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THE OOLOOISt 



before me. It was indeed a fine old 

 male Vulture and in fair condition, 

 though the stomach was entirely 

 empty. It measured 36 inches from 

 tip to tip and 34 inches in length. 

 Though formerly quite common here, 

 I have not seen one for many years 

 and have been unsuccessful in getting 

 one from the South. It is almost a 

 sacrilege to kill one down there. How- 

 ever, I succeeded in getting a fine 

 black Vulture from Wirz of Augusta, 

 Ga. Forty years ago Buzzards were 

 very common here in Pulton County 

 but since the law now requires that 

 all dead stock must be buried or 

 burned, they have doubtless found 

 such hard picking that they have de- 

 serted the county for localities where 

 people are not so particular. The 

 writer has seen 40 to 50 at a time 

 perched along a fence where a dead 

 horse or cow was lying. Our time, 

 many years ago, when turkey hunting, 

 just at the dusk of evening and slip- 

 ping up little creek bottom, a half 

 dozen turkey were flushed from the 

 roost and went straight up the hollow. 

 Hearing some alighting in the trees 

 several hundred yards up, I followed, 

 and though it became night, I dis- 

 cerned a big bird sitting on an old 

 white oak that leaned far out in the 

 little creek. At the crack of the gun 

 the bird came tumbling to the ground, 

 and running up to secure my big tur- 

 key I was much disgusted to find in- 

 stead an old Buzzard lying on his 

 back in the water and heaving up 

 Jonah. But 1 was not to be deprived 

 of my turkey for hearing one light in 

 some oaks in a field a quarter of a 

 mile south I lined the direction and 

 cautiously approaching located him 

 by the bright moonlight in the very 

 top of a small sapling and he was my 

 meat, a fine goung gobbler. 



The last Buzzard of which I have 

 knowledge before this one fell to my 



lot, was secured by some miners, on 

 a Sunday at the little mining village 

 Dumfermline, in this county. Those 

 foreigners usually put in their Sun- 

 days hunting and everything that 

 wears feathers is game to them. On 

 this occasion they had secured "one 

 big bird," and had a feast. Next 

 morning they failed to report for work, 

 and the boss repaired to their shacks 

 to know the reason why. Their 

 spokesman informed him, "We no 

 work. Sick like belle. Eat too much 

 big chick." He made investigation 

 and found they had the day before 

 killed an old buzzard and feasted with 

 the above results. The Buzzard is 

 about as unattractive, ungainly bird 

 as one would wish to see and yet in 

 their flight and great circles, one of 

 wonderful grace and beauty. In my 

 earlier collecting days I occasionally 

 found their nests in the big sycamore 

 stubs on Spoon River and once found 

 a nest in a big hollow log. The eggs 

 invariably two as big as a turkey and 

 very attractive with their chocolate, 

 brown, and white markings. No nest- 

 ing material was ever used and the 

 old bird would utter grunting sounds 

 followed by a hiss like a goose. 



Dr. W. S. Strode, 



Lewlstou, 111. 

 We have a number of sets of the 

 eggs of this bird taken by ourselves 

 at Lacon, 111. They are now rare. 



—Editor. 



Wisconsin Bird Notes. 



June 2, 1918, 2:50 a. m. flrst notes 

 of American Bittern; 3:00, Purple 

 Martin; 3:10, American Robin and 

 Catbird; 3:15, Catbird and American 

 Robin; 4:30, Baltimore Oriole; 4:40, 

 Mourning Dove, Rail; 5:00, House 

 Wren, English Sparrow last but not 

 least. 



Page 58, column 2, Oologist for 

 April, 1919, does Mr. L. E. Healy 



