Sept. 1887.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



153 



We found tliese birds at no other place very 

 con)uion. In the ulterior a very few were seen, 

 and on the outer islands, wliile they occur at 

 times in large numbers, yet they do not breed 

 tliere to any extent. Mr. S. F. Cheney, witli 

 whom we spent a large portion of our time, 

 has collected a remarkable series of their eggs 

 during the past few years. According to this 

 gentleman's experience, they nest under the 

 protection of a rock, to the exclusion of every 

 other situation. Tliey probably made a sub- 

 stitute of the best thing in lieu of llie absent 

 junipeis. 



At the noithern portion of the island they 

 were nt)t found at all, save an occasional lone 

 specimen. 



Repeal of the Pennsylvania Law 

 Against Hawks. 



BY J. p. N. 



lu ThK Ol{NITlIULO(iIST AND OoLOCilST for 



May 18S(), attention was called to the Act of 

 Assembl)^ passed by the Legislature of Penn- 

 sylvania during the session of 1885, and ap- 

 proved by the Governor of that Commimwealth 

 on June 23rd of the same year. A bounty was 

 thereby fixed on all hawks, and for njost spe- 

 cies of owls, and thousands of them were slain 

 to obtain the leward which the Legislature had 

 most unwisely seen fit to place on them. 



It has not taken long, however, to show the 

 foolishness of the law, and it has now been re- 

 pealed. During the session of 1887 an Act was 

 passed, approved by the Governor on May 13th, 

 1887 (Pamphlet Laws of 1887, p. 116) whereby 

 the provisions of the Act of June 23rd, 1885, 

 offering the bountj^ were repealed. And so 

 simple justice has been done to these feathered 

 frieuds of the farmer, and the statute booli of 

 Pennsylvania purged of a law which disgraced 

 its pages. 



Spotted Eggs of the Blue Grosbeak. 



BY T. D. I'ERUY, SAVANNAH, GA. 



This retired but beautiful species {Guiraca 

 coeruUa) has been written upon so often that it 

 seems like trespassing upon the biother readers 

 of the O. AND O. by atllicting them with it 

 again, but the past season of 1887 has been 

 one of successful events with me, and one 

 in which so many new phases of bird life have 

 been discovered, that I cannot refrain from 



telling about my discovering spotted eggs of 

 this species. 



Ma3' 24th, 1887, dawned bright and clear, and 

 as usual I started for an all day's tramp, having 

 nothing in particular to look for, but every- 

 thing in general; so I kept well to the oi)en 

 country, which was thickly dotted with pine 

 saplings, and a dense undergrowth of oak 

 bushes. 1 had only gone a short distance when 

 a bird flew from between my legs. I stopped 

 short, parted the bushes, and there not more 

 than two feet high, was a nest containing four 

 pale bluish eggs with spots. I knew at a glance 

 that I had never seen anything like them before, 

 so I took them out carefully and began ex- 

 amining them, when bj' an accident one fell to 

 the ground and was smashed, and the worst of 

 it was that it was one of the best nuirked. As 

 fretting would not replace it, however, I soon 

 packed the remaining three in my collecting 

 box and turned my attention to the nest, and 

 as soon as I got it in my hand a thriU of joy 

 ran through me, for then I knew I had dis- 

 covered spotted eggs of the Blue Grosbeak. 



Yes, there was no mistaking that nest. Every- 

 thing, even to the traditional snake skin, was 

 there (which, by the by, is strongly character- 

 istic of them, as I have never yet found a nest 

 that (lid not contain it). But to be on the safe 

 side and make identity certain I waited, and 

 very soon the chuck, chuck of the female was 

 heard as she flew around the spot. She soon 

 disappeared, only to return accompanied by 

 the male. I watched them some time, being 

 satisfied that I had found something I had 

 never heard of before. 



Two of the remaining three eggs are very 

 thinlj' dotted with minute spots of red, while 

 the third is marked very distincthj with good- 

 sized spots of a reddish chestnut, and some few 

 spots of subdued lilac (such as you will find in 

 specimens of the Least Tern.) The large end 

 is very thickly marked, while the small end has 

 only two red spots (I thought at first that the 

 markings were accidental, but upon washing 

 I find they still remain), so taking them alto- 

 gether they are very handsome, and as a set I 

 prize them very much. 



The eggs of this set measure .87 x .63, .82 x 

 .62, and .82x.62, which is almost the usual 

 size, although some will measure .90 x .63, and 

 I have one in a set of three that is only .75 x .58, 

 and is the smallest I ever saw. 



Now while this species is not common, it is 

 very evenly distributed and particular, and 

 this past season I have taken eleven sets of 

 three eggs, four of four eggs, and several of 



