142 



OROTTHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 12-:N"o. 9 



piilinetto two and a half feet high, near a 

 swamp but on dry land. It contained three 

 fresh eggs, but unfortunately I broke one while 

 up a tree after a Wood Tlirush's nest, by letting 

 the box in which they were paclied fall out of 

 my pocket to the ground below. 



My fourth neat was found on May 22nd and 

 it was placed in some vines that ran through a 

 gall patch two feet high, but over a pool of 

 stagnant water. The nest contained three fresh 

 eggs. 



My fifth nest was found on May 31st and was 

 placed in a myrtle bush three feet high, and 

 not more than a hundred yards from where I 

 found .iiy first nest on May 7th. It contained 

 three eggs (incubation slight), and here let me 

 state that Mr. George Noble found a nest in 

 this same piece of woods on the same day that 

 I found my first nest (May 7th), but at that 

 time it was empty. On May 11th, however, 

 when revisited it contained four eggs. Now 

 this nest was in the same piece of woods far 

 from water and not thirty yards away from the 

 nest where I had taken my first set of two eggs 

 on May 7th. There at that short distance, was 

 an empty nest of the same species, and I shall 

 always believe the birds I took the set of two 

 eggs from laid their third egg in that empty 

 nest and made it a set of four. 



My sixth nest was found on June 6th and 

 was in a large swamp full of water. The nest 

 was placed in the top of canes four feet high, 

 and contained three eggs slightly incubated. 



My seventh nest was found on the same day 

 as my sixth and was placed three feet high 

 in a cluster of thick vines along side of a 

 swamp. It contained three eggs, incubation ad- 

 vanced. I also found a nest containing three 

 young birds on the same day and in the same 

 swamp. The latter nest was over a ditch of 

 running water and was three feet high in dead 

 vines. 



On June 13th I found my eighth nest. It 

 was on high, dry land in a myrtle bush three 

 feet high, and contained two fresh eggs. 



My ninth and last nest for this season was 

 taken on June 17th. (I was very busy about 

 then and failed to get out any more, or I could 

 have found others as I know that they breed in 

 July). This nest was placed in the top of a 

 cane six feet high and in the same swamp 

 where I found my sixth nest, and not more 

 than fifty feet away. It contained three fresh 

 eggs. 



All the nests were about the same in con- 

 struction, being composed of dead leaves of 

 various kinds, lined with pine needles and dead 



Spanish moss, which closely resembles horse 

 hair, and the only difference that I could see is 

 some nests were rather more bulky than others. 

 One striking peculiarity that I have observed is 

 that they never breed singly but in company of 

 two pairs or more, for if you find one nest, 

 nine times out of ten by close searching you 

 will find another near it. 



They will often build a nest and desert it. I 

 remember having two that were very close to- 

 gether that were ready for eggs, but for some 

 cause that I don't know they deserted them. 



They are not at all shy, allowing you to ap- 

 proach very close, and therefore are easily 

 identified. 



Their song, which has been discribed as 

 sim^^hj toonderful, is rather a low but sweet 

 call of a few notes, so closely resembling that 

 of the Hooded Warbler, Myiodictes mitratns, 

 (which birds are ever near them) that I defy 

 anyone to tell which is singing if he does not 

 see them. Too well do I remember hearing 

 them, as I thought, but on looking close would 

 discover the male of the Hooded Warbler near 

 by. Now of twenty-four nests that came under 

 my observation this season, and four nests dur- 

 ing 18S.5 and 1886, making a total of twenty- 

 eight (I only counted those containing eggs), 

 but one contained four eggs, and that was to 

 my mind an accident, and I honestly believe 

 that three is the usual number laid by them in 

 Chatham County, Georgia. All these sets were 

 taken, except four, this season, near Savannah, 

 Ga. All the nests were the same and all the 

 eggs were bluish white, without spots, leaving 

 little doubt but that is their true color. Their 

 size varies very much, the largest being .81 x 

 .57 and .78 x .58, and the smallest .73 x .55 and 

 .73X.62. 



Now while I thought I had been very fortu- 

 nate my friend, George Noble, did much better. 

 I took seven sets of three and two sets of two 

 eggs, while he took thirteen sets of three, one 

 of four and one of two, and most of them taken 

 on the same days and in the same places that I 

 took mine, making a total of twentj'-four sets 

 for 1887 — rather a good showing for one 

 season. 



The occurrence of the Short-eared Owl in 

 Massachusetts during the summer seems to be 

 rather unusual of late years. A flight of these 

 birds occurs during early fall and they may be 

 very frequently found on the marshes until 

 cold weather sets in. An extreme advance 

 skirmisher was shot at Quincy, August, 1887. 



