April, 1886.] 
AND OOLOGIST. 59 




hook—A. fine steel wire bent into a hook, to use 
in removing an embryo or chick when found, fig. 
3. Embryo scissors—Very fine, for cutting the 
chick in order to remove it in parts, fig. 4. Fine 
forceps—To use in removing the embryo, fig. 5. 
if 
Reeser eed 
I give the following from memorandum handed 
tome by Mr. M. Abbott Frazar: Take the egg and 
holding it firmly with the left hand, starting a_ 
hole with a pin or needle. With the drill make 
a clean round hole in the center of one side. If 
the egg is fresh the hole should be from 1-16 of 
an inch in the egg of the Warbler to 3-16 of an 
inch in that of a Duck. In using the drill, work 
on the reverse; this will drill and not cut. If 
you work with the teeth in cutting it is liable to 
break a delicate shell. In the larger eggs pass 
the burr into the egg and in drawing it out it 
will cut out a round hole in the thick skin. If 
this is not done and the skin only split it closes 
up and it is almost impossible to blow the egg. 
In blowing, hold the egg hole down and the 
small point of the blower just at the hole; as you 
force the air in the contents run out through the 
“small hole. If the embryo is just forming, make 
the hole a trifle larger. Insert the blow-pipe, 
holding the point close to the side of the shell. 
By blowing it will force the embryo to the 
hole and it can be drawn out with the hook. If 
the chick is well advanced the large drill must be 
used, and with the fine scissors it can be cut and 
with forceps or hook taken out in pieces. After 
blowing, the egg should be thoroughly rinsed in- 
side with water, which can be done by forcing 
water in with the blow pipe. It should then be 
placed hole down on a blotter to dry. This 
should be carefully done. See that none of the 
contents is left, as it endangers the specimen in 
three ways: discoloration, rotting and attracting in- 
sects. Each egg should be marked with lead pencil 
near the hole, in the form of a fraction, the nu- 
merator being the number of eggs in the set, and 
the denominator the set number—usually the set 
number corresponding with some system of 
nomenclature, which is an identification of the 
egg. When the collection is large all three are 
used. It is often of saiéyice, if the egg is one on 
which it can be done, to mark the date on one of 
a set. In collecting it is important to make a 
record of the date, locality, and full particulars. 

Mexican Crossbills in Kansas. 
BY D. E. LANTZ. 
Mexican Crossbills, (Lovia curvirostra mexicana), 
have recently been taken at several points in Kan- 
sas. As they are new to the State, the fact is 
worthy of notice. 
On July 6, 1885, a party of scientists from the 
State Agricultural College, were collecting near 
Wallace, in Western Kansas, and shot a Crossbill 
which was skinned, but, through carelessness in 
packing, the skin was afterwards ruined and 
thrown away. This specimen was not identified, 
but the fact that the Common Crossbill has never 
been found in this State in summer and the 
further fact that this was found near the known 
summer range of the Mexican Crossbill lead me 
to conclude that this must have been the south- 
western form. 
About Nov. 12th, Prof. Dyche of the State 
University at Lawrence, shot several specimens 
from a small flock of Crossbills. Upon examina- 
tion they proved to be of the form Mezicana, the 
first positively known to be taken in the State and 
perhaps the most eastern record. 
On Noy. 22d, I had the good fortune to secure 
three specimens from a flock of twelve at Manhat- 
tan. I had seen them several times during the 
preceding week, always feeding upon wild sun- 
flower seeds. On January 6th, I again shot two 
male specimens from a flock of about twenty. 
This flock were nearly all males. 
In the latter part of Decemb: Mr. VY. L. Kel- 
log, of Emporia, captured a pair . this variety at 
that place, These several captures of a new bird 
at different points would seem to show that it has 
been rather common this season. 

Food of Crows in Winter.sy 
Before me lie the contents of the crop of a Com- 
mon Crow, (Corvis americanus,) shot while the 
ground was yet frozen as he returned from feeding 
grounds down the river to a rookery (?) some two 
miles above here. The product is largely vegetable 
showing husks of grains of Indiana corn. Evi- 
dences of dainty piscatorial food are found in small 
amphicelus vertebrae. Evidences of other verte- 
brate food are found in bones. I am not yet able to 
classify a fragment of a small humerus or femur. 
Are the records of the winter food of this bird suf 
ficient to make him a living bill of fare?— Theo. 
G. Lemmon, Westport, Mo. 
