240 



THE OOLOGIST. 



serts that when an egg is about ready- 

 to hatch, that a second egg was depos- 

 ited in the nest, and that the squab as- 

 sisted in incubating the . egg when the 

 old birds were both away for food, and 

 that in time a third and last egg was 

 laid, so that three young were hatched 

 each season, if the birds are unmolest- 

 ed. 



This peculiarity may exist with the 

 Pigeon, but I can add nothing to fur- 

 ther it from my own observations, ex- 

 cept to record the finding an egg in the 

 nest with a half-groAvn bird— the only 

 instance in my experience. From 

 watching the ways of some captive 

 birds kept as stool pigeons, I am well 

 satisfied that two young are not rarely 

 hatched at some weeks apart, and they 

 do fairly well in confinement. 



The young are fed by a process known 

 as regurgitation ; the partially digested 

 contents of the old bird's crops being 

 ejected into the mouths of the squabs. 



The position of the nest varies great- 

 ly. Often the nests are well out on 

 slender branches and in dangerous po- 

 sitions considering the shiftlessness of 

 the structure. When a rookery is vis- 

 ited, nests may be found in all manner 

 of situation. I have found single nests 

 built on small twigs next the body of 

 an oak tree, and at a height of only ten 

 feet, and again have seen nests forty 

 feet up in thick tamaracks. 



The eggs do not vary much in size or 

 color. They are white, but without 

 the polish seen on the egg of the domes- 

 tic Pigeon. About one and a half by 

 one inch is the regulation size. 



By reference to old price lists of near- 

 ly a quarter of a century ago I find that 

 the eggs where then listed 25 cents, 

 while it would be difficult to secure 

 good specimens at present at six times 

 the figure. 



A Curious Freak. 



One day in July, when passing 

 through a grove I discovered a small 



stump well whitewashed, whieh caused? 

 me to look morejclosely, and as I did 

 so, I saw a Flicker on one side of it. I 

 picked the bird up and^ found it was- 

 totally blind, I would think by the 

 looks that the bird had been there sev- 

 eral days. It was a young bird, but 

 could fiy, had it dared to leave the 

 stump. Of couse I left the bird as I 

 knew the mother could take the best 

 care of it. A. -E. Kibbe, 



Mayville, N. Y. 



Some Notes on the Habits of the Arkansas, 

 Goldfinch. 



The Arkansas Goldfinch, or Wild 

 Canary, is a resident with us -all the 

 year. They live on the seed of various- 

 weeds and thistles, "fruit buds and fruit 

 especially cherries. 



They begin house-keeping in early 

 April; the female building the nest,, 

 which is a beautiful littlel structure; of 

 rope strand, weed fibres, horse-hair,, 

 feathers, string, spiders web, and cotton,, 

 in any suitable tree at a height of from 

 four to twenty feet. 



Apr. 4, 1893, I found a pair of birds 

 building a nest in a Cyprus tree in our 

 yard. I hung some- pieces of cotton 

 around in the tree, and the female took 

 it all to line her nest. The nest con- 

 tained one egg Apr. 15 and four days- 

 later I collected a nice set of four eggs 

 from it. A friend of mine found a nest 

 of this species, built on a small ledge of 

 a pillar that supported thej top of the 

 front porch, on a house. 



I found one nest, on the 5 second 

 of June, 1893, in the upi-ight crotch 

 of a small maple, four feet from the 

 ground, which contains five fresh eggs 

 and the broken shell of another. 



The eggs are almost invariably four 

 in number, of a pale-greeuish-blue col- 

 or. 



The following nests have been found 

 this year, 1893. No. 1 Apr. 1. Nest 

 found on a small horizontal} limb of a 



