General Notes. 241 



Nest and Egos of the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax 

 flaviventris). — The breeding habits of this bird seem now so well estab- 

 lished, that a description of a nest taken by myself this year can hardly be 

 necessary to add strength to the five instances already mentioned in this 

 Bulletin ; however, it may otherwise be of interest. 



The nest was taken June 13, 1880, on Little Deer Island, Penobscot 

 Bay, Maine. The parent bird was flushed from the nest, and flew on to a 

 twig near by. Observing the bird to be a Flycatcher, a search was at 

 once begun in the small trees about, and I was somewhat surprised, when 

 this proved fruitless, to find at my feet the nest with its four eggs. The 

 bird was allowed to return to the nest, and on being flushed a second time 

 was secured. It was the female. The locality was in a small clearing on 

 a heavily wooded ridge. The nest was situated on a large root, forming 

 as it were a shelf, in under a low stump, being admirably concealed from 

 Bight. It is a mass of dead leaves, pieces of decayed wood, evergreens, 

 ferns, birch-bark, and mosses, arranged much in form and appearance like 

 that of the Pewee (S.fuscus). The nest proper, which measures two and 

 one eighth inches in diameter, and one inch in depth, is lined first with 

 fine black roots, then with a few withered grasses. The eggs are similar 

 to those already described in the Bulletin, the ground color being white, 

 with numerous reddish spots over the whole surface forming a ring about 

 the greater end. Two, however, are very sparingly spotted when com- 

 pared with the others. Their size is a little less than that given by Mr. 

 Batchelder, (Vol. IV, pp. 241, 242,) as the following dimensions show : 

 .65 X .51, .65 X -50, .65 X .50, .64 X .51. — N. A. Eddy, Bangor, Me. 



Notes on Nesting-sites of the Golden-winged Woodpecker. 

 — About May 1 of this year I noticed some Golden-wings (Colaptes aura- 

 tus) very busy around the shed of an old brick-kiln, although there were 

 no trees near. On visiting it I found they had enlarged two auger-holes 

 in a large, decayed spruce post, and were trying to nest there ; but so many 

 people cross the yard every day, they will probably be driven away. I 

 have frequently noticed what a correspondent mentions in a late number of 

 the Bulletin (Vol. V, p. 56) regarding Golden-wings enlarging natural 

 cavities. I have seen them dig two inches through the hard shell of a 

 seasoned ash stub to get to a hollow which showed through a crack, the 

 existence of which they must have perceived ; they apparently bored 

 through to it to save the labor of making the whole excavation in solid 

 wood. — Manly Hardy, Bretver, Me. 



Capture of the Avocet in New Brunswick. — When in St. John, 

 N. B., a short time since, I saw in a bird-stuffer's shop a good specimen of 

 the Avocet (Recurvirostra americand) sent to him to set up. It was shot 

 by Mr. William Ellis, at Quaco, where he has shot three this season (1880), 

 and where he says " they come along every few years." I have been able 

 to get but two. As they occur so rarely in New England, it is a little 



VOL, V. 16 



