JUiUrtiii Ao. 2j. 77 



winter the hole was used by both squirrels and owls, as I found the signs 

 of both on the ice beneath it. 



In 1897 I lost the birds entirely, but think it possible that they raised 

 a brood in the 1895 tree. 



This year my brother found a grey bird roosting within 200 feet of 

 this (1895) hole. He was sitting up in the mouth of the hollow limb so 

 that his head and horns showed from below, but dropped back when the 

 tree was thumped. On April 12 I visited all the old holes, first hammer- 

 ing the trunks, and then climbing, and repeated the experience of 1896 

 to the letter, finding a red bird which would not flush nor wake up at all, 

 in the same shallow hole. I left her two fresh eggs till the 23d, but she 

 again deserted. 



The 1895 hole was the last one visited — at 7 p. m. Though we rowed 

 up quietly the bird must have flown before we reached the tree, for none 

 flushed. On climbing up I found the limb so rotton that I decided to 

 destroy it. Imagine my surprise when on opening the hole I found six 

 eggs, still warm. The embryos were well formed. (It had been an 

 early season, with all the first nesters ahead of time.) No bird came 

 about, though I was in the tree for ten minutes. She may have left the 

 nest for a few minutes of exercise at twilight. 



Is it the usual rule for an owl to desert her nest as promptly as one of 

 these did ? 



Henry R. Buck, W^ethersfield, Conn. 



EDITORIAL. 



Our fellow member, Lieut. John W. Daniel, Jr., whose expected trip 

 to Puerto Rico was interrupted by the peace protocol, now expects to be 

 ordered to Cienfuegos, Cuba, and he promises to acquaint us with his 

 experiences and researches while there. The present circumstances will 

 give an added interest to any thing that the unfortunate island may give us. 



We again find ourselves in the midst of a period of stagnation so far 

 as field study of the birds is concerned. It is so for some of us, at least. 

 The question naturally arises. What can be done until the birds return 

 again ? There is always one thing that can be done which should 

 become our most pleasant and profitable duty ; and that is to review the 

 note-book of the past season, comparing it with previous ones with a 



