THE OOLOGIST. 



09 



Siidia siali-i (Linn.). Bhu'bird. Heard 

 their gentle warbling :i.s I woke up the 

 morning of Mai'cli SJth, they having evi- 

 dently arrived in tiie niglit. 



Changes in the Habit.s of Bijju.s. 



Habia hcdovicianfi (Linn .), Rose-breast-' 

 ed Gnxsljeak. Onee this bird ])refeiTed 

 the most seeluded retreats in this local- 

 ity. Now it prefers to eome near hnnian 

 habitations. Li the summer of 1888 I 

 was called to identify a strange bird 

 that had built its nest in a shaded nook 

 of a vine covered doorwjiy ami found it 

 to be a pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks 

 that made their home there. They had 

 many a hard battle with numerous 

 European Sparrows, but alwaj's came 

 out victorious and succeedeil in I'caring 

 their young. 



A large portion of the ground in the 

 rear of tlie house was occupi<'d by 

 potatoes. While watching these Gros- 

 beaks the tirst day I visited the place, I 

 was much interested to see the male 

 Grosbeak pass down one side of a row 

 of potatoes, stripping them of the Colo- 

 rado potato beetle {Doryphora 10-liiiea- 

 la.) Since then, I have often witnes.sed 

 this habit of tliese birds. 



The nest I referred to Avas in the 

 heart of this village, one block from 

 Main St. Have often observed them 

 iil)out my own home since then. 



The Scarlet Tanager {Piranga Iwlovi- 

 ciana) vieill was more numerous here 

 last 3'ear than formerlj' and ventured to 

 breed just outside (jf corporation limits 

 and seemed to have l<jst much of theii- 

 usual shyness. Their usual cry is very 

 peculiar and rather harsh, yet they sing 

 quite melodiously. It is a bird of 

 wonderful beauty. 'J'his bird was the 

 first bird noticed to eat the Colorado 

 potato beetle. It seems strange that 

 our two handsomest birds sliould 

 delight in such horrid morsels as the 

 larvae of these beetles, yet I have seen 

 the Rose-breasted Grosbeak devour 



them with as much relish as a Roljin 

 d(jes a cherry. 



That brilliant (iem, the Indigo Bird 

 (rus.serina ci/aiiea, Linn.), which 

 usually frequents the densest thickets 

 and, like the Scarlet Tanager, has 

 hitherto been exceedingly shy, has been 

 seen several times about my village 

 home. 



Family Rallidae in Minnesota. 



Four varieties of this intei-esting 

 family have fallen under my notice dur- 

 ing the breeding .season. Namelj": 

 Virginia, Rail, Sora, Fhirida Gallinale 

 and American Coot. The.se I believe are 

 all of this family which breed here 

 regularly. 



The Virginia Rail frequents aljout the 

 same places as the Sora. Most of the 

 nests which I have taken were placed 

 in a m 'adow iiordering a lake. 



The nests are composed of last 3'ear's 

 rushes lined with liner grasses etc. 

 They are quite solid structures, l)ut are 

 generally soggj' from absorl)ing the 

 water. 



The Rails bend the surrounding 

 grasses over the nest, forming a dome. 

 This is often the means of their expos- 

 iu"e. The eggs range from ten to eigh- 

 teen in number and are a rich butf col- 

 or spotted with reddish brown. The 

 birds begin to incubate from the tirst 



The Sora prefers to iniild in more wet 

 places than the Virginia. The nesting 

 habits otherwise are sftnilar. 



They utter a pecular harsh crj* diu-- 

 ing the breeding season. I often won- 

 dered what made it until I found out 

 from a more experienced comrade. 



The eggs are difficult to describe. 

 They are a grayish-ljrown spotted with 

 dark reddish-brown. They are from 

 eight to sixteen in number. 



I have only found one nest of the 

 Florida Gallinulc. I w.is collecting 

 rellow-heuded Blackbirds' eggs in a 



