14 



ber of them being as easy of access. The post in which the nest 

 was placed stood alone in the meadow, a few yards from the 

 fence. Within a radius of two hundred yards were a half dozen 

 unoccupied homes of Woodpeckers, two hollow fence posts and 

 a crevice in the side of a stump— all likely sites for Bluebird's 

 nests. One of these holes (a Flickers) about ten feet up in the 

 side of a locust tree was occupied later for a third laying, the 

 post in the meadow having been split down probably by cattle 

 that frequently rubbed against it. The third laying was not dis- 

 covered by me until the young were nearly ready to leave the 

 nest. Since that year (1893) no Bluebirds have nested in the 

 immediate vicinity. 



In 1893 an individual pair of Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo bore- 

 alis), which had lingered in a small wood in the head of a hollow 

 in early spring, repaired an old Cooper's Hawk's nest and de- 

 posited therein two ♦ ggs. These which I collected on April 23, 

 were rather small, but seemed to be within the lin.its of normal 

 specimens. Again in 1891 I observed the biros a number of 

 times in the same wood and early in April they began construct- 

 ing a nest far up in a large white oak, using an old delapidated 

 Crows' nest for a foundation. April 21, the old bird having ap- 

 parently commenced her duties of incubation, I ascei ded to the 

 nest and took the two eggs which it contained. These (Descrip- 

 tions of Sets," 28) are strikingly similar to the former set in 

 shape and coloration but in size are somewhat smaller, one be- 

 ing a decided runt. 



A characteristic of these birds was to show immense anxiety 

 when I visited their domain. The male was first to discover 

 me from his favorite perch in the tops of the trees of a small 

 sparsely wooded tract about three hundred yards farther down 

 the hollow. With a shrill scream he would spread his wings and 

 flap lustily to the upper woods where his mate joined him in a 

 series of circling until a point beyond gun shot was reached, f hen 

 by a circuitious route descended slowly to the lower wood, 

 alight in the tree tops and continue their shrill screams. These 

 actions weie noted several times both seasons. 



Another case is that of the Cardinal described at length in 

 "Descriptions of Sets" (Nos. 83 and 84). In this case the first 

 abnormal set was laid in 1888, which, judging from the date 

 (May 27) might have been a second or even later laying. How- 

 ever, I had, several times previously, investigated the ground 

 pretty thoroughly and don't see how a nest so easily detected as 

 a Cardinal's could have escaped my observation. During the 

 two succeeding years I resided at Pittsburg, Pa., spending most 

 of my time with the birds of Allegheny county, consequently was 



