38 



or:nithologist 



[Vol. 12-Xo. 3 



All along the edge of the high marsh the 

 Long-billed Marsh Wrens (Telmatudytes pal- 

 ustris) place their compact little ball-like uests, 

 and keep up a (joustant scolding at the intruder. 

 "To let'" should be jjlainly written over the 

 door of more than half of their domiciles. 



Back towards the Hummock the Boat-tailed 

 Grackles (Quiscaliifi major) and Bed-winged 

 Blackbirds (Aijelaius phcvniceus), unite in their 

 expostulations as we approach their domain; 

 and a pair or two of Fish Crows, {Corrns os.si- 

 fragus), with their incomplete sounding "caw," 

 hasten away from the pines. 



In the scrambly oak thickets the gaudy little 

 Nonpareils (Pati!<('riua ciris) are dodging about, 

 while their soberly attired little wives will slip 

 quietly away from thickly woven cup-shaped 

 nests when our hands are almost upon them. 

 AVhere these birds obtain their paper from in 

 this far otf spot is a mystery to me, but a nest 

 is seldom found without some fragments in it. 



In the depths of the little sultry hunuuock 

 we shall find some real wood birds. The Caro- 

 lina Dove {Zenaidiira carolinensis)^ Blue-gray 

 Gnatcatcher (PoUoptiki aerulea)^ and Cardinal 

 {Cardinalis vircjinianus) were there last year, 

 and I did not half look through the woods. 



Nesting of the Red-bellied Hawk. 



Nesting Under Difficulties. 



On May I7th, 1886, I discovered a pair of 

 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers building a nest on a 

 horizontal limb of an oak tree, about thirty feet 

 up. On May 28 I again visited the tree and 

 found the birds had taken their departure, but 

 as the nest appeared to l)e a very large one I 

 ascended the tree to obtain it, and on examin- 

 ing it I found that a Cowbird had deposited an 

 e°;g before being occupieil by the owners, and 

 that they had put in more lining and covered it 

 entirely over, and had then built up the sides of 

 the nest about three-fourths of an inch higher, 

 but had finally concluded to abandon it, and 

 were found building another nest a few rods 

 from there, which goes to show that they do 

 not willingly submit to the intrusion of the 

 Cowbird. 



Samuel Spicek. 



Goodrich, Mich. 



Occurrence of Bed Phalarope at Otta- 

 wa, Canada. An adult male was discovered 

 swimming gracefully about in the Bideau Biv- 

 er on October 21st., 1886, and was shot by Mr. 

 S. White. It is now in my collection. 



G. R. White. 



BY .1. A. SINGLEV, (tIDDINGS, LEE COUNTY, 

 TEXAS. 



The Bed-bellied Hawk (Buteo Uueuttis eletjans) 

 is a very common resident in this part of Texas. 

 They select the densely wooded bottom lands, 

 wliere, in the tall pinoaks that fiinge the streams 

 they find their favorite place for a nest. In 

 these trees, where several large limbs branch 

 out from the trunk they build. A few birds, 

 however, prefer the uplands and select a large 

 pinoak or a hickory tree in the vicinity of the 

 small streams that drain that portion of the 

 country. 



They commence building their nest about the 

 middle of March, and fresh sets of eggs can be 

 taken until the middle of April. There is al- 

 ways a platform of large sticks, and on this the 

 nest proper is constructed of smaller sticks, 

 weeds and moss. Sometimes the Spanish moss 

 is used, and results in a beautiful nest. 



A pecnliarity of this hawk is the placing of 

 green leaves and twigs in leaf in the nest during 

 incubation. The only other species sharing this 

 habit (to my knowledge) is the Mississippi Kite 

 {Irtinia stihrn'ridea). Like most other species 

 of hawks this bird returns to the same nest year 

 after year, and contents itself with merelj' re- 

 pairing the structure each spring. 



The number of eggs in a set is three, and 

 sometimes two. I have never found four, al- 

 though I have examined over seventy-five nests 

 containing eggs, and have often waited until 

 incubation was well advanced. I have heard of 

 some alleged sets of four, but have traced all 

 these large "sets"' to one collector in Cook 

 County, Texas, and I have since ascertained 

 that the bird is of very rare occurrence in that 

 county. Mr. G. H. Bagsdale, of Gainesville, 

 Cook County, a gentleman who has devoted 

 much time to the stud}' of ornithologj', and 

 whose collection of bird's skins is the largest in 

 the state, informs me that he has seen but one 

 specimen of this species in Cook County. This 

 bird was secured, and proved to be more of a 

 choc^olate than usual. Mr. Bagsdale also states 

 that he has never found more than three eggs 

 in a set. The collector who claims to have 

 found several sets of eggs of this species in 

 Cook County, and all of them four in number, 

 is therefore most probably in error. 



This species occurs in Bexar County, Texas, 

 and presumabh' in all of the western part of 

 the state. Owing to the scarcity of collectors 

 here I have been unable to ascertain mnch 



