206 



THE OOLOGIST. 



as though totally unconscious of the 

 vile epithets being hurled at hirn. He 

 is a splendid actor. 



Whenever found in the open, they 

 make for the Chapparal, running with 

 head low down and neck stretched for- 

 ward. If not pursued they will stop 

 every hundred yards or so, and take a 

 look around, then make another spurt, 

 and so on till lost to sight. But if hard 

 pressed they get over the ground amaz- 

 ingly fast with the help of their wings. 



Sometimes when caught in a lane 

 and chased the silly birds will keep 

 straight ahead, maybe for a mile, down 

 the lane; then its senses returning, or 

 getting tired of the race, they will turn 

 off to one side into the pastures, where 

 they could have gone directlv in the first 

 place. 



Early in March nest building begins. 

 Sometimes an old nest is rebuilt, but 

 as the nests are not very stout there is, 

 as a rule, little of the old nest left. 

 Usually the center of a Chapparal thick- 

 et is chosen. Sometimes hackberry 

 trees are used, and the "Spanish bayo- 

 net" often forms a very secure place for 

 a nest. 



The nests are placed f 1 om three to 

 ten feet up. Small sticks and thorny 

 twigs loosely put together, form the 

 structure; while the lining, if any, is of 

 grass, weeds, and often the green leaves 

 of the mesquite tree. 



The eggs are from two to nine in 

 number, usually two to seven. Six is 

 the average, and nine the largest I have 

 found. The ea:gs are pure glossy white 

 in color, and ovate, some of them ellip- 

 tical, in shape. 1.56 x 1.20 inches is an 

 average size, but they vary fully one- 

 tenth of an inch, more or less, than this 

 average. In wet weather the eggs of- 

 ten get beautifully frescoed with mud 

 from the feet of the old bird. These 

 birds always forget to wipe their feet 

 before entering their parlors, and as a 

 consequence the eggs are sometimes 

 perfectly black. 



I have taken sets of seven as early as 

 March 18th, and incubated eggs as late- 

 as June 25th. Three-fourths of all the 

 eggs of this species that I have collect- 

 ed have been taken in April. 



I have noticed in blowing these eggs 

 that some of them have a very peculiar- 

 way of "sweating. 1 ' The watery albu- 

 men comes out in little drops all over the 

 egg as though through pores in the shell. 

 Upon examining the specimen in which 

 this sweating was most noticeable with 

 a strong glass I found that the wholes 

 shell was perforated with innumerable 

 small holes, hardly visible to the naked 

 eye. I do not know the cause or effect 

 of this, unless it was for ventilation? 1 

 have noticed this more or less in a doz- 

 en specimens. 



Incubation begins as soon as a few 

 eggs are laid, and the laying of eggs, 

 also continues, so young birds and 

 nearly fresh eggs are found in the same 

 nest. 



When taken before they leave the 

 nest they can be easily tamed but make 

 very troublesome pets. At least, that. 

 is my experience. The last Chapparal 

 Cock I had was convicted of sucking 

 eggs, and killed accordingly, death 

 being the penalty for that crime. 



A. H. W. Norton, 

 San Antonio, Texas.. 



A Curious Accident. 



C. Leonard Whitm ire's article in, 

 April Oologist reminds me of a curi- 

 ous accident that came under mj. no- 

 tice in '93. A friend while passing a. 

 farm house near this city noticed a pair 

 of Chimney Swifts circling around 

 and sometimes Hying into a large chim- 

 ney which supported a lightning rod. 



A few minutes afterwards he again 

 passed the house, and looking up saw 

 one of- the Swifts impaled ancf still 

 struggling on the rod. 



It had probably, while diving intothe= 

 chimney, been forced against the sharp, 

 point by a sudden gust of wind. 



Geo. H. Davis, 

 Painesville, Ohio. 



