68 



Journal of maine ornithological society. 



June 6, I examined the nest again. 

 It was lined with fluffy Plymouth 

 Rock hens' featliers, and seemed 

 to be completed or nearly so. 



June 10, I found one of the birds on 

 the nest. At the entrance to the cav- 

 ity was a small piece of skin covered 

 with black bristles about an inch and 

 a half long. Our next door neighbor 

 was the town treasurer and perhaps 

 they had found the tip end of a por- 

 cupine's tail. I went again the next 

 day. The bird flew off before I got 

 to the nest. I removed the tuft of 

 bristly hair and reached in. There 

 were three eggs. I took one out and 

 examined it. It seemed to be slight- 

 ly incubated. Before leaving the 

 nest I replaced the tuft of hair so that 

 the bird on returning might find 

 everything in proper condition. 



June 28, one of the birds seemed to 

 be still sitting. 



June 30, the birds were feeding 

 their young. I took care not to go 

 near the nest very often as I wanted 

 them to return next year. When I 

 thought they were nearly fully grown, 

 I climbed up and looked in, but I was 

 too late. There was about three or 

 our stalks of dead June grass and 

 nothing else. The birds had moved 

 their furniture away. This tree, 

 which is close to a fence and a large 

 spreading rock maple, has been a 

 favorite place for red squirrels, and I 

 think the snake skins was what kept 

 them away. 



A Catbird's Nest. 



As I was walking along the road, 

 June 17, I came to a place where the 

 river runs close to the road. Across 

 the river is a large, pebbly beach 

 which is a favorite place for Sand- 

 pipers. On the side of the road op- 

 posite to the river is a small, level 

 field. At one end of the field is a 

 large bank covered with a second 

 growth of hard wood. From up 

 among the bushes and young trees 

 came the liquid notes of the Spotted 

 Sandpiper. 



In nesting time. Sandpipers may be 

 found far from water and often in 

 queer places, but I had never known 

 one to be in just such a place, and I 

 thought it would be worth while to 

 look into the matter. As I went 

 along, the notes became interspersed 

 with squeaks and whistles which 

 sounded suspiciously like a Catbird. 



Then followed the Catbird's usual 

 song; and again I heard only the 

 sweet, liquid '•'■wee/, 7Wd'/" of the Sand- 

 piper. 



After I had gone some distance 

 through the bushes and young trees, 

 I came across a Catbird which silent- 

 ly watched me from the branch of a 

 tall bush. A few more steps brought 

 me to the singer. In a young sapling 

 about eight feet up was a Catbird's 

 nest. It was built of the usual coarse 

 material, but was not bulky. It rest- 

 ed on a small, bare limb against the 

 main trunk. The Catbird was sitting 

 on the nest and singing the song of 

 the Spotted Sandpiper. S. 



Avon, Me. 



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 



With the birds in Maine. By Mrs. 

 Olive Thorne Miller, Houghton, Miff- 

 lin & Co., Boston. Price ^1.10. 



Those who have read Mrs. Miller's 

 books on nature study, may well 

 know what a pleasingly written book 

 this is. It takes up several families 

 of birds found in Maine and treats on 

 them in a very pleasing and original 

 way, giving the writers pleasant ex- 

 periences with birds in different parts 

 of the state. It will be a pleasure to 

 all, to read this book. 



Auk, The, XX, No. 2, Apr. '04. 



A Review of the Wrens of the Ge- 

 nus Troglodytes, H. C. Oberholser U. 

 S. Nat. Mus. report. 



A Revision of the Am. Great 

 Horned Owls, H. C. Oberholser U. S. 

 Nat. Mus. 



Description of seven new Species 

 and Subspecies of Birds from Tropical 

 America By Rob't Ridgway, Smith- 

 sonian Inst. No. 147. 



Bryologist, The, VII, July '04, Boys 

 and Girls II, Apr. '04. Gait Coll, Inst. 

 Record, May, June, 1904. 



Forest & Stream, Jan., July, '04. 

 Me. Sportsman, Mch, July, '04. Me. 

 Woods, Mch., July, '04. Migration 

 Report, Wellington Field, Nat. club. 

 Guelph, Ont. Monthly Bulletin, Pa., 

 Dept. agr. Vol. 2, No. 2, 4. 



Nature Study XIII, No. 142, Hud- 

 dersfield Ologist, The, XXI, Apr., 

 June, '04. Plant World, The, VII, 

 June '04. The Economic Value of 

 Pa. Animals, Div. Zool., Pa. Dept. 

 agr., Vol. II No. 1. The Distruction 

 of Birds By The elements in 1903-4. 

 E. H. Forbush, State Ornithologist, 

 Wareham, Mass. 



