THE OOLOOIST. 



mer with us. Most ornithological wri- 

 ters say but little about the notes of the 

 Shrike, passing over them as unattrac- 

 tive and unimportait; but to me, as I 

 hear them from some tall tree-top of a 

 winter's morning, they constitute a 

 warble, which is, indeed, sweet, pleas- 

 ing and somewhat continued. 



Perched on the very topmost twig (as 

 he always does) of some tall tree by the 

 roadside, giving vent to his peculiarly 

 entertaining warble, on some bright, 

 crisp, February morning; he is, indeed 

 a pleasant feature of our winter land- 

 scape. 



But the "most interesting of his per- 

 formances, is >lo watch him as he pur- 

 sues some unlucky sparrow, diving 

 madly at him and generally catching 

 him and pecking out his brains, — ap- 

 parently from pure spite. 



Be that'as it may, — I know of no 

 bird brains that we can better spare 

 than those of Passer domesticus, and so 

 I say "Long live the Shrike from the 

 North." 



Neil F. Posson, 

 Medina, N. Y. 



Horned Grebe on St Clair Flats- 



In the December^ Oologist, Mr. Da- 

 vidson^ of this city criticises my article 

 on the Horned Grebe and says that they 

 do not[occur in this locality. In a re- 

 cent letter, Mr. J. Claire Wood, of this 

 this city, says 'T have often watched 

 these Grebes through a strong opera 

 glass, and noticed that they frequent 

 deeper water, are more expert divers, 

 and faster swimmers than the Pied-bill- 

 ed species. Their nests are neai-ly 

 similar, but the eggs average larger." 

 Mr. Wood is well acquainted with the 

 ornithology of this region, and 1 can- 

 not do better than refer Mr. Davidson 

 to him. Nearly all authorities give the 

 St. Clair Flats as a breeding place for 

 this Grebe. Rev. Langille in "Our 

 Birds in Their Haunts" speaks about 



them there, and T. Mcllwraith in the 

 "Birds of Ontario," found them there. 

 The coming season, I hope to take a 

 few more sets of their eggs from this 

 vicinity. 



B. H. Swales, 

 Detroit, Mich. 



Report of the Secretary of the W- N- Y. Nat* 

 uralists Association. 



On February 3, 1892 was held a meet- 

 ing of the aforesaid society in the Court 

 House at Rochester, N . Y. At the busi- 

 ness meeting the following was dispos- 

 ed of. 



T. R. Taylor, of 90 William St., Roch- 

 ester was elected secretary and treas* 

 urer in the place of E. B. Peck resigned, 



N. F. Posson, Medina; G. F. Guelf, 

 Brockport and T. R. Taylor, Rochester 

 were appointed a committee to draft 

 objects of the Association for publica- 

 tion. 



Moved that for one year members 

 will be admitted on the recommenda' 

 tion of any active member. Passed. 



In the evening papers from B. S. 

 Bowdish, Talapoosa, Ga., Dr. A. G. 

 Prill, Springville, N. Y. and E. H. 

 Short, Chili, N. Y. were read. Exhibits 

 were made by T. R. Taylor, Rochester, 

 N. F. Posson, Medina and E. H. Short, 

 Chili. Altogether we had a good meet- 

 ing and hope to have a better one at 

 Brockport, N. Y., Oct, 6, 1892. 



T. R. Taylor, 

 Secretary, 



World's Fair Notes- 



The Province of Ontario, Canada, 

 will make an extensive mineral exhibit. 



Mr. S. J. Hunter, of Nevada, Mo., 

 has a collection of over 11,000 varieties 

 of woods, petrifications, etc., which ha 

 purposes exhibiting at the Fair. 



A herd of live elk will be taken from 

 Idaho to the Exposition. In the Mon- 

 tana exhibit will be shown about 100 

 specimens of wild animals and birds, 

 native to that State, and set .up by a 

 skilled taxidermist. 



