140 

_ ORNITHOLOGIST 
[Vol. 11-No. 9 


fearless. Fresh sets can be taken from May 15th 
to 25th, though the 20th is about the right time. 
It is curious but true, that the crows which breed 
on the mainland are all the Common Crow, 
(Corvus frugivorus,) while the Fish Crow, 
(C. ossifragus,) have the island tothemselves. In 
the salt meadows are hundreds of Clapper Rails, 
(Rallus longirostris crepitans), but at the time of 
our visit their nests contained only from three to 
five eggs. I know of nothing in bird life more 
hideous or ungainly than a rail freshly startled 
from her nest. She reminds me of a muddy ball 
as she silently rises but a few feet and sails away 
just over the top of the meadow grass. 
Here also we saw the Sea-side Finch, (Ammo- 
dromus maritimus,) and Sharp-tailed Finch, (A. 
cwudacutus,) but were too early for their eggs. 
About June 15th is the proper time in that lati- 
tude for both Rails and Finches. I have in my 
cabinet a series of sets of both these finches taken 
on these same meadows. In 1885 my companion 
took a perfectly identified nest of Henslow’s Spar- 
row, (Coturniculus henslowi,) and four fresh eggs 
on the 27th, but we did not see any of the birds 
on this trip. Returning to our swamp we saw 
numbers of Warblers, notably the Blue Yellow- 
backed, (Parula americana) Redstart, (Setophaga 
ruticilla,) Prairie, (Dendrwca discolor,) and Golden- 
winged Warbler, (Lelminthophaga chrysoptera). 
One specimen of the Pileated Woodpecker, 
(Hylotomus pileatus,) almost transfixed us as we 
gazed upon him in life for the first time. 
A herony occupies a small tract on the Sound 
side, and in the midst of the most inaccessible 
portion of the swamp. The huge pines here 
throw out their branches, and so closely do the 
trees grow that a person can travel from one to 
the other by these limbs without touching land, 
or rather water. The Great Blue Herons, (Ardea 
herodias), are exclusive, inasmuch as they have 
appropriated a choice piece of swamp land to 
themselves. Coming upon them on the first even- 
ing of our visit, just at dusk we started a dozen or 
more of the large birds from their platform nests, 
and they arose in their clumsy manner with many 
hoarse cries, The Snowy Heron, (Garzetta candi- 
dessinut,) and Black-crowned Night Herons, (Vy- 
ctiardea grisea nevia,) also breed just below the 
Great Blue quarters, but we did not observe any 
little Green Herons, (Butorides virescens,) although 
they breed plentifully on the mainland. The in- 
habitants of that portion of New Jersey nearest 
this island call these herons Cranes and Boobies, 
and they assert that yearly they rob the nests of 
fresh eggs, which are highly prized as an article 
of diet. 
Besides these we noticed many of our commoner 
species. Ina shed, built evidently to house a life 
boat or truck, and open at both ends, a colony of 
Barn Swallows, (Zlirundo erythrogastra,) had taken 
up their abode, and we counted nearly fifty nests 
within a smallenclosure just about large enough 
to successfully keep a load of hay from getting 
wet. These nests contained from three to six eggs 
each, and were placed in every conceivable posi- 
tion from the rafters at top of the structure to 
cross-beams within easy reach from ground. 
Numbers of Laughing Gulls, (Larus atricilla,) 
Black Skimmers, (Rhynchops nigra), Wilson's 
Plover, (Ochthodromus wilsonius,) Piping Plover, 
(dgralites melodus,) Least Tern, (Sterna antil- 
larum,) Common Tern, (S. fluviatilis,) Gull-billed 
Tern, (S. anglica,) breed here but he who would 
take their eggs must come about June 15th in 
this latitude. 
Having visited many of the finest collecting 
grounds within a radius of seventy-five miles 
from Philadelphia, I can assert that no such 
place for diversity of bird life can anywhere be 
found, as exists on this almost untenanted island 
within seventy-five miles of Pennsylvania’s most 
populous city. 
Breeding of the Florida Barred Owl 
in Texas: 
BY J. A. SINGLEY, GIDDINGS, TEXAS. 
Having found this owl breeding here (Strix 
nebulosa allent,) I desire to place upon record its 
occurrence in this State (Texas). It is our com- 
monest owl, and unlike the Great Horned Owl, 
frequents the thick wooded bottoms almost ex- 
clusively. An occasional pair are to be found in 
the uplands. The Middle Yugua Creek bottoms 
are a favorite resort for this owl, the trees being 
heavily draped with the Spanish moss, which 
offers them a cool and shady retreat during the 
day. Many a time when camping out in those 
bottoms on the banks of Wimberly Lake, have I 
been entertained by the music(?) of this species. 
They have a habit of gathering about a camp as 
I have often noticed, when, supper over and _ re- 
clining on our blankets indulging in a pipe, the 
light from our camp-fire casting sombre shadows 
among the trees, the long draperies of Spanish 
moss concealing foliage and branches, and sway- 
ing with the breeze. All nature was at rest, and 
no sound was to be heard except now and then 
the hoarse cry of a heron or some of the wild 
waterfowl on the lake, or an occasional bellow of 
an alligator and howling of the wolves to break 
the brooding silence. At such times the owls 
gather in the surrounding trees, and a low croon 

