THE OOLOGIST. 



12$ 



G. H. G., Baltimore, Md., queries as 

 follows: Will some of our older orni- 

 thological readers answer? 



"Through your query column I would 

 like to learn something concerning the 

 distinction between Harlan's Hawk 

 (Buteo borealis' harlani) and the com- 

 mon Red-tailed Hawk {Buteo borealis). 



1 . Has the Borealis at any stage of 

 development a yellow eye? 



2. Is the tarsus in Borealis not feath- 

 ered half way down the front? 



3. Has the Borealis never the incis- 

 ion in the primary feathers? 



In others words are the distinctions 

 made by Maynard quoted in Langille, 

 p. 97, now considered accurate I have 

 a specimen corresponding to that des- 

 cription, but since I have seen several 

 specimens labeled "Red-tail," I feel 

 that I may not be safe in labelling mine 

 otherwise." 



J. G. G., Montgomery, O.— 'Twould 

 be a hard matter to decide from your 

 description whether your eggs are those 

 of the Red-tail or Red-shouldered Hawk. 



The Am . Woodcock nests very early, 

 but your date, March 22d, we think 

 more than ordinarily so. 



J. E. S., "Jordan's Mannal," is a 

 standard and inexpensive key and text- 

 book on the "Vertebrate Animals of 

 Northern United States." 



G. K. B., wishes to know the use of 

 the comb-like projection on the middle 

 toe of the Nighthawk, and other mem- 

 bers of the Goatsucker family. 



G. W. M., Moberly, Mo.— The young 

 Red-headed Woodpecker does not have 

 a red head. 



Harry R. Painton, of College Park, 

 Cala., writes of taking a finely marked 

 set of two eggs of the Golden Eagle on 

 March 14th. 



H. A. H, Edinburg, Ind. — The signs 

 and abbreviations used to indicate the 

 age and sex of a bird are as follows: 



yg — young; ad — adult; sign of the 

 planet Mars — male; sign of the planet 

 Venus — female. 



H. W. Carriger, of Sonoa Co., Gal., 

 took three nests of the Anna's Hum- 

 mingbird on March 2d. 



Mr. K. Atkinson, of Dime Box, Texas, 

 writes that the Turkey Vulture fre- 

 quently kills pigs and lambs, very rare- 

 ly young calves and that only in two- 

 occasions has he been able to closely 

 approach them when on the nest. Mr. 

 A. has been on the Range stock-raising- 

 for the past twenty-five yeai-s and his- 

 observations cover that period. 



Hugh Hartman, Ft. Wayne, Ind., 

 writes that a flock of about twenty-five 

 Passenger Pigeons was reported as 

 staying in the woods eleven miles north- 

 east the city last fall. 



F. L. Englebert, Des Moines, la.,. 

 writes that he has found Caustic Potashi 

 very effective in removing embryoes,. 

 and says: 



"Dissolve in water to form a solution,. 

 and insert into the egg by means of a. 

 blowpipe or syringe, the process being 

 repeated, after washing out each egg 

 before each insertion, until the embryo- 

 is all eaten and removed, and being ani- 

 mal matter, is easily acted upon and 

 dissolved by the potash. Great care- 

 must be taken, however, not to allow 

 any of the solution to get upon the- 

 hands or into the mouth, as it has- 

 about the same effect as lye, but is not 

 so dangerous to handle. I have seen it 

 successfully used for several seasons 

 past, and used it with success myself 

 last season." 



U. L. Hertz, of Napa, Cala., says that 

 the English Sparrows persist in making- 

 a hay stack of their palm trees but, has 

 cooled their ardor a little by taking 45 

 eggs at a single raid. 



Harry Smissen, of Snyder, Tex., took 

 a set of two eggs of the Bald Eagle on 

 June 20, '90. 



F. S. H, Chagrin Falls, O— Taxider- 

 mists use arsenic or preservative (arsen- 

 ic and alum) as an insect preventative- 



The readers of the Oologist are- 

 most certainly up with the times — the-- 

 latest is from Mr. R. C. Watters, of 

 Baltimore, who proposes to slaughter 

 the English Sparrows by the million 

 through the agency of electricity— a 

 cleverly executed drawing illustrates- 

 the battery and electrocution perch or 

 wire in position, — operator "pressing 



