THE OOLOGIST. 



39 



third was about one-half inch in dianir 

 eter, without the marl^ings in the 

 usual nuni'ber, they 'being few and 

 faint. This last was perfectly round 

 and spherical. 



On July 13th, 1891, I found a nest 

 about eleven feet from the ground, on 

 the horizontal limb of a small oak, 

 and about ten feet from the river. 

 The nest was very neat, resembling 

 a Robin's, but lacking the bits of rag, 

 etc., and the mud. The bird on the 

 nest was about the size of the Robin, 

 and resembled a Wood Thrush, ex- 

 cept in having brownish-black" spots 

 on the breast, tail slightly shorter, 

 and there was some peculiarity in the 

 appearance of the cheeks which I 

 cannot accurately describe. The eggs 

 were three in number; about the size 

 of, perhaps a little larger, than the 

 Robin's, but having a greenish tinge, 

 reminding one of a Cat^bird's. Of 

 what species was it? 



The game law has done much to 

 make Quail tame in Michigan. Last 

 night I saw about 13 of them in our 

 back yard, at No. 55 No. Union street, 

 in the city of Grand Rapids. They 

 were very tame and allowed me to ap- 

 proach within about 15 feet of them 

 before taking flight. But as the Quail 

 season, under the Act of 1891, is now 

 open, I i)resume that this handsome 

 game bird will soon become moi'e 

 shy. 



Grand Rajiids, Mich, Nov. 10, 1891. 

 R. G. FITCH. 



We have lately come across this; 

 undoubtedly the last contribution of 

 that enthusiastic ornithologist, Roy 

 G. Fitch, before the untimely acci- 

 dent that cut short a career of great 

 promise. — (Editor.) 



The Birds of a City Yard. 



A list of birds observed in a 60- 

 foot lot, in the residence district of 

 Springfield, Illinois, between the first 



of December, 1907, and the first of 

 September, 1908: 



1. Mourning Dove. Occasionally 

 heard in the summer. 



2. Screech Owl. Heard on two ev- 

 enings during t)he summer. 



3. Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Not un- 

 common among the shade trees and 

 ihas been seen in the yard. First heard 

 May 14th. 



4 Downy Woodpecker. A frequent 

 visitor to the premises. 



5. Red-headed Woodpecker. Pres- 

 ent almost every day during the sum- 

 mer. 



6. Flicker. Not so common at last. 

 They occasionally bathe in a pan of 

 water near the pump. 



7. Chimney Swift. First seen Apr. 

 22nd. May be seen almost any sum- 

 mer evening. 



S. Rulby-throated HimTmingbird.i 

 Appeared on several occasions, among 

 the flowers. 



9. Blue Jay. Common in the gar- 

 den and shade trees, where one pair 

 nested. 



10. Baltimore Oriole. A not infre- 

 quent visitor. A pair observed feed- 

 ing their young, in the garden, on 

 June 29th. 



11. Bronzed Grackle. First spring 

 arrival noted March 1st. About Aug. 

 20th the Grackles appeared in large 

 flocks, assembling for the fall migra- 

 tion. 



12. American Goldfinch. One was 

 seen in the garden, late in the sum- 

 mer. 



13. White-throated Sparrow. A 

 single individual visited us early in 

 the morning, for several successive 

 days, during the first part of spring. 

 He rummaged about on the ground, 

 pausing frequently to whistle his lim- 

 pid ''peabody" song. 



14. Tree Sparrow. Seen in the 

 yard but rarely, during the winter. 



1.".. Slate-colored Junco. Appeared 



