114 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Yol. 12-No. 7 



inch in breadth. The general color is clear 

 white, irregularly blotched, first by mottlings 

 of pale purple, then by spots of a reddish-brown 

 hue. They are of an equal length and both 

 ends are nearly of tlie same size. One has 

 much darker spots than the other, and these 

 are chiefly in an irregular circle near the centre 

 of the egg. The dark spots on the lighter one 

 are more towards the larger end, while what 

 may be termed the smaller end is larger than in 

 the other specimen. They were placed close 

 together and lay lengthwise on their leafy bed. 

 They were perfectly fresh and one of them 

 may have been deposited that morning. 



After this find we proceeded still westward, 

 and saw several nearly completed nests of Red- 

 starts (St'tophaga 7'uticiUa), and took another 

 set of four eggs of the Wood Thrushes, sets of 

 four and three of Hermit Thrush, and three of 

 Wilson's Thrush {Hylocichla fitscescens) and 

 found a partly formed nest of the Golden- 

 crowned Thrush ( Siurtis miravapilhis) , from 

 which I afterwards took a fine set of four eggs. 

 Returning homeward we again flushed the 

 VVhir-pooi-vvill from her old nesting place. 



I might here note that I heard for the first 

 time this season the notes of this species on 

 tlie evening of the .5th of May and as the weath- 

 er became vyarmer their notes were heard ap- 

 parently answering each other from various 

 tracts of woodland in this vicinity, which seem- 

 ed to indicate that they are becoming more 

 common. 



Bird Notes From the Pacific Coast. 



BY H. R. TAYLOR, SAN JOSE, CAL. 



A cousin of mine at Santa Clara, Cal., saw a 

 flock of geese some time ago, flying in a south- 

 erly direction and, accompanied by a solitary 

 duck of some small species, which was flying 

 in a position third from the flrst goose of the 

 line, and apparently flapping its wings with 

 great rapidity in order to keep up with the 

 flock. He was greatly surprised at the odd 

 sight, having never before observed ducks fly- 

 ing in company with geese. 



One day, some weeks after, while in the same 

 locality, he noticed a single duck flying north 

 with a flock of geese. The duck occupied the 

 same relative position in line as the one seen 

 before, and was he thinks the same bird. 



One of my friends saw a small sparrow close- 

 ly pursued by a Sparrow Hawk and had about 

 gived it up as lost when the sparrow darted 



suddenly to the ground and saved itself from 

 its dread enemy by taking refuge in an old tin 

 can. After the hawk had passed the sparrow 

 came out of its improvised fortress and flew 

 away in safety. 



A new Needle for Ornithological Use. 



BY W. E. SAUNDERS. 



Readers of the O. and O. who use ordinary 

 needles for sewing their bii'dskins do not know 

 what a luxury is in store for them when they 

 invest in a surgeon's needle to replace the time- 

 honored variety. The common needle punches 

 a hole in the skin and when drawn through to 

 the eye sticks, because the eye and thread are 

 larger than the hole. Then the hole is torn 

 larger and the thread dragged through until a 

 a feather or a little cotton catches on it and it 

 sticks again ; it is then pulled back, the oftend- 

 ing material taken oft" and a new start is made. 

 We all know how aggravating this is, having 

 experienced it many times. 



In the surgeon's needle there is a great im- 

 provement, a sharp point with a bi'oad, flat 

 blade, which cuts a hole large enough to let 

 the eye and thi-ead pass easily and obviating 

 subsequent entanglement. 



Pat. Aug. ii, 1885. | 



F. G. Otto & Sons, Sole Agents. 



But last fall was introduced the needle shown 

 in the above cut and known as the Kraty needle. 

 It has all the advantages of the old surgeon's 

 needle and its superiority lies in the fact that it 

 has a patent spring eye. To thread it, take the 

 thread by the middle and pass it into the niche 

 above the eye; the eye opens and the thread 

 slips in, the whole operation taking but a mo- 

 ment's time, and it prevents us from having to 

 lick the arsenic, cornmeal and blood from our 

 Angers in order to roll the end of the thread in- 

 to a sutficiently fine point to pass into the eye. 



At a cost of fifteen or twenty cents these 

 needles can be obtained from F. G. Otto & Sons, 

 42 East 23rd street, New York, and from most 

 other dealers in surgical instruments. 



