THE OOLOGIST. 3(2? C^l ) ^"^^H 



87 



Spencer tied a stout rope, then tied it 

 around his waist. In this manner he 

 was able to back out of the lower limb 

 some five or six feet from the nest 

 at which distance the accompanying 

 photo was secured. He pulled the 

 camera up with a small handline and 

 after the photo was taken, I sent up a 

 pail in which the eggs were safely 

 lowered. The nest was very large and 

 coarse; almost three feet across. It 

 was snugly lined with leaves, and a 

 few fresh hemlock sprigs. The three 

 eggs were pale blue or greenish-blue, 

 unmarked, and of course were fresh. 



Several days later I visited the 

 scene again and was rather surprised 

 to see the old hawk fly from the nest 

 tree. On going nearer I saw a lot of 

 fresh hemlock sprigs around the rim 

 of the nest on top and it looks as if 

 she would try it over. I had intended 

 going up again yesterday, but had an 

 important engagement in another di- 

 rection resulting in my returning 

 three sets richer. One of Barred Owl, 

 and two of Red-shouldered Hawk, 

 1-3 1-4. 



The photo of the nest which I am 

 sending, although not perfect, is not 

 really bad, and shows the set and nest 

 to good advantage, considering the 

 weather. (But will not make a good 

 plate for the Oologist. — Ed.) 



R. B. SIMPSON, 



Warren, Pa. 



NESTING OF THE GRASSHOPPER 

 SPARROW. 



Every naturalist has his favorites. 

 In the realm of Ornithology this rule 

 proves no exception. Many of my 

 friends spend early April in traveling 

 large sections of woodland for Rap- 

 tores while others, in early June, 

 search out the nesting places of our 

 native Warblers. All these trips have 

 their fascinations, but none have ap- 



pealed to me in such a degree as has 

 the hunt for the homes of the elusive 

 Grasshopper Sparrow. 



The Yellow-wing, is, to say the least, 

 local in its habitat and peculiar in 

 its habits. Throughout the southern 

 parts of Pennsylvania, we find it in 

 numerous localities, but never in 

 abundance. Not only in the southern 

 parts but also in the mountains of 

 Pike and Monroe Counties as well as 

 in southern New Jersey, does the in- 

 sect-like song of the Grasshopper ring 

 lazily out during the nesting season. 

 I have seen them quite commonly in 

 Chester County, but nowhere in such 

 numbers as about my home in south- 

 ern Montgomery County. Here they 

 are very common, nesting not only in 

 the dry, weedy fields, usually ascrib- 

 ed to them, but also in those verdant 

 with grass and clover. 



It is a comparatively easy matter 

 to discover the field wherein the pair 

 is nesting, but to find the nest is a 

 much harder proposition. During the 

 last three years that I have spent in 

 their haunts, but three nests with 

 perfect sets of eggs have been dis- 

 covered in the vicinity of Philadel- 

 phia. An incomplete set was taken 

 at Cape May, New Jersey, and sever- 

 al nests with young have been locat- 

 ed about my home; but in the search 

 for sets of this speciess, I have been 

 singularly unsuccessful. One fact I 

 have demonstrated about my home 

 at least; — it is useless to use a rope 

 in search for the nests. A friend and 

 I wasted several days in dragging 

 over fields, but with no results. 



My first nest was found on May 

 26, 1906, and well do I recall the event. 

 I was on my way home across an old 

 field overgrown with dried grass, 

 when I observed two Grasshoppers 

 fighting on the wing, all the while 

 singing violently — the right term for 



