i8e 



THE OOLOGIST. 



of the Am. Woodcock containing four 

 slightly incubafed eggs. The nest was 

 placed at the foot of a small bush, and 

 was composed of dried weeds and gras- 

 ses. I also found several nests with 

 young. 



June 5th — Scarlet Tanager, took a set 

 of four incubated eggs from a nest situ- 

 ated in a hemlock. This bird is more 

 abundant than usual this season, ex- 

 cepting '88. 



June 10th — I went collecting in the 

 marshes to-day, and found three sets of 

 Black Terns, one set of Red-winged 

 Blackbirds, set of eight Horned 

 Grebes, and six or seven sets of Florida 

 Gallinules, and many Long-billed Marsh 

 Wren's eggs. Some of the latter were 

 pure white. I found one set of six 

 nearly perfectly white, and several 

 speckled with light brown. 



June 12th — While collecting in the 

 same place as on the 10th, I found a set 

 of two Least Bittern eggs. The nest 

 Was a platform of dried weeds. 



June 10th — I took many sets of Black 

 Terns, Coots and Gallinule's eggs here. 

 Horned Grebes were here in consider- 

 able numbers, and I collected about 

 twenty eggs and about the same num- 

 ber of Pied-billed Grebes. I think the 

 American Bittern breeds here, but I 

 cannot locate the nest. 



B. Swales, 

 Detroit, Mich. 



were laid three English Sparrow's eggs. 

 The Sparrows evidently thought that 

 the Robin's nest would make a firm 

 fastening to the maple limb or that it 

 would make a good recepticle for their 

 eggs. 



Harold Wilder, 

 Atlantic, Mass, 



A Nest Within a Nest. 



In previous articles of the Oologist 

 I have read about .an egg within an egg, 

 but I do not think many of the readers 

 of the Oologist have seen a nest with- 

 in a nest. 



On July 7th, while destroying some 

 European House Sparrows' nests a nest 

 was thrown down which upon examin- 

 ing proved to be a Robin's nest within 

 the House Sparrow's. The sparrow's 

 nest was built completely around the 

 Robin's. The inside of the Robin's nest 

 was lined with hen feathers upon which 



A Rose-breasted Grosbeak Widower. 



On June 1st as I was walking around 

 the yard, I found a female Rose-breast- 

 ed Grosbeak, lying under a maple tree 

 dead. 



I knew there must be a nest some- 

 where near, as I had seen both male 

 and female daily, for sometime past, 

 So I walked along under the row of 

 maples and box elders bordering the 

 street, to the end of the block, but could 

 see nothing of it. 



On my way back I heard the male's 

 voice, which sounded as if it came from 

 a box elder tree a short distance ahead, 

 I walked along, the bird singing at 

 short intervals, till I seemed to be 

 directly under it, still I could see noth- 

 ing. I stepped into the middle of the 

 road just then the bird sang again, 

 Looking up I saw the little fellow sit. 

 ting on the nest singing "with all his 

 heart." I tried to get him to leave the 

 nest, tossing up stones so they would 

 strike the boughs, but no, he paid no 

 attention to this, continuing his song, as 

 if still unseen. 



How to get at the nest was a doubt- 

 ful question, as it was placed at the end 

 of the limb near the top of the tree. I 

 concluded that it would be best to climb 

 the tree next to it, and with the aid of a 

 rake I might be able to pull the limb 

 with the nest towards me. 



I got the rake, climbed the tree and 

 not until I had pulled the limb toward 

 me quite a little, did the poor little 

 widower leave the nest. 



I brought it near enough to reach 

 with my hands. The nest, unlike others 

 of this species was very bulkly, being 



