146 



THE OOLOGIST. 



))(H'H excavated by the bird was a nat- 

 ural eavitj- in a knot about twelve feet 

 up. The bottom of the hole which was 

 as l)ig around as a peck measure was 

 covered Mith leaves and three eggs 

 were laid on the leaves 



After packing tlu^ Flicker's eggs we 

 didn't lind any more nests till we 

 reached the marsh, when we had not 

 gone three rods when a bird Hew up 

 and then Huttered along the ground 

 nnd we immediately saw that she was a 

 Wilson's Phalarope, after a few min- 

 utes search we found the nest contain- 

 ing four fresh eggs. After packing the 

 Phalarope 's eggs we Avalked clear 

 across the marsh and half way back 

 again before we found a set worth tak- 

 ing. But when about half way home 

 we had to go near a place where we, in 

 company with Mr. B. F. (toss found a 

 set of live Marsh Hawks, in 1886. I 

 thought that maybe thej- had a nest 

 there now, so I went over tliat day and 

 sure enough up Ht'W the Marsh Hawk. 

 I went up to the spot she Hew from, 

 and there lay a set of five eggs. The 

 nest was a little pile of grass about two 

 feet in diameter and eight inches high 

 with a small caxity in the top to hold 

 the eggs. [;The next and Jast set was 

 another set of four Wilson's Phalarope. 



1'lie next day Ave went on the lake 

 and obtained some line sets the most 

 curious of which was a set of live Al- 

 l)ino Swamp Sparrows, perfectly iden- 

 tified. DOX CUKKIE, 



Waukeshaw Co., Wis. 



Pallas' Cormorant. 



Fhalacrrx'oni.r per.'iiiicilldtxs. 



Newspaper clippings are sometimes 

 valuable. The following clipping- 

 taken from some paper, we know not 

 what and for which we ai'e indebted to 

 W. I. Comstock, Norwalk, Conn., is 

 valual)le in that it reminds us of an 

 overlooked and forgotten species: 



"Much attention has been drawn to 



the Great Auk in recent years by tiie 

 astonishing prices paid by collectors 

 for its skins and eggs, while Pallas' 

 Cormorant, the extinction of which in 

 the North Pacilic corresponds to tliat of 

 the Great Auk in the North Atlantic, 

 has been scarcelj' iieard of at all. Yet 

 Mr. Leonhard Stejneger, of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, states that this Inrd 

 Avas tile largest and handsomest of its 

 tribe. Only four specimens are known 

 to exist in museums, no one possesses 

 its eggs, and tiie first bones found and 

 preserved Avere obtained by Mr. Stej- 

 neger in 188.3 near the northwestern 

 extremity of Beliring Island." 



Refei'iing to Coues' Key, to learn 

 more about this overlooked bird, we 

 lind the following: 



"Deep lustrous green, aliove and 

 lielow, Avitli liluc gloss on tlie neck, ami 

 ricli purplisli on the scapulars and 

 wing-covtrts, the dorsal feathers not 

 sharp-edged nor liordered, as in all tlic 

 foregoing 'species'. 



Shafts of tail feathers (said to be) 

 wliite; if tliis holds, it is a unique cliar- 

 acter among our species. Adult with 

 coronal and occipital crests (not lateral 

 paired crests); a wl)ite liank-patch in 

 the breeding scascni; face and neck 

 with long sparse straw -yellow plumes; 

 sac orange, heart-shaped; bill blackish. 

 Large: length 36.00; wing 18.00; tail 

 7.00? 9.00? tarsus 3.00; bill (along gapeV) 

 4.00, very stout, two-thirds of an inch 

 deep at base. Nortii Pacilic Coast. I 

 have not seen this species, which seems 

 to Ix' well marked. There are no 

 known specimens in this country, and 

 none of tlie ornitliologists who have 

 latelj* visited Alaskan sliores have 

 found tlie l)ird." 



Interesting Extracts from an 1890 Note-Book. 



May 18th. To-day I collected a line 

 set of three eggs of the Summer Red 

 Bird, being my first set for this season. 



Jun(> 13th. Collected a set of live 



