THE OOLOGIST. 



abundant at that time, and I do not 

 'doubt that they destroyed large num- 

 bers of smaller mammals, mice, etc. 



Last spring (1891) sevei'al companions 

 besides myself spent a week hunting 

 aud fishing in Pawnee Valley, Garfield 

 Co., among the eggs collected by my- 

 self while there, is a fine set of three of 

 the Swainson's Hawk. The bulky nest 

 was composed of sticks, weeds and 

 pieces of cow manure, and was placed 

 about twenty feet up on a slanting 

 ledge. The eggs were fresh and show 

 very diverse markings. Each have 

 a ground color of bluish white; on one 

 the spots are confluent around the large 

 end, forming a reddish brown blotch, 

 splashed with spots of a darker tint; 

 on another the spots run together form- 

 ing a blotch around the smaller end; 

 the third is unmarked with the excep- 

 tion of a few faint wavy lines around 

 the large end. Several other nests 

 were found in the same vicinity, all old 

 ones, and very likely built by the same 

 pair of birds in successive years. 



Two or three clays after finding the 

 above nest, I found another of the same 

 species, unfinished. It was placed on a 

 knoll higher than the surrounding hills. 

 Sandstone rocks, nearly a foot thick, 

 were placed in the form of a circle 

 about three feet in diameter, and the 

 inside of the circle was filled with 

 stones gradually decreasing in size to 

 the center, thus forming a basin-like 

 platform on which to build the main 

 nest of sticks and weeds. A few sticks 

 had already been placed on the struc- 

 ture. I regreted very much that I was 

 not able to remain in the valley long 

 enough to secure the eggs. 



Black Rail, (Porzana jamaicensis). 

 My acquaintance with the Black Rail 

 is very limited, so limited that I hesi- 

 tated long before offering to share it 

 with the readers of the Oologist. 



On June 6, 1889, while my brothe 1 ' 

 and myself were hunting Blackbirds 

 eggs in a shallow pond, my brother 

 found a nest of this species. The pond 



was partly filled with water from re- 

 cent rains, and was covered with thick 

 growth of small weeds, from one to two 

 feet high. The nest was placed on a 

 low ridge near the center of the pond, 

 and contained nine fresh eggs — a sight 

 to make a collector's eyes sparkle, and 

 I can assure you it did ours. The nest 

 — a neat compact structure — was com- 

 posed entirely of blades of a kind of 

 water grass. 



The eggs are light cream color, thick- 

 ly spotted with fine reddish dots and 

 purple shell markings, thickest around 

 large end. 



Harry W. Menke, 

 Garden City, Kans. 



Ornithologists Association. 



secretary's report. 



At the meeting of the Association on 

 November 3d, the following new mem- 

 bers were elected: 



Active— John M. Davis, 324 Pa. Ave. 

 S. E. Wash. D. C. 



Corresponding — Geo. H. Gray, 1326 

 1ST. Mount St., Baltimore, Md., Rolla P. 

 Currie. 108 N. 5th St. Grand Forks, N. 

 Dakota, S. R. Ingersoll, Ballston, Spa., 

 N. Y., E. E. N". Murphy, 510 Jackson 

 St. Athens, Ga., H. R. Kellogg, Alpena. 

 Mich. 



At the regular monthly meeting Dec. 

 1, 1891, the following persons were 

 elected corresponding members of the 

 Association: 



Edmund Heller, Riverside, Cal., W. 

 S. Strode,* M. D., Bernadotte, His. 



President Langille made a few re- 

 marks on the nomenclature and points 

 of dittierentiation of Ortyx virginiana, 

 Lagopus albus, and Bonasa urn hell us. 



The popular names of Ortyx and Bo- 

 nasa are the same in different sections 

 of the country, but it has been deter- 

 mined that Ortyx is not a quail but is 

 really a Partridge'. 



In form it is stouter and its bill is 



