THE OOLOGIST. 



105 



l)y vviitohiug the p:irent birds t-arvy food 

 to tlit'ir yountf. Found in tlif sanic 

 licld as No. 2. Date, May 23, isssi. 



ORLEANS COUNTY AI>o. 



St^veral ne.st.s of this l)ird ha\c Ik-ch 

 toiuul in Orleans countj^ and among 

 others a set of two eggs taken l>v E. J. 

 Hotsford, of .Medina, on Mareh li», last. 



Aside from the earliness of tlie date, 

 this set is j)eeMliar in the marlviiigs of 

 the; eggs, and perliaps a deseription of 

 them will lie of interest. 



The markings of this set apjiear more 

 ilistinet than is usually tlie ease anil 

 are of a darker .shade. Egg No. 1 is 

 evenly spotted over the entire surface, 

 while, egg No. 2 is a rarity. Nearly all 

 of its si)ots are eoncentrafe(l near the 

 great end, forming a very dark wreath 

 of greenish-br(»wn thereal)OUt. Aside 

 fi'om the wreath tlie markings are very 

 sparse and each end of tlu' egg displays 

 the grayish-white background, free and 

 unmarked. This egg also has the im- 

 perfect pencilings of black near the 

 large end, common to tlie eggs of this 

 species, while egg No. 1 has no such 

 markings of black. 



The eggs of tiiis s.'t measure respect- 

 ivi'ly, .S4 X .().■) and .84 x .'J3. 



N.F. P. 



Ths Saw-whet or Acadian Soreeoh Owl. 



The Saw- whet Owl {Xiji'tuhi ih;(///c((^ 

 or Acadian Screech Owl, as it is com- 

 monly called, is the smallest member 

 of the Owl family in Eastern North 

 Ameri-'a, and is (-(tusidered i{uite rare 

 in the District of C'oliuiibia four only 

 i)eiug taken l)y the following gi-ntle- 

 men, respectively: Tiie first by Mr. 

 Fredrick Webester, tlie weil-known 

 taxadermist, the second by the .Smitli- 

 sonion Institution, the third liy Mr. A. 

 E. Colburn, and the fourth by myself 

 which I took a short time after tlie one 

 taken by Mr. Colburn. I givi^ the fol- 

 lowing measurements, etc., fiom my 

 skin. (Date, Dec. 81, IS-:;!). Locality, 



Ivy City, D. C; Sex., female; Length, 

 74 in. ;Wing,16iin.; Tail, 8 in.) The follow- 

 ing from Di'. Thomas M . Brewer's Anief 

 lean Oology gives the Habitat, etc., as 

 follows: "North to New Calendouia; 

 Dr. Tovvsend observed it in Oregon; Dr. 

 ('anibell in California; Mr. Audulion in 

 Kentucky and Louisiana; Wilson in New 

 Jersey; Mc(/neluch in Nova Scotia and 

 Dr. Hoy in Wisconsin." "Mr. Brewer 

 further states tliat he lias taken eggs in 

 northern Ohio and observed the bird in 

 various parts of New England.'" As tc 

 their nesting lie says: "The Acadian 

 Owls rear their yo'ing in the hollow • f 

 trees ofti^n only a tVw feet from the 

 ground, in the deserted nests of otlur 

 birds, in crevices of roeks and accord- 

 ing to Wilson occasionall.y con.strn.ct 

 nests for themselves among thick pine, 

 trees. Tlie eggs are of a laight cleat- 

 white and more like a woodpecker's 

 than an owl's in their crj-stalline clear- 

 ness; a specimen from northern Ohio 

 measures 1 2-16 x 14-1'5." 



W. Allison Miunarr, 

 Washington, D. C. 



[A set of five eggs of this species in 

 our possession — taken at Elk River, 

 Minn — (lo(\s not show the polished or 

 glossy surface^ — so characteristic in the 

 Woodpeckei's and some Owls. 'J'iiese 

 specimens are, however, the]nirestcf 

 white with a surface rather inclined to 

 l>e rough, bjit not polished or glossy, 

 and except in size, resemlile, exactly, 

 clean specimens of tlie Elf Owl. — Ed.j 



Pine Warbler. 



Three miles towards the .s(tut!i fiom 

 this city, lie.s a large patch of woods 

 rapidly disappearing befoi-e the yearly 

 onslaughts of the wood.sman's n\v. 

 Around it are the cultivated fields and 

 the partly cleared wood-lots of the fai' , 

 mers; witliin its ■•oulines all is chang- 

 ed. Hei'e one cuLild ea%sily imagine 

 that the primeval f-)resls iiad suddenly 

 arisen oh their old-time sites. The im- 

 mense pines reach .so far tow aid-- the 



