188 



THE OOLOGIST 



DUSKY WARBLER HAUNTS. 



A STRANGE FIND. 



On a trip to Catalina Island from 

 the 7th to Hth of April of the present 

 year, I was rather fortunate in finding 

 nests of the Dusky Warbler (A. O. U. 

 646b.) One was about two and one- 

 half, the other about four feet from the 

 ground and both in small bushes, 

 These nests were similar in construc- 

 tion — of leaves and grasses, lined with 

 very fine grass, rootlets and hair. One 

 nest contained a single fresh egg, the 

 other three well marked slightly incu- 

 bated ones. 



On the 10th, two more nests con- 

 taining eggs were found. One was a 

 typical specimen in a small sapling 

 eighteen feet from the ground con- 

 structed like the other two. It con- 

 tained four beautifully marked eggs 

 which were slightly incubated. 



The other was a peculiar nest. It 

 was composed of twigs, bark, grass 

 and rootlets, and also had a snake-skin 

 incorporated in its make up. This 

 nest was very large and bulky by com- 

 parison with the others. It contained 

 four eggs which were as peculiar as 

 the nesting materials. One was un- 

 marked and the others were si)aringly 

 so. 



A little later in the day a bird of 

 this species was found on her nest. 

 When on closer approach she flew 

 away and the nest was examined, it 

 was found to be emi)ty. She was pro- 

 bably shaping the nest for it seemed 

 complete. 



A strange fact is that these five 

 nests were found in one small canyon 

 and though many Duskies were seen 

 elsewhere, there were no signs of 

 nesting. This may have been due to 

 the presence of water in this partic- 

 ular canyon while it was lacking else- 

 where. 



While on this trip I had the pleas- 

 ure of ins])ecting several Bald Eagle's 

 nests. 



While walking along the outskirts 

 of a large swamp North of VanCort- 

 land Park, New York, I noticed some- 

 thing of a bluish hue, hanging from 

 a branch of a dead tree in the middle 

 of the swamp. Levelling my field 

 glasses upon the object, I discovered it 

 to be a rather large bird. I determin- 

 ed to investigate matters. Making my 

 way with some difficulty to the spot, 

 I found the object of my search fifteen 

 feet above my head. I attempted to 

 shin up the tree and it was only af- 

 ter three or four attempts that the 

 bird was reached and thrown down. 



It proved to be a Green Heron (But- 

 orides virescens). Several of which 

 had been noted in the same vicinity 

 the previous Spring. Its neck had 

 been caught in the fork of a branch 

 and was nearly cut in two by its at- 

 tempts to free itself. After obtaining 

 specimen feathers, it was left in the 

 murky waters of the swamp. 



K. H. Rockey. 



FRAZAR'S OYSTER CATCHER'S 

 EGGS. 



1 have always been told that Fraz- 

 ar"s Oyster-catcher (Haematopus fraz- 

 ari) laid but one egg. I never really 

 believed it, although the only sets I 

 have of this species in my collection 

 contain one egg each. These wers. col- 

 lected by A. W. Anthony in June, 1897, 

 on Xativadad Island, Lower Califor- 

 nia. 



It always seemed very queer to me 

 that the other Oyster-catchers (Hae- 

 matopus ostraligus or Haematopus pal- 

 liatus) should lay from three to tour 

 eggs and that Frazar's should only 

 lay one. 



1 was delighted to find among the 

 many sets of eggs my collector, Wil- 

 mot W. Brown, Jr., has just sent me 

 from the Cape Region of Lower Call- 



