THE OOLOGIST 



209 



The Crested Flycatcher. 



This spring my two small brothers 

 constructed several bird houses out of 

 box lumber and placed them about the 

 yard in trees and on poles. One 

 house had an opening plenty large 

 enough for the entrance of the Eng- 

 lish Sparrow, yet this species of birds 

 did not even try to build therein, to 

 my knowledge. I wondered at this, 

 for it is uncommon for Passe domesti- 

 cus. 



On the 28th of May I saw a Crested 

 Flycatcher go inside the box and re- 

 main quite a while before it flew 

 away. I had not then known of the 

 fact that these birds sometimes build 

 in prepared houses, and so thought 

 the bird only curious to see what was 

 inside. June 2, I saw some straws 

 protruding through the doorway and 

 asked one of my small brothers to 

 climb up and tell me what he saw. 

 "No," he said, "there are no eggs, but 

 look what was in the nest." He held 

 out a piece of snake skin. Right then 

 I knew the Crested Flycatcher had 

 begun to build, yet when she did that 

 building I never knew, for up to this 

 time I had seen the bird only once; 

 and the box was in such a place as to 

 be under my observation while I was 

 home. 



June 10. The bird flew out as I 

 climbed up and I found five eggs in a 

 nest in the right hand corned of the 

 box. In the left hand corner was 

 another nest containing several pieces 

 of snake skin, while the whole of the 

 box floor was covered to the depth of 

 half an inch. I thought this queer 

 proceedings. 



On June 14th, I again climbed up to 

 see how things were getting along. I 

 found the box had not been fastened 

 solidly and had shifted to one side. 

 No bird was about or in the box. One 

 egg was in the nest and another was 

 against the front wall; both in a bad 



state, I later found, and no trace of 

 the other three in evidence. 



The nest containing the eggs was 

 lined with feathers and horse hair, 

 but the other nest was unlined; 

 neither being much the worse for be- 

 ing deserted. 



I can only guess what happened to 

 nest and bird and my guess is simply 

 "Felis domestica." 



Ralph J. Donahue, 

 Bonner Springs, Kansas. 

 Oct. 5, 1919. 



NOTICE. 



We are out of copy. 



-Editor. 



STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, 

 management, circulation, etc.. required 

 by the act of Congress of August 24, 

 1912, The Oologist, published monthly 

 at Albion, N. Y., for October, 1919. 

 State of Illinois. County of Marshall. 

 Before me. a Notary Public in and 

 for the state and county aforesaid, 

 personally appeared R. M. Barnes, 

 who, having been duly sworn accord- 

 ing to law. deposes and says that he 

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1. That the names and addresses 

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 tor. R. M. Barnes. Lacon. 111.: Manag- 

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R. M. BARNES. 

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