THE OOLOGIST. 



101 



came to my mind whether I should 

 take the egg or wait until the bird laid 

 another aud run the risk of rinding 

 nothing when I came back. I thought 

 I had rather have one egg than none 

 and I had rather have two eggs than 

 one. I marked the spot and concluded 

 to run the risk of losing the egg. 



Two days later my twin brother and 

 I returned to the spot and found the 

 bird on the nest. We walked up with- 

 in less than a rod of her before she flew; 

 she alighted on a limb about a rod off 

 and watched us, chipping, twitching 

 her tail aud moving her head back and 

 forth. The eggs were creamy white, 

 spotted, mostly at one end, with differ- 

 ent shades of brown. Their dimensions 

 were very nearly alike being about 1.25 

 by .87 inches. They laid on a bed of 

 pine needles, with which the ground 

 was covered, without an apology for a 

 nest and in a little eleared place be ; 

 tween two saplings. 



May 31st two village boys accidental- 

 ly found another nest while roaming in 

 the woods aud brought the eggs to me 

 to have me tell them what they were 

 and to blow them. I managed to trade 

 for one of them; the other 1 could not 

 get. 



When I found my Whip-poor-will's 

 nest I was not thinking of the directions 

 which M. C. White gave for linding 

 them, given in the April and May Oolo- 

 gist, but I shall try that way next sea- 

 son, and I hope with success 



Clinton D. Howe, 

 Newfane, Vt. 



The Black Rail in Franklin Go- Kan. 



As comparatively little is said in our 

 natural history papers concerning the 

 nesting habits and eggs of this very 

 rare and interesting little bird, perhaps 

 my limited observations might be of 

 some interest to the readers of the Col- 

 lectors's Friend— The Oologist. On 

 the 20th of June 1890 while collecting 



different varieties of eggs in a swamp, 

 my attention was attracted by a hissing 

 noise near my feet, not unlike the noise 

 made by a Brown Thrasher when star- 

 tled from her nest, aud immediately a 

 little black bird, almost exactly resem- 

 bling a "Mud Hen" only a great deal 

 smaller, flew up out of the high slough 

 grass and lit a short distance away. I 

 knew by her action that she must have 

 a nest close by, and I immediately com- 

 menced trying to find it. After search- 

 ing about ten minutes I found the nest 

 and it was the prettiest oological sight 

 I have ever seen before or since. There 

 firmly attached to the grass about eight 

 inches above the water was the uest, 

 about the size and shape of a large co- 

 coanut; and resembling the nest of the 

 Meadowlark, exce.pt that the entrance 

 instead of being iu the side was about 

 midway between the side and top. 

 The nest contaiued ten eggs, very slight- 

 ly incubated, cream colored, speckled 

 chiefly about the larger end with bright 

 reddish browu specks, some being as 

 large as apinhead and averaged 1.06x 

 .80. My second and last nest was found 

 on the 27th of the same month, in a 

 swamp, distant about three miles trom 

 the first one, and contained six fresh 

 eggs like those of the first, except that 

 the spots were a trifle larger. The nest 

 was deserted, having been washed over 

 by high water, aud some of the eggs 

 were probably washed away. 



I hunted for more eggs in the same 

 and other marshes last season, but was 

 not successful because of continued wet 

 weather which kept the swamps con- 

 stantly flooded. 



I hope to be more successful this sea 

 son as the birds are quite numerous in 

 this particular locality. 



I would like to hear more through 

 the columns of the OoLOGlST concern- 

 ing this bird. 



MlLO W. KlBBE, 



Princeton, Kansas. 



