THE OOLOGIST. 



11 



-again behind the bars, literally in soli- 

 tary confinement for her evil deeds. 

 She seems discontented since the loss of 

 her smaller male, and sympathy may 

 be expressed for the lonely Owl. How- 

 ever it is a question if the cit3 r raised 

 Owl could get her living in the wild 

 woods after three years of inactivity 

 and never having received a parent's 

 instruction in the art of hunting. It 

 is barely possible, after the exhibition 

 recorded above, that this Owl might 

 learn in a short time. Therefore, as the 

 owner does not want to pay for neigh- 

 borhood poultry, and dislikes to kill 

 the old pet, it remains necessary to 

 keep Bubo in the solitary. 



A Collecting Trip in Florida. 



Leon Co., Fla. is thickly dotted with 

 lakes and swamps. In about the cen- 

 ter of the county, uot far from Talla- 

 hassee, is a large cypress swamp nearly 

 surrounded by lakes. This is indeed a 

 collector's paradise! 



It was to this place that my father, 

 brother and I went, oue beautful morn- 

 iug early in June, to collect eggs and 

 skins of of the Little Blue Heron, which 

 we heard were to be taken in abund- 

 ance. We carried a No. ten duck gun 

 and a large market basket, in which to 

 bring home the spoils. 



Before reaching the swamp we were 

 obliged to pass over a narrow piece of 

 of laud between two of the lakes and 

 here in the bushes growing in the edges 

 of the lakes we took three nests of the 

 Red-winged Blackbird. These nests 

 were composed of straw and wet marsh 

 grass, which afterwards dries, holding 

 the parts firmly together. A set of 

 three eggs in my collection averages 

 .95x.72 inches and are greenish white 

 marked mostly on the larger end with 

 straggHng splashes ?,nd scrolls of black. 



In a stunted cypress growing near 

 the bank, we found an incomplete set 

 of three eggs of the Orchard Oriole. 



The nest was composed of grass and a 

 few small pieces of cotton. The grass 

 of which the nest was woven seems to 

 have been procured while young and, 

 although it is now three yeairs old, still 

 retains its green color. The eggs were 

 greenish and marked very much like 

 those of the Red-wings, averaging 

 .7ox.54. 



A Loggerhead Shrikes nest was found 

 which contained five eggs. 



Proceeding on our waj" we found 

 eggs of the Kingbird. Mockingbird and 

 Fla. Bob-white. As we drew nearer to 

 the swamp several species of Heron 

 arose and directed their course toward 

 its centre. 



We arrived at the edge of the water 

 which stood about waist deep among 

 the cypresses in the swamp, and pre- 

 pared to wade in. Everything was 

 deathly still excepting the dog-like 

 barki g of the Herons and the* hoarse 

 croaking of the frogs. We had not ad- 

 vanced far until Ave came upon two 

 nests of the Green Heron, one with 

 four, the other with three beautiful 

 green eggs. Still guided by the cries 

 of the birds we waded through the mud 

 and water, until in a short time we were 

 in the midst of a colony of "cranes." 

 By this intrusion we disturbed hun- 

 dreds of birds, which rose a short dis- 

 tance in the air, flew in wider and wid- 

 er circles, and then moved a short dis- 

 tance from the spot. Then we looked 

 around us. The water was covered 

 with water lilies and their foliage, or 

 "bonnets" as they are called in Florida,, 

 while the trees above us, very thick, 

 cont tined three or four nests each, 

 were heavily draped with Spanish 

 Moss, which made it rather gloomy be- 

 neath. The nests were chiefly those of 

 the Little Blue Heron, Black-crowned 

 Night Heron and Anhinga, while on 

 the outskirts of the Colony were nests 

 of the Green Heron aud Grackle. 



The nests of the Little Blue, as well 

 as those of the Green Heron, were light 



