THE OOLOGIST 



163 



which the female flew with loud 

 splashing wings, contained three new- 

 ly hatched and two pipped eggs. 



Three Egrets were seen flying 

 toward a nearby swamp. As large as 

 Great Blue Herons and Snow White, 

 these beautiful birds held our atten- 

 tion until the dark green of the 

 swamp hid them from view. 



Splashing waist deep through sev- 

 eral deep ditches, we entered a large 

 piece of marsh covered with high 

 marsh grass. Seeing a Marsh Hawk 

 alight a fairly short distance away, I 

 decided to investigate. Upon reach- 

 ing the nest I was pleased to find a 

 single egg and four young Hawks. 

 These young puzzled me. Two of 

 them were of about the same agt. mo 

 quite large. The other two were of 

 different sizes and each smaller than 

 the first two. Now, I have never heard 

 of this species incubating before a 

 complete set had been laid. Can any- 

 one give any further information on 

 this subject? 



Nests of the Florida Gallinule, King 

 and Virginia Rails and quite a few 

 Swamp Sparrows were also found. 

 This ended one of our most pleasant 

 trips for the season. 



H. M. Harrison, 

 Camden, N. J. 



A BIRD MARKET THAT IS A 

 "PARADISE" 



To people who love birds and small 

 animals, a visit to the ordinary bird 

 store, where the little feathered 

 creatures are prisoners in tiny six- 

 inch boxes in semi-darkness, foul air 

 and dirt, is a painful experience, al- 

 together too suggestive of a peniten- 

 tiary. But a visit to a certain bird 

 market or store in Los Angeles, owned 

 by a lover of nature who has always 

 had a passion for collecting rare and 

 beautiful pets, though only recently 



commercializing his hobby, leaves no 

 such impression. 



It is said that there is no other such 

 bird store in the world, and that even 

 the finest public aviaries in the great 

 metropolitan parks do not in many 

 respects compare with it. It comprises 

 about eighteen thousand square feet 

 of ground, placed under wire netting, 

 plentifully shaded by acacias and 

 palms, provided with grass and flow- 

 ers, among which the birds fly or run 

 seeking food, and supplied with foun- 

 tains and ponds for the water fowl. 

 It is all open to the public, and any 

 one can walk along the gravel paths, 

 with doves, quail, and other shy birds 

 almost under foot. More than fifteen 

 hundred birds, comprising about 

 eighty varieties, some of them exceed- 

 ingly rare, are at present accommodat- 

 ed. Among them are "bleeding heart" 

 doves from the Philippines, so called 

 because on the pearly gray breast of 

 each is a dull red stain exactly like 

 that caused by a shot wound; an Afri- 

 can jungle fowl, said to be the pro- 

 genitor of the ordinary barnyard fowl; 

 a white pheasant of absolutely snowy 

 plumage, and crested ducks from Hol- 

 land. With the exception of the birds 

 of prey, the small animals, including 

 squirrels, monkeys, puppies, and rab- 

 bits, run about like one big family. — 

 Popular Mechanics. — W. A. Strong, 

 San Jose, Cal. 



With this issue we close the splen- 

 did series of half-tone plates. The 

 original photographs of which were 

 furnished by Dr. A. G. Prill, of Scio, 

 Oregon. 



It is doubtful if a better series of 

 photographic illustrations has ap- 

 peared in any Natural History publi- 

 cation of America this year, and our 

 bird loving readers are certainly un- 

 der obligations to the doctor for this 

 contribution. — R. M. Barnes, 



