220 



THE OOLOGIST. 



peaied, no one knows how. On our 

 way home the next day I found anothei' 

 nest, but not having a hatchet we could 

 not cut into the hole. But I hope to go 

 that way again some day, as I find these 

 eggs trade well. We had left our 

 friend's house about 9 a. m. and walked 

 about 35 miles and climbed about eight 

 trees and reached home at 7 p. ra. 



George D. Chamberlin, 

 (College Park, Santa Clara Co., Cala. 



Great Horned Owl. 



(Bilbo virghiianus) . 



Dai'ing3my sojourn in Southern Miss- 

 ouri last winter and spring I gained 

 some points in regard to the incuba- 

 tion of the Great Horned Owl (Bubo 

 virginianusj which may prove inter- 

 esting to the readers of the Oologist. 



On page 504 of "Cones' Key to N. A. 

 Birds." may be found the following: 



"Eggs said to be three to six, but not 

 known to me to be more than two in 

 uuml^er." Let me here quote from my 

 note book. "March 12, 1890. Nest of 

 Great Horned Owl (B. virginianus) in 

 top of a large stump some eighteen or 

 twenty feet from the ground. Nest 

 composed of sticks, leaves, down, etc. 

 Contents, four white spherical eggs, 

 about 2.26 X 1.90 inches. Shot parent 

 bird, leugtli 23 inches extent 52 inches." 

 Here is a case of four eggs. 



I will again quote from my note book. 

 "April 4, 1890. Nest of Great Horned 

 Owl (B. virginianus) Contents, three 

 young Owls, evidently two weeks old 

 at least." One of these young Owls I 

 kept in ca}itivit3' for smne time, it 

 learned to tly in about two weeks. 

 This ca.se not only show.s th:it there 

 were more than two eggs, but also that 

 the eggs were laid quite early, allow- 

 ing the nestlings-to be two weeks old 

 and as the incubation occupies three 

 weeks, it is clear that the eggs were 

 laid about Feb. 27th. 



One more quotation from the note, 

 which I think records quite an early 



incubation. "April 14, 1890, shot three 

 of the 3'oung of the Great Horned Owl 

 (B. virginianus) averaging about 22 

 inches in length and 45 in extent." 

 All of these birds could fly, almost per- 

 fectly and were without doubt, six 

 weeks old, and allowing the three 

 weeks for incubation shows that the 

 first eggs must have been laid about 

 Feb. 10th. This is about the earliest- 

 case of which I have heard. 



Now it is my opinion that it is more 

 common to find more than two eggs 

 than it is to find that number of less in 

 the nest of the Owl in question. I also 

 remember in the spring of 1889, I dont 

 remember the exact date, the female 

 Owl of the above species kept in captiv- 

 ity at Washington Park, Chicago, laid 

 four eggs on the botttnn of the cage. 

 These eggs were given to me by keeper 

 Uessette and are now in my possession. 



J. M. DODSON. 



Another Instance of Strange Co-habitation.. 

 Mourning Dove and Flycatcher. 



While glancing over the columns of 

 the August number of The Oologist, I 

 noticed an article of peculiar interest 

 under a similar heading, and, recalling 

 an experience of like nature which 

 came under my observation a few years; 

 ago, I have concluded to contribute it 

 to the gleanings of nature for what it 

 may be worth. 



During the last of May, when out on 

 business of another nature, I chanced 

 to be driving along a road hemmed in 

 on both sides by a hedge fence of Osage 

 Orange, with here and there an occas- 

 ional stalk of the same kind, which had 

 not been pruned but had been allowed 

 to outgrow the others in height, thus 

 making a shade tree as is the custom 

 of doing in this country. Suddenly I 

 was impressed by the well-know cry of 

 the Seissor-tailed Flycatcher and, upon 

 looking in the direction of the sound, I 



