THE COLOGIST. 



61 



Ills., discovevocl a uest and my friend 

 shot the bird ou the nest (the female.) 

 Upon investigation we found two well- 

 incubated eggs — one of them had been 

 broken by the shot, the other I still 

 have. There must be many other cases 

 where these birds have been found nest- 

 ing in single pairs; and there can be no 

 doubt but what they do. Up to the 

 year 1884 the flights of these pigeons in 

 migrating, as seen both in spring and 

 fall, passing along the lake shore near 

 Waukegan, was sometimes wonderful. 

 Man}' times as I have watched the 

 countle^s numbers have I wondered 

 where they all came from; but after 

 having seen one of their breeding places 

 I wondered no longer. 



During these flights the woods afford- 

 ed fine sport for us young hunters, and 

 many a time have I shot from fifty to 

 one hundred before breakfast. I i-e- 

 member one time shooting at a single 

 pigeon in a burr-oak and killing nine, 

 the tree was simplj' alive with them, 

 although I saw but one on account of 

 the foliage. 



Now a pigeon is never seen in this 

 locality, when but a few years ago they 

 were so abundant. Is it a fact that the 

 Passenger Pigeon is nearly extinct? and 

 are we destined soon to speak of it only 

 as a bii'd of the past. I do not think it 

 possible that when less than a decade 

 ago they were so abundant they can 

 possibly be now near extinction. They 

 must have their breeding places still; 

 perhaps in the far north, perhaps in the 

 west, can anyone tell? if so, let us hear 

 from you. 



W. B. Porter, 



Chicago. 



The Oologist. 



Every egg-collector should be a sub- 

 scriber of at least one magazine devoted 

 to the study of birds and especially 

 their eggs. The comparatively small 

 iiumber^puljlished renders the selection 



of a favoi'ite no dillicult task. There 

 are, however, certain points to be con- 

 sidered before any choice can be safely 

 arrived at. 



In the first place, the collector must 

 decide upon the relative value to him- 

 self of the several publications. Then, 

 too, if his means are limited the ques- 

 tion of price as well as availability 

 comes up. Hence that magazine that 

 combines cheapness with reliability at 

 once commends itself l)oth to the 

 young and advanced student of orni- 

 thology. 



At the solicitation of no one, 1 can 

 reccomend, as the direct result of per- 

 sonal observation, The Oologist as 

 the magazine for the collector. Nay, 

 more. I hold it indispensable to the 

 live collector, in that it opens its col- 

 umns to the communications of those 

 inexperienced in writing. By that I 

 mean that we contributors do not re- 

 tain any bit of ornithological news that 

 might prove interesting to our fellow- 

 subscribers, because we feel that our 

 article does not teem with beautiful 

 expressions or the choicest of words. 

 Thus many A'aluable facts are disclosed 

 and preserved that might otherwise 

 have been lost. 



The special efforts of late, of the pub- 

 lisher, Mr. Lattin, to improve The Oo- 

 logist, have not been without success 

 as its many readers can testify. Not- 

 withstanding this, more is promised, 

 if, through our co-operation, the list of 

 subscribers is to any extent inci-eased. 

 An Observer, 

 Wethersfield, Conn. 



A Correction • 

 Edilor Oologist: 



A little mistake appeared in my ar- 

 lich^ which I would like corrected (Fly- 

 catcher N<}tes, P. 28.) Tile date on 

 which I collected four .'-ets of Wood 

 Pew«;e should be Aug. .id instead of 



Aug 30, '89. 



EuwAuu P. Carlton. 



Madison, Wis. 



