16 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Mr. John V. Crone of Marathon, 

 Iowa, writes: 



' H. E. Berry, formerly of Damariscot- 

 ta, Me - , now of Boston, Mass., is a 

 fraud. Some 17 months ago I sent him 

 eggs for rubber stamps and other eggs. 

 In the course of some six months, after 

 repeated "duns" I received part of the 

 eggs, the remaining balance of our ac- 

 count amounting to $8.65. I have 

 not been able to get though I have writ- 

 ten many times and have received 

 many promises a typical one being: "I 

 will settle with you with good interest in- 

 side of Jive days," received some months 

 ago. I am not the only one he has 

 fleeced as the following extracts will 

 show." 



Lack of space prevents our printing 

 the "extracts" from the letters of sever- 

 al collectors. 



Mr. Berry we believe to be honest, 

 intentionally at least, but by dealing in 

 "futures" fell by the way — with us his 

 fault has always been in promising 

 specimens that he was "agoing to ob- 

 tain or collect" and during the past sea- 

 son he has apparently bitten off more 

 he could masticate. Mr. Berry's home 

 friends and business men all speak well 

 of him. 



P. B. Peabody, of Minnisota writes: — 



"Careful collectors should be on the 

 watch for Iowa, Kansas and Mississippi 

 parties who are sending out eggs of 

 Flicker and Mourning Dove for those of 

 Poor-will." 



In conclusion we advise, collectors to 

 make purchases and exchanges of re- 

 liable and known dealers and collectors 

 only. Their prices may seem higher or 

 their terms less advantageous but the 

 results will prove far more satisfactory. 



Advanced collector's should not enter- 

 tain the idea of exchanging with "boys" 

 and the latter must for the time being be 

 content to exchange among themselves. 



We do not knowingly publish adver- 

 tisements or exchanges of any but relia- 

 ble parties, any of our readers finding 

 them othewise should promptly advise 

 us stating full particulars. 



We will investigate the matter, and 

 if found as reported will give them a 

 gratuitous editorial puff and if circum- 

 stances demand will place their cases 

 in the hands of proper Government 

 officials. 



this vicinity, ranking next to Olive- 

 backed which is our rarest Thrush. 

 They are invariably found in dense un- 

 dergrowth on the borders of low thick 

 woods. Never more than one pair in a 

 place as I have observed here. 



It is a very shy bird, generally prefer- 

 ing to skulk off on the ground, l-ather 

 than fly. They do not sing any such 

 song as the Wood and Wilson's Thrush- 

 es do, at least when I have been within 

 hearing. Their usual note is a low 

 mournful whistle- The nest is general- 

 ly placed in the midst of a small thick 

 bush and close to the ground. I have 

 not found any placed more than 10 in. 

 from the ground and most of my finds 

 were much closer. In this vicinity they 

 are made entirely of dead leaves, inside 

 and out. I found a nest on June 9th 

 containing four eggs nearly fresh. 

 They were slightly smaller than the 

 Wilson's and darker colered, but in 

 some cases they resemble each other 

 closely. Nest as described. 



Ernest H. Short, 

 Chili, Monroe Co., N. Y. 



The Horned Grebe at St. Clair Flats. 



In the December Oologist an article on 

 the Horned Grebe as an abundant resi- 

 dent in this locality which I think must 

 be a mistake as during three seasons 

 nesting in the marshes of Detroit River 

 I have never seen but the Thick-billed 

 Grebe, which is very common during 

 the breeding season, and from the des- 

 cription of nest in this article I will add 

 that it is identical with the nest of the 

 Thick-billed Grebe as far as my obser- 

 vations are concerned. I will say, how- 

 ever, that Horned Grebes have been 

 shot at the "flats" during the late fall, 

 and I am quite confident that they 

 nest to the noi'th of here. 



W. A. Davidson, 

 Detroit, Mich. 

 [A few years since Prof. H. P. Att- 

 water sent us several sets of the Horned 

 Grebe, collected on Mitchell Bay, St. 

 Clair Flats, Canada side. Ed.] 



Hermit Thrush- 



The Hei-mit Thrush is very rare in 



"Our Birds in Their Haunts." 



Our Friend, the Rev. J. H. Langille, 

 of Box 63, Smithsonian Institution, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, under date of Dec. 21st, 

 writes as follows: 



"The subscriptions to my new edition 

 of "Our Birds in Their Haunts"are com- 

 ing in very hopefully; but the number 



