THE 00L031IST. 



219 



"A slumberous silence tills the sky, 



The tiekls are still, the woods are 

 • lutub, 



In glassy sleep the waters lie" 

 that the Thrasher sings at his best. 

 The low warblings turned to an even- 

 ing's song sweeter far than the music of 

 the lute, touch upon the ear like the 

 beatings of seraphic wings, and with 

 them come a feeling of content, a spirit 

 •of rest, that lulls one to the slumberous 

 land of dreams. 



The bird is a continual resident 

 wherever found. When spring blos- 

 soms with the gentle rains, the Thrash- 

 ■ers are at match-making and scarcely 

 ■has summer come before the Hedglings 

 •have abandoned the nest. The eggs 

 are of a bluish green color, dotted with 

 ■reddish brown, and number from two to 

 four, usually three. The nest is placed 

 in some thickly foliaged tree at no 

 ;great height from the ground, it is loose- 

 ly constructed of grasses, roots, twigs, 

 •and moss. The bird is a close sitter 

 ^nd remains on the nest until almost 

 touched by the hand. 



H. C. LiLLIE, 



Ann Arbor, Mich. 



Ornithologists Association. 

 Secbetary's Repokt. 



At the monthly meeting the following 

 new members were elected: 



Active mem!)ers: — Wm. McKnew, 21,2 

 "G. St., N. E., Washington, D. C. 



Con:espondiug members: — E. H. 

 ^hort, Chili. Monroe Co., N. Y.; Wm. 

 A. Achilles, Cov. 15th and Lavoca|[Sts., 

 Austin, Tex. 



Renuirks were made Ijy President 

 Langille on the Ring-billed Gull and its 

 nesting in (xeorgian I5:iy. 



Mr. Aspinwall reported the taking 

 Hluring the past scmsou (jf a act of si.\ 

 •eggs of Least Bittern at Colonial Beach, 

 Va. 



-K. J. Brown has a set of live All)iuo 



eggs of the Long-l)illed Marsh Wren, 

 that they are eggs of the Long-billed. 

 There is no doubt as they have been 

 examined by both Prof, Ridgway and 

 Capt. Bendire, who pronounced them. a 

 great freak of nature. 



Some incidents regarding the Blue 

 Grosbeak were given which I give be- 

 low supplemented by a few of my notes 

 on that bird. 



The Blue Grosbeck is rather smaller 

 than its Rose-breasted and Cardinal 

 relations and beai-s quite a resemblance 

 to an overgrown Indigo Bunting. 



Its range is rather southerly but^ it 

 has been taken as far north as New 

 York and Michigan. 



It is mentioned as a straggler only in 

 but one of live lists of the birds of 

 Chester County, Pa., hence I conclude 

 that this section (D. C) is nearly or 

 quite its uorthern-most breeding I'ange. 

 In Cones and Prentiss, Avi FaurM 

 Columbiana it is given as a summer 

 resident, rather rare, breeding. 



They state that it frequents and 

 breeds in much the same situations as 

 the Cardinal, though it is also found in 

 orchards and open grounds. 



I tirst made the acquaintance of this 

 bird in the summer of '87 when a pair 

 nested twice on my father's farm about 

 one-half mile east of the District Colum- 

 bia. As both nests were near the l)uild- 

 iug the opportunity for observations 

 was good. 



On June 24th I took the tirst nest and 

 four eggs, from the fork of a peach tree 

 aliout seven feet from the ground near 

 the barn. 



The eggs were colored much like a 

 blue-bii-ds and considerably larger. 



The nest was much neater than the 

 Carninals, was lined with horse-hair 

 and had a snake skin nicely woven in. 



In August r>f the same year the same 

 birds (evidently) nested in ii small ce(lar 

 tre(! not more than twenty feet from 

 the front of a hen-hotise wiiicli w:is 

 used by about fifty fowls. 



