THE OOLOGIST. 



69 



about latitude 45 ° 45', quite a distace 

 south of its usual range. 



Frank H. Nutter, 

 Minneapolis, Minn. 



Notes From Southwestern Ohio- 



In the course of my ornithological 

 studies, I have been particularly interest- 

 ed in observing the difference of the 

 abundance and varieties of birds caus- 

 ed by different locations in the same 

 neighborhood. 



In Clermont Co. the land on each side 

 of the watershed between the Ohio river 

 and the East Fork creek, is well drained, 

 and the woodland is comparatively dry; 

 while on the water-shed the land is 

 quite wet, and Ins, in consequence, 

 been left uncleared, to a great extent. 

 In the dry woods on the hills, are found 

 commonly, the Yellow-breasted Chat, the 

 Chewink, and the Brown Thrasher and 

 Black and Yellow-billed Cuckoos. In 

 other woods not over a mile distant, 

 these species are rarely seen and Wood 

 Thrushes, Oven-birds, Acadian Fly- 

 Catchers and Tanagers make up the 

 most of the feathered population. 



In these wet woods, which, during 

 fall, winter and spring, are covered 

 with a few inches of water, the Wood 

 Thrush is, in summer, by far the most 

 abundant species. Early in May, when 

 the woods are in new leaf, the woods 

 fairly ring with the bell-like notes of 

 these birds, the combined efforts making 

 a grand concert, in which the Oven- 

 birds and Acadian Fly-catchers took a 

 part. 



From the first of May, fresh eggs may 

 be found, but they are most abundant 

 during the second and third weeks. 

 The nest is commonly placed eight or 

 ten feet upon a horizontal limb, some- 

 times in a fork of asapling,and have an 

 internal wall of mud, lined with shiny, 

 jet black rootlets, and covered outside 

 with bleached lace like dead leaves, 

 "which contrast beautifully with the jet 



black interior, especially when the lat- 

 ter contains the usual number of thi'ee 

 or four blue eggs. Two is sometimes the 

 complement, and I have seen five, but 

 the latter number is unusual. One nest 

 found on May 7th, was placed in an up- 

 right sapling in a narrow fork, so that 

 the nest was built up to a heighth of 10 

 inches before it had room enough for 

 the sitting bird. 



The Ovenbird is next in abundance. 

 Its clearly accented notes are heard in 

 great abundance early in May and its 

 eggs are laid at any time during that 

 month. The nest, placed under a bushy 

 dead limb on the ground, resembles 

 greatly the nest of the meadow mouse, 

 Arvicola pennsylvanicus, but is thatched 

 outside with broad dry leaves of the 

 white beech. 



This bird is rnore imposed on by the 

 Cow-bird, than any others that have 

 fallen under my observation, as the fol- 

 lowing record shows : 



May 6, 1 egg of Ovenbird, 5 of Cpwbird. 



May 7,3 eggs of Ovenbird 3 of Cowbird. 



May 23, 3 eggs of Ovenbird, 3 of Cow- 

 bird. 



May 23, no eggs of Ovenbird, 3 of 

 Cowbird. 



The female was sitting, in each nest, 

 excepting the first, when all eggs were 

 fresh. 



Another abundant resident of these 

 woodland shades is the Acadian Fly- 

 catcher. I cannot say when it arrives, 

 but it is quite common by the 1st of 

 May. It is difficult to see, as its plain 

 colors corresponds well with the dead 

 lower limbs of trees, on which it loves 

 to perch. You may be guided to it by 

 its shrill, "■queedle-a-ree,ree," queedle-a- 

 ree, ree, ree. which is almost constantly 

 uttered; but the bird, as you approach 

 moves on out of sight. 



Its nest, always as I have found, is 

 placed on a pendent limb of a white 

 beech, usually about seven feet from 

 the ground. One nest was made of 

 yellow "tickle-grass," loosely woven, 



