134 



THE MUSEUM. 



Canal. 



Anadonta Benedictii, Lea. Erie Canal. 



" edentula, Say. Long Pond. 



" excurvata.DeKay.Pittsford. 



Ferussaciana, Lea. Erie 



Canal. 



Anadonta ferruginea, Lea. Genesee 



River. 

 Anadonta Huviatilis, Dill. Aliens Creek. 

 " fragilis, Lam. Pittsford. 



imbecillis, Say. Irondequoit 

 Bay. 

 Anadonta implicata, Say. Charlotte. 

 " Lewisii, Lea. Erie Canal. 



" salmonia, Lea. Erie Canal. 

 " undulata, Say. 

 " subcylindracea, Lea. Iron- 

 dequoit Bay. 

 Sphaerium similis, Say. Erie Canal. 

 " partumeium. Say. Genesee 

 River. 

 Pisidium variabile, Prime. Brighton. 



Extract from proceedings of Roches- 

 ter Academy of Science. 



Two Rarities. 



Having seen little in the Museum 

 from Southern California so far this 

 season, it may not be uninteresting for 

 me to note the taking of two quite 

 rare sets. 



On the 17th of April while looking 

 for Cactus Wren's nests, I was sur- 

 prised to see a small owl leave a large 

 nest placed about four feet up in a 

 clump of Cacti, and, after flying 25 or 

 30 yards, settle down on a White Sage 

 bush. Soon another bird of the same 

 species appeared and my surprise may 

 be imagined when I saw they were 

 California Pigmy Owls {Glaiicidiuiu 

 gnoina califonticuiu.) They did not 

 appear to care very much about their 

 nest or its contents as they sat quietly 

 while I took the six white eggs which 

 the nest contained. Unfortunately 

 one of these was damaged so badly 

 that it could not be preserved. The 

 remaining five however form the most 

 prized set in my collection. As I had 

 not taken my gun with me I had to be 

 content with observing the birds from 

 a distance. According to this crude 



method they seemed to be seven or 

 eight inches in length; upper parts 

 dark olive brown with small spots of 

 white most numerous on top of head 

 and largest on wings; white below 

 flecked with dashes of brown, these 

 uniting to form a band across the 

 throat. Tail two or three inches long; 

 dark brown, each feather having 

 several spots of white on upper sur- 

 face. 



The eggs were slightly larger than 

 those of the California Wood Pecker 

 [Mclancrpcs forniicivonis bairdi) but 

 lacked the polished appearance of the 

 eggs of all the Picidae. The shell was 

 very thin and required the utmost care 

 in blowing. The entire set was per- 

 fectly fresh and the nest evidently one 

 from which its builder, a Cactus Wren 

 {Ca))ipylorliynchits bntnncicapilliis) , 

 had been driven by the more pugna- 

 cious owls. 



One other set of which I wish to 

 speak is that of iVireo Huttoni), Hut- 

 ton's Vireo. The finding of this set 

 as is usually the case with our rarer 

 birds was an accident. I was looking 

 through a strip of low land, grown up 

 with small saplings, in the hope of 

 finding a few sets of the Arkansas 

 Goldfinch {Spiniis psaltria), Western 

 Wood pewee {Contopus ricliardsonii), 

 and Black-headed Grosbeak, {Habia 

 uiclanoccpliala), when I saw a pensile 

 nest hung from the fork of a small 

 willow branch about eight feet up. 

 Upon bending down the limb I saw 

 three highly incubated eggs evidently 

 those of some Vireo. A few moments 

 waiting revealed to me a pair of Hut- 

 ton's Vireos. The olive green of the 

 upper parts' shading into greenish 

 white below; the large eyes, and the 

 broad bands of grayish white across 

 the wings identified them so thorough- 

 ly that I did not try to shoot them. 



During the time in which I was en- 

 gaged in removing ihe eggs and nest, 

 the female kept up a constant scold- 

 ing. Her notes were harsh and in 

 fact the only notes I have ever heard 

 this species utter are short and queru- 



*i 



