THE OOLOGIST. 



165 



Our Question Box. 



Qieiles to he answered la these cohimns should 

 be written on a postal or wlip of pitper— never niLjc 

 them In your luttur vviibn writing'' about other 

 matters. 



C. K. G., Pasadena. Cal. — Your de- 

 sonptiim is not sullic-ient, i)nr think 

 your bird is doubtless (Jairdiier's 

 Woodpecker. 



L. A. S., Elgin, Ills. — White eggs of 

 the Bluebird are not uneoninion. lie- 

 ports are current of their being taken 

 in almost all parts. 



P. S., Sinieoe, Out.— 1. The best 

 method of killing insects is by means of 

 a cyanide Ijottle. 



2. The "Auk" is published by L. S. 

 Foster, 35 Pine St., New Yoi'k City. 



3. A turtle can be removed from its 

 shell by placing it in i)oiling w.iter for a 

 few mcnnents, when the. softer parts 

 can be easily removeii. 



H. M., Garden City, Kans.— As to the 

 value of eggs of tin; Blacdc Rail, we 

 would say that no definite value can be 

 placed upon them; but they are rare 

 and desirable and would doubtless 

 bring anywhere from twenty-live cents 

 to five dollars per egg. As a li.^t-price, 

 we might suggest $2.00. 



W. B., Los Angeles, Cal. and A. W. 

 M. — The egg.s of the California Cla])j)er 

 Rail are worth, doui)tless, somewhere 

 from twenty-tive to fifty cents each. 

 Some- California collector can undoubt- 

 edly give a better opinion. 



A. V. T., Decorah, la.— Your little 

 Itird of a greenish-yellow color, which 

 arrives in May antl stays in l)ushes and 

 low trees, is probably the Yellow War- 

 bler. 



W. M. F., Sedalia, Mo.— 1. Your 

 eggs of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo which 

 measured respectively 1 .40 x 1.01), 1.40 

 X 1.08, 1.38 X 1.11 and 1.44 X 1.11 are 

 unusually large eggs for that species. 



2. It is impossiide to tell to which 

 species of Cuckoo your secontl set Ix;- 

 longs, from j'our descri])tion. 



A. L. T., Newark, N. Y.— The Ameri- 

 can Coot is frequently called "Mud 

 Hen." There are other water birds 

 that are also called by thi.s name. 



W. W. G., Rutland, Vt.— Three-story 



n(!sts of tlie Yellow Warlder are not un- 

 common. 



R. M. B., Clyde, N. Y.— The Red- 

 shouldered Kawk is known as the 

 "Winter Falcon." The eggs of this 

 l)ird do not measure as large as the 

 measurements j'ou give. 



Name mislaid. — 1 The eggs of the 

 Chip])iiig Sparrow are nearly always of 

 a darker blue ground than those (jf the 

 Bluebird. 



2. The Ruffed Grouse not infre- 

 quently I'aiscs two broods in a season. 



3. The Whistling Swan breeds only 

 in the high North. 



B. S. B., Phelps, N. Y.— 1. Observa- 

 tions that approach accuracy seem to 

 infer that Hununingbirds feed their 

 young by regurgitation. 



2. The nest ot the Gra.sshoppei 

 Si)arrow is placed on or sunken in the 

 ground and coiu*ealed by a thick tus- 

 sock of grass. The eggs have a clear 

 white ground-color, with a inodei'ate 

 polish, s})otted more or less thickly 

 with ])ale reddish-brown, chiefly and 

 sometimes wholly at the large end. 

 They measure about .78 x .06 in. 



3. The nest of the Savannah Spar- 

 row is a slight arrangement of grasses 

 in concentric rings, the rim Ijeing Hush 

 with the surface of the ground, in 

 which the nest is sunken. It is gener- 

 ally well concealed among the weeds 

 and tall grass. 'J'he eggs are four or 

 five, greenish or grayish-white in 

 ground-color, spottetf, speckled, and 

 blotched with light-brown and lilac. 

 Markings often very numerous. Meas- 

 urement, about .76 X .M. 



W. T. B., Philadelphia, Pa.— Your 

 Yellowbird with black head and wings 

 laj'ing a white egg, is probably the 

 American Goldtinch. 



I. C, Paducah, Ky. — Deticription in- 

 sutlicient. 



Name mislaid. — Your description of 

 nest and eggs of bird like Pha>l)e is 

 somewhat unshapely. We cannot con- 

 ceive of a bird only a little larger tiian 

 a Wren lading an egg If by IJ inches in 

 size. Your description is like the eggs 

 of either the Kingbir<l or Wood Pewee 

 only for size. 



