THE OOLOGIST 



25 



of Latin, or advancements in social or 

 professional life have in any way 

 stiffened the dispositions of these 

 nature lovers w^ho in spite of greater 

 experiences still delight to relate their 

 achievements in simple alturistic man- 

 ner. 



Whenever The Oologist is short on 

 manuscript I shall be glad indeed to 

 come across. 



Gerard Alan Abbott. 



Thank you, G. A Your copy is al- 

 W3.ys good copy. — R. M. B. 



THE BLUE GROSBEAK IN TER- 

 RANT COUNTY, TEXAS 



As I had never discovered this bird 

 nesting in Tarrant County, Texas, I 

 was more than surprised when I hap- 

 pened upon a nest near my camp. This 

 nest was found by accident. I was 

 leaving camp on a bird census trip for 

 the Government. I had got about one 

 hundred feet down the fence from 

 camp when some one yelled for me. I 

 answered back, "Well, what do you 

 want?" As I said this a' female Blue 

 Grosbeak flew from her well concealed 

 nest right in front of me. It was in a 

 low oak. I looked in and to my sur- 

 prise there were 2 Grosbeak eggs and I 

 Cowbird egg. I was tickled over my 

 accidental discovery. This was May 21, 

 1919 On May 26 there were no more 

 eggs. I had disturbed the bird several 

 times so she must have laid the other 

 eggs some where else. When this bird 

 was flushed she never would look 

 back, but keep a straight course for 

 some distant timber. It would be some 

 time before she would return to her 

 nest. 



nest. 1 went to the nest time 

 and again, trying to see the male 

 bird, but never did get a glance 

 at him The female was on the 

 nest at every observation both by day 

 and night, and of all the disturbance I 

 gave her she never deserted the nest. 

 This nest was five feet up in a small 

 oak tree near a fence by a truck farm. 



One hundred feet north of my camp 

 and two hundred feet northeast from 

 Williams Spring at Lake Worth, Tar- 

 rant County, Texa's Nest composed of 

 rags, leaves, paper and spider webs. 

 Lots of newspaper formed the under- 

 parts. Inside was made of small 

 stringy rootlets and sparingly lined 

 with horse hair. My next experience 

 with Grosbeaks, the shy little bird, 

 was on June the eighth. I was always 

 watching birds and carry a note book 

 in my pocket the year around. I take 

 notes of everything in the bird line 

 that I see, both winter and summer. 

 So after a hard day's work on Marine 

 Motors I sat down out in front of my 

 shop to take a few notes and observa- 

 tions. First came a Yellow-billed 

 Cuckoo, darting in the top of ati elm 

 tree catching a large worm, perching 

 on a limb, he soon done away with his 

 prey. Next a Bewick's Wren flew to a 

 can that I had tacked up in a tree. 

 She had a bug for one of her young. 

 A Red-bellied Woodpecker was ob- 

 served in the act of walking the under- 

 side of a limb. A Summer Tanager 

 darted by on his way to see his wife, 

 that was snugly covering four eggs 

 not a hundred feet away. A family of 

 Plumbeous Chickadees were enjoying 

 themselves as the day was passing. 

 The sun was nearly down but you 

 could hear Cardinals in every direc- 

 tion. A Tufted Titmouse was noticed 

 in the utmost top of an elm tree. Now 

 and then a Crested Flycatcher or Red- 

 headed Woodpecker could be heard in 

 the dead timber across the way. A 

 Turkey Vulture came sailing by as if 

 well contented. Just up the hill I 

 could hear the Dickclssels and Lark 

 Sparrows singing their last tune en- 

 titled The Evening Twilight. A Paint- 

 ed Bunting darted to her nest in some 

 underbrush. All at once I heard a 

 strange and lonesome note made by a 

 shy little bird, Chee chee chee. She 

 was hopping from one limb to another 

 in the top of a tree near by. Sh^ 



