100 



THE OOLOGIST 



March until during the third week of 

 November, the Killdeer is one of our 

 most common birds. 



The nesting season begins late in 

 April and lasts until about the tenth 

 of June. The number of eggs in a set 

 runs from three to four, four being 

 the most common. In all the many 

 nests I have found but one has con- 

 tained five eggs. (Harperfield, O., June 

 7, 1906). This I consider very rare. 

 The nest is usually to be found in 

 bare fields but sometimes it is closely 

 cropped pasture fields. I often find 

 the nests while plowing old corn 

 ground or cultivating up fall plowing. 

 When I find one I always make a small 

 depression and put the eggs in it out 

 of harm's way. This is the only bird 

 I know of that will continue to occupy 

 its nest after it has been moved to a 

 new place. The nest is usually lined 

 with very ■ small flat stones or broken 

 pieces of straw, sometimes no nesting- 

 material is used. It is seldom that 

 the young remain in the nest over' 

 twenty-four hours. When very young 

 they have the curious habit if in short 

 grass and danger threatens of duck- 

 ing their heads down under the grass 

 and tipping the body up making it al- 

 most impossible to see them. During 

 August and September, the Killdeer 

 becomes very plentiful about the shal- 

 low waters of the river. 



S. V. Wharram. 

 Austinburg, O. 



The Elusive Kentucky Warbler. 



Among other birds in the woods 

 along the Little Caney river, I fre- 

 quently heard and saw the Kentucky 

 Warbler, but not being familiar with 

 them, failed to locate their nests. On 

 May 26th while on a usual tramp, a 

 pair of them attracted my attention by 

 their worried crys, my first thought 

 was of snakes, so hustling to where 

 they were, saw them fluttering and 



darting around a small bush; sure 

 enough there was their old enemy. Mr. 

 Snake, had already swallowed one 

 young and the second was in its 

 mouth. I soon stopped his nest hunt- 

 ing. Two young and a nearly incu- 

 bated egg were in the nest. Later on 

 I found a deserted nest with an egg of 

 the Cowbird. The next season, 1914, 

 I wrote Kentucky Warbler in big let- 

 ters on my list of likely finds. On 

 April 26th the first one put in his ap- 

 pearance, and soon they were in sev- 

 eral likely places and you may be 

 sure I was on my guard, but so were 

 they and they were sure to see me 

 first. On May 6th, saw a small yel- 

 low bird gathering nest material; 

 thought it a Maryland Yellow-throat 

 but I soon saw the male, a Kentucky 

 Warbler so I kept doubly quiet, soon 

 the female flew into the weeds at the 

 foot of a small tree, on leaving I found 

 nearly completed nest. May 11th, it 

 held a Cowbird's egg which I remov- 

 ed. The next day another was in it 

 and the Warblers were not to be 

 found. Removed this egg also. Three 

 days later a Warbler's egg was in the 

 nest; the next day another Cowbird's 

 egg. The nest was then deserted for 

 good, and although the birds did not 

 go far away, I failed to find their nest. 

 Several weeks later found a half 

 grown young by seeing the male leave 

 clump of vines and briers. June 3d, 

 vvhile looking for a nest of Swainson's 

 Warblers a bird flew under my feet 

 and flew in a bush. I soon found it to 

 be a Kentucky Warbler. The nest 

 was at the foot of u sprout in an old 

 road and held three fresh eggs and 

 one of the cowbird. Thinking another 

 one or two might be laid, I did not dis- 

 turb them but on returning two days 

 later, found that some rodent or snake 

 had beat me to them for the nest was 

 empty. A few days before this found 

 a deserted nest with a Cowbird egg ?n 



