160 



THE OOLOGIST 



which must have been brought from 

 a distance of half a mile at least, 

 since they are white hen feathers and 

 we have no white hens here on the 

 place. The nest contained two eggs 

 this morning. This hollow rail has 

 been used yearly as a nesting site for 

 a pair of Tree Swallows, if not the 

 same pair for a number of years. The 

 pair using it this year are very tame 

 as I have noticed when driving my 

 cattle to and from the pasture each 

 day. But to return to the marsh. 1 

 flushed a Black Duck and a pair of 

 Bitterns, but found no nest though l 

 made a thorough search in that vi- 

 cinity. A pair of each would be all 

 I should expect to find in a marsh of 

 the size of this, as these birds are ex- 

 clusive during the breeding season 

 Also a pair of Great Blue Herons were 

 noted. I flushed one rail, but am un- 

 able to tell of what species as I had 

 only a glimpse of the bird and am not 

 familiar enough with the rails. I at 

 once instituted a search for the nest. 

 After some time I found a nest of the 

 rail of an earlier date, which haa met 

 with an accident. Supposedly this nest 

 had been built when the water was 

 higher on the marsh, afterward the 

 water dropping somewhat and the nest 

 being then over a foot out of the 

 water became top-heavy causing it to 

 cant enough to allow the eggs to roll 

 out into the grass and water below. 

 This nest as I found it was somewhat 

 over a foot in height and six inches 

 across the top, built of coarse and 

 fine marsh grass mixed together for a 

 foundation. The nest proper composed 

 of the finer grasses. It was situated 

 in the center of an open clump of six 

 willow bushes, which were about three 

 feet in height. 



Although the bushes held the nest 

 from falling flat, yet were not of 

 sufficient strength to prevent it tip- 

 ping enough to allow the eggs to fail 



out. I found eight eggs somewhat 

 bleached by the water, but not 

 broken, in the grass at the foot of the 

 nest. A nest of the Carolina Rail found 

 on this same marsh July 22, 1894 con- 

 tained five eggs which average 1.26 x 

 85. Nest composed of dried meadow 

 grass, in saucer form (similar to the 

 one mentioned above) placed in a tus- 

 sock of grass. Of the Grebes I 

 neither saw or heard any, while on 

 the marsh. The Pied-bill Grebes in 

 former times were plentiful on the pond 

 during the breeding season. In the 

 year 1894 I found two nests on the 

 marsh, each containing seven eggs, 

 one of which I will give the descrip- 

 tion of, from my notes made at the 

 time. This nest was found May 31st, 

 situated at the edge of the marsh in 

 the water about up to my knees; a 

 floating nest about as large as a half 

 bushel basket and nearly all I could 

 lift and carry. It consisted of grass, 

 roots, reeds and cat-tails, most of 

 which were decaying. The cavity 

 was 4% inches wide by 1 inch deep, 

 holding the eggs barely out of the 

 water. The eggs were covered up by 

 decaying vegetation very nicely and 

 could hardly be noted and were warm 

 from the fermentation and heat of 

 the sun. June 9, 1895 I found a nest 

 of the Grebe which contained two un- 

 covered eggs, and around in the 

 water one young Grebe just hatched, 

 the description of, taken at the time 

 I will give. Pied-bill Grebe, young; 

 back black with six white stripes 

 down the same, the black broadest; 

 bill tipped with white (the horn like 

 substance on newly hatched fowls and 

 birds) with a dark stripe around the 

 bill back of the white, (Samuels in 

 Birds of New England, in his descrip- 

 tion of the young says, "bill without 

 transverse black band"). White sup- 

 ciliary line with a narrow stripe of 

 black underneath; top of head black 



