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THE OOLrOQIST 



the nine eggs and left nine eggs of 

 the Redwinged Blackbird in the nest. 

 The next day I secured the tenth and 

 last egg of the set. The nest was left 

 for several days and the bird contin- 

 ued to sit, even after she had broken 

 and thrown out four of the Redwing 

 eggs. I came to collect the nest one 

 evening just at dusk, and for the first 

 time, caught sight of the bird. She 

 rose from a point some four or five 

 feet from the nest. 



So in summing up, we find that in 

 only two instances were the birds seen 

 at the nests and only once was a nest 

 found without a canopy or covering of 

 some kind. Also the nests usually 

 rest upon the ground, though an occa- 

 sional one may be fastened between 

 the grass stalks over very shallow 

 water, as in the case of nests number 

 six and seven. Both these nests were 

 more strongly built than at least of 

 the ground nests. Numbers one, two 

 and four were the bulkiest and pret- 

 tiest nests, being composed of a fine 

 kind of grass which did not grow in 

 the vicinity of the other nesting sites. 



In no case did I hear the birds utter 

 a scolding note or cry while the nests 

 were being examined. I believe they 

 are always silent while at the nest, 

 the call notes usually being heard at 

 some little distance from the nest. 

 These notes are similar to the sound 

 made by the striking together of two 

 small stones or pebbles, and uttered 

 pop — pop — pop-pop-pop- pop — pop — 

 pop-pop-pop and so on. Seemingly each 

 breath is sufficient for five syllables, 

 the last three being uttered more 

 quickly than the first two, in fact they 

 seem almost run together, as popopop. 



During the day the birds are often 

 silent for long intervals but at night, 

 especially moon light nights the inter- 

 vals of silence are very short. So we 

 may conclude that the birds are very 

 much more active at night than during 

 the day. 



Since 1908 I have visited North Da- 

 kota but once. That was during the 

 season of 1914, and no eggs at all of 

 the Yellow Rail were found, although 

 the usual number of the birds were 

 found frequenting the big coulee. Be- 

 tween the coulee and Esmond, how- 

 ever, in the ravines and marshes which 

 the birds had so commonly frequented 

 in former years, none at all were 

 heard, and a marsh at Pleasant Lake 

 in the northwest corner of Benson 

 County was found to be inhabited by 

 a fewer number of birds than in form- 

 er years. 



The eggs of the Yellow Rail are of 

 a warm buffy-brown or creamy buff 

 ground color, marked usually on the 

 larger end only, more or less densely 

 with dots and spots of a dull brownish 

 shade or a reddish chocolate, and scat- 

 tered, obscure spots and specks of 

 lilac. 



Three eggs from three different 

 nests show the following measure- 

 ments: 1.19 x .81, 1.16 x .84, 1.07 x .79. 

 Fred Maltby. 



Ants and Ospreys. 



June 20, 1914 — While climbing up to 

 an Osprey's nest in a dead pine on 

 the Tred Avon River, I found that a 

 pair of Red-Headed Woodpeckers had 

 made several large cavities in the tree, 

 about 20 feet from the ground and be 

 low the Fish-hawks nest. They had 

 raised a brood of five young in one of 

 these holes, one of which I shot. Its 

 stomach contained black ants and a 

 whitish grub. These woodpeckers evi- 

 dently fed on the numerous ants about 

 the hawk's nest. 



June 30 — Collected a set of two Os- 

 prey eggs. Noticed a pair of Flickers 

 pecking about a hole on a nearby limb. 

 Upon examination the hole seemed to 

 have been freshly made but contained 

 nothing. Ants were abundant about 

 the Osprey nest. 



Climbed up to another Osprey nest 

 nearby but the nest was so bulky I 

 could not reach or climb over the rim 

 to find what was in it, but I thought 

 that it contained young. 



Since then I have often seen Flick- 

 ers and Woodpeckers feeding about 

 the nests of these birds. 



B. Langsdale. 

 Easton, Md. 



