216 



THE OOLOGIST 



numbers of destructive beetles, grass- 

 hoppers, field mice and other pests. 



I know of several pairs of these 

 birds that nest about Auburn, N. Y., 

 each year. 



Early in May, 1908, I found a nest 

 in a bunch of wild apple trees which 

 was the nicest I have ever seen, be- 

 ing heavily lined with the cotton of 

 dried cat-tails of a rich buff color. It 

 contained three eggs. I visited the 

 nest again in a week, and found the 

 female sitting on six very pretty eggs. 

 I quickly withdrew and watched for a 

 half-hour through my glasses. The fe- 

 male returned to the nest imemdiate- 

 ly. In a short time the male came 

 with food which his mate accepted 

 with vibrating wings, and making a 

 loud, rasping, squeaking sound. This 

 occurred twice while I was watching. 

 At no time during my visit was the 

 male more than a hundred yards away 

 from the nest. 



Now the question in mind, is which 

 Shrike is this. I had always supposed 

 that this central New York State bird 

 was the White-rumped, but during a 

 short conversation with Mr. L. A. 

 Fuertes last Spring, he told me that 

 this is the Migrant Shrike, the White- 

 rumped being the more Western spe- 

 cies. Are not his statements authen- 

 tic? 



Would like to hear from some of 



the Oologist readers. 



L. D. LEACH. 



It is the Migrant Shrike. — ^Editor. 

 A Letter. 



The following letter was received 

 from an old time subscriber to THE 

 OOLOGIST, and is too good and too 

 true to be hidden in a dust-covered 

 file. Mr. Ingalls' name years ago was 

 well-kno\yn in the bird world. 

 "R. M. Barnes: — 



had been a long time since I received 

 a copy. I had supposed it had passed 

 and gone. It is the same old familiar 

 paper and still it is not the same. 

 What has become of the old boys 

 whose names used to appear from 

 time to time. Search as I may, I can 

 only find two or three left. I know 

 they have not ceased to love and study 

 the birds, but have passed on to the 

 sterner realities of life. I trust they 

 are better and nobler men on account 

 of the time and enjoyment spent in 

 the fields and woods among the birds. 

 '"It takes me back to the happy 

 hours I spent with my chum Dan, 

 searching througl^ ....• old Hyde Park 

 District, south of Chicago; a veritable 

 paradise for birds in days gone by. 

 Where is Dan now? I cannot say, 

 working away on books in some office 

 I presume; also where are the birds 

 that used to occupy the old haunts. 

 Only these that knew the old district 

 can realize the great change which 

 the great city has made. I wish THE 

 OOLOGIST great success, for it has a 

 mission of its own, and I believe every 

 boy or man who studies the birds is 

 made better for it. 



.JOHN W. INGALLS" 



Wyoming Juncos. 



I was very much surprised to re- 

 ceive a copy of 'THE OOLOGIST'. It 



Dear Oologist: — 



I send you herewith, two photos 

 with notes, that may be of some inter- 

 est to your readers. The set n-4, is 

 that of the Montana Junco and the 

 set n-5, the Oregon Junco — both pho- 

 tos taken in situ by Dr. Moody. 



The most unusual thing connected 

 with these photographs, is that of the 

 Oregon Junco set, which contains, as 

 may be plainly seen, 5 eggs. You will 

 also notice that the surrounding 

 shrubbery is that of a pine. The fact 

 of an Orange Junco laying 5 eggs is 

 something very uncommon; but to 



