1895] MARYLAND ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 277 



ground was strewn with broken egg shells. One nest however, 

 had 5 eggs and they ranged down to 1 or more; while 2 nests 

 were not yet completed. I measured the height of 1 1 nests and 

 found they ranged from 36 to 49 feet from the ground. On 

 June 9 they were nearly all back in the oaks occupying the 

 old nests where they had birds just hatched, the few in the pines 

 containing birds 10 or 12 days old. Among the oaks the shells 

 of three eggs were found under 30 nests, the other 6 had 1 or 

 2, but possibly a few eggs were not yet hatched. The night of 

 July 30 was spent in this heronry, but as the moon set early 

 nothing could be seen. Each nest however, seemed to be visited 

 by the parents about once every hour and the noise the young 

 made was something wonderful. 



"Owing to changes they did not nest here in 1894, but they 

 were found in 1895 located about a mile off, as the crow flies, 

 again in black oaks, the nests being from 42 to 48 feet up. On 

 May 5 a few nests showed eggs, 4 and 5 being noted, while on 

 May 11, 3 were noted with 4 fresh, one with 4 nearly fresh; 

 one with 6 nearly hatched, one with 4 young and a rotten egg, 

 one with 3 and another with one fresh egg." 



" Wm. Palmer has known this species to nest in Arlington 

 Cemetery" (C. W. Kichmond, Auk, v, 20). " Occasional in 

 winter " (Richmond). 



Nycticorax vialaceus (203). Yellow-crowned Night Heron. 



A few have been taken in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 

 where it is regarded as a "very rare straggler from the south" 

 (Birds E. Pa. and N. J., 65). 



" Rare summer visitant in the coast region ; I have examined 

 a young bird that was taken at Cobb's Island, and think that 

 another bird has been taken there" (Birds Vas., 51). 



Order PALUDICOL^. CRANES, RAILS, ETC. 



Family GRUID^E Cranes. 

 Grus mexicana (206). Sandhill Crane. 

 "Rare or irregular in the east " (Key, 667). "A specimen 

 of this bird has been procured in the District of Columbia. We 



