June 1890.] 



AWD OOLOGIST. 



S5 



deep. The eggs are two in number. Tlie 

 measurement of one in my collection is 1-2 in, 

 by 5-IG in. Tlie weight of a Ruby- throat's 

 body after it is skinned is 25 grains. 



351. Cliimney Swift. Common. Breeds. 

 Arrives here from tlie south in flocks. They 

 are a peculiar bird and light only in chimneys. 

 The manner of getting materials for building 

 is as follows: They fly along until they get to 

 a tree with a dead top, when they grab a twig 

 and wrench and twist until they break it off. 

 This is conveyed to some chimney that is not 

 used, and is glued to the bricks with a glutln- 

 ized substance which they make. The eggs, 

 usually four in number, are of a pure white 

 color, and usually measure 25-36 in. by 1-2 in. 



354. Whip-poor-will. Not rare. 



357. Night Hawk. Common. Their food 

 con.sists of small bugs. 



3()0. Hairy Woodpecker. Common. Stays 

 with us the entire winter, and lives on larvas. 



361. Downy Woodpecker. Common. Breeds. 

 Does not migrate, nests in a hole which it 

 excavates in a dead tree. 



371. Pileated Woodpecker. Very rare, but 

 two of these birds having come under my ob- 

 servations. These were shot by farmers. 



375. Red-headed Woodpecker. Not com- 

 mon. Breeds. Excavates a hole in a decayed 

 tree and lays its five glossy, white eggs on the 

 chips it has made. The measurements of a 

 set of five eggs now before me are 1 in. by 

 23-36 in., 1 in. by 11-42 in., 1 in. by 23-36 in., 

 1 in. by 23-.36 in., 1 1-6 in. by 3-4 in. 



378. Yellow-shafted Flicker. Common. 

 Arrives here about the fifteenth of March. Its 

 nest is built after the manner of the otlier 

 Woodpeckers in a dead tree. About the last of 

 May the female commences laying. The usual 

 number of eggs are seven. They are of a clear, 

 glossy, white color. A set of seven in my col- 

 lection measures 1 1-8 in. by 7-8 in., 1 1-8 in. 

 by 7-8 in„ 1 5-36 in. by 7-8 in., 1 1-8 in. by 7-8 

 in, 1 1-8 in. by 7-8 in., 1 1-8 in. by 7-8 in, 

 1 1-8 in. by 7-8 in. The food of these birds 

 consists of larvae. As the middle of October 

 draws near these birds get ready to depart. 

 At this time they may be found in the fields 

 and orchards living on bugs and wild cherries. 

 About the middle of October they leave for 

 the south. 



382. Belted Kingfisher. Common. Arrives 

 on its northern migration about the second 

 week in April and departs about the last of 

 October. The nest is placed in a sand bank at 

 the end of an excavation which is often five 



feet in length. The eggs are usually seven in 

 number, and are pure white in color with a 

 rosy tinge. The measurement of a set of seven 

 is: 1 3-8 in. by 1 1-36 in., 1 3-8 in. by 1 1-36 in., 

 13-8 in. by 1 in., 1 11-36 in. by 1 1-16 in., 

 1 11-36 in. by 1 1-16 in., 1 11-36 in. by 1 1-16 in., 

 I 11-36 in. by 1 1-16. The food of this bird 

 consists of small frogs and fish which they 

 kill by batting them from side to side on a 

 limb and then swallow them whole. 



387. Yellow- billed Cuckoo. Common. 

 Breeds. 



388. Black-billed Cuckoo. Rare. 

 397. Barred Owl. Not common. 



4)5. Great Horned Owl. Not rare. Breeds. 

 This bird likes the dense woods and under- 

 brush. A friend, .J. J. Loveless of Smithboro, 

 N. Y., told me that he was coming home from 

 butchering one evening when he noticed one 

 of these owls fiying along over the tree-tops of 

 the woods. It would have passed over him 

 but seeing Mr. L. he turned and charged on 

 him. His first thought was to catch the owl 

 if he came again, but remembei-ing the scar 

 on his leg which was caused by one of these 

 birds several years ago he quickly changed 

 his mind and began searching for a club. All 

 this time Mr. Owl kept charging, which made 

 Mr. Loveless hustle to avoid a collision. Fin- 

 ally after making five or six unsuccessful dives 

 the owl went off as if it were a common occur- 

 rence to catch a man every day for supper. 

 He supposes the bird smelt the blood on his 

 hands, 



402, Little Screech Owl, Common in the 

 winter. Lives on mice and small birds, and 

 farmer once told me that he caught one in h 

 dove-cot which had killed a dove and eaten its 

 head off. 



417. Pigeon Hawk. Not rare. Breeds. 

 Lives on small birds, snakes and field mice. 



420. Sparrow Hawk. Quite rare. Breeds. 

 Builds in a natural cavity in a tree. I had the 

 good luck last year to find a nest. It was 

 about twenty feet from the ground and con- 

 tained five young. I took them for pets. 

 There were three males and two females. The 

 food of this species consists of grasshoppers, 

 small birds and field mice. 



425, Osprey or Fish Hawk. One of these 

 birds usually stays around here every summer. 



436. Red-tailed Hawk. This bird is the 

 commonest of the Hawks. Its food consists 

 of red squirrels, small birds and great quan- 

 tities of grasshoppers, occasionally a hen or 

 chicken. Breeds. 



I 



