in a similar manner. 

 There is small chance of our seeing the 

 actual capture by these diving birds, 

 but we may reason that they secure 

 the minnows by a movement similar to 

 that of the Heron in his wadiog and 

 snapping. 



Let us compare the ways of a fewr 

 birds in securing prey from the water, 

 on the surface or near it. The Osprey 



