THE C0L03IST. 



87 



found in these i-esorts. Like the Flicker, 

 lie will alight on the ground, if I)}' so 

 iloing, he can more easil}' peck out his 

 grul). 



'riic breeding season connnenccs in 

 the hitter part of Marehor tirst of April 

 and only one brood is raised. 



The nest is phieed in some high dead 

 snag or tree. 



I have taken but one set of eggs of 

 this bird and these I found by accident 

 more than anything else. While hunt- 

 ing Ijird skins, I noticed a large hole 

 way up in the top of a dead pine snag, 

 l)ut paid but little attention to it, as it 

 seemed to be an old hole. When, in 

 looking for a small warljler, I passed 

 near the root of the snag, and noticed 

 that the ground was fairly covered \\ith 

 bits of I'otten wood and bark. Looking 

 up, I found the hole to be a new one, a 

 fact I had failed to detect before. At 

 this, I found a club and began to pound 

 on the tree. For a Avhile nothing ap- 

 peared, but presently out came the head 

 and neck of a female Pileated, as if to 

 inciuire what all the disturbance was 

 about. My delight at this was without 

 bounds, but Avas somewhat cheeked by 

 the thought that I had lio climl)ing irons 

 with me, thej' being in my room at the 

 college, which was good two miles 

 distant. A walk of four miles M'as not 

 very pleasant to think of, but I could 

 not think of leaving the nest without 

 investigating it, so I put off for the 

 college. 



For brevity, I will say that after a 

 lapse of two hours, I was again back to 

 the nest. After a short rest, I strai)i)ed 

 on my climliers and securing my 

 hatchet, as I fully expected to have to 

 cut some, as I thought these birds nia<le 

 their nests very deep. Imagine my sur- 

 prise then, when, after climbing up to the 

 hole, I thi-ust in m3- hand and found 

 the hole to be only seven or eight inches 

 deep and in the centre I felt three tine 

 large eggs snugly i-ushioned on a soft 

 bed of chips. These I immediatel}- put 



in a loose pocket, a safe receptacle for 

 them during my descent. 



On examining the hole, I found the 

 entrance to be nearly live inches in 

 diameter and to extend in about as far 

 before turning down. The excavation 

 was very shallow, only seven or eight 

 inches, but very large and roomy. The 

 l)ottom was covered with soft bits of 

 rotten wood, making a soft bed for the 

 eggs. 



I was getting rather tired of hanging 

 on b}' this time, so made my descent 

 without mishap. . I next set about to 

 get the birds, Avhich, by a small degree 

 of caution, I accomplished; rather 

 cruel, to be sure, l)ur T wanted them for 

 the college museum. 



After carefully packing up my birds 

 and eggs, I started for the ccjllege, as it 

 was about time for dinner and I was 

 certainly hungry enough to eat with a 

 relish. 



Dissection showed the female's stom- 

 ach to be empty, while the male was 

 fairlj- gorged. I suppose he had been 

 to breakfast and would have soon 

 relieved his better half while she tilled 

 up. 



■ On blowing fhe eggs, I found the 

 emljryo to have just begun to form. 

 They were pearly white, very slick and 

 glossy and were, to my notion, the fin- 

 est eggs I have ever taken. 



A. L. QUAINTAXCK, 



Lake City, Fla. 



Bird Protection. 



I have come to the conclusion and I 

 am sure many others also have, that 

 there are too many egg and liird col- 

 lectors in the field. 



I do not mean this to refer to any- 

 one who really takes an interest in 

 Ijirds and desires to study them and 

 their habits, but the class of "collect- 

 oi-s" who go about pilfering nests and 

 killing Ijirds indiscriminate)}'. Their 

 manner of collecting is precisely like 



