102 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Albino Eggs of the Long-billed Marsh. 

 Wren. 



I wish to correct an unintentional 

 error in the Secretary's report of the 

 Ornithologists Association in which he 

 quotes Professor Ridgway aid Captain 

 Bendire as pronouncing the white set 

 of Long-billed Marsh Wren eggs which 

 I took last spring as "a great freak of 

 nature." 



What they did say was "it was an ab- 

 normal set, and unusual," since the 

 above was printed; several collectors 

 have notified me that similar sets have 

 been taken in this vicinity, a number of 

 which are in the Smithsonian Collect- 

 ion. In writing this I wish to correct 

 the wrong impression given Mr. J. C. 

 Wood in notes in the Oologist for Feb- 

 ruary he is evidently unaware that the 

 coloring matter in freshly laid eggs can 

 to a great extent be removed by wash- 

 iug and that nearly any divergence 

 from the type egg may be produced by 

 soap and water. 



Variations in coloring and markings 

 are found occasionally in all eggs and 

 it would be incorrect to pronounce any 

 such occurences as "a great freak of 

 nature" Avhen they are found to occur 

 so commonly. 



E. J. Brown, 

 Washington, D. C. 



[In '90 Ave obtained a series of about 

 one hundred specimens of the Long- 

 billed Marsh Wren from one of the 

 Professors of the University of Michi- 

 gan, in this series there was at least 

 half-a-dozen specimens that were either 

 white or creamy, or dirty white, about 

 •one-half of which were very sparingly 

 marked with a dark color. Most of 

 these specimens, especially the unmark- 

 ed ones were decidedly "abnormal" the 

 shell being rough. Perhaps I might 

 say undoubtedly these 'iabnormal" or 

 "albino" sets were produced by birds 

 whose first, and possibly second and 

 third sets were taken or destroyed; some 



enterprising oologist will no doubt 

 solve this problem for us by a series of 

 experiments dui'ing the ensuing sea- 

 son. 



Our Friend Brown's remarks relating 

 to the washing of eggs are not applica- 

 ble to an oologist with the experience 

 of Mr. Wood and this paragraph would 

 have been stricked from the MSS. had 

 we not considered it of value to our 

 younger readers. Mr. W's washing the 

 spots off these lightly marked specimens 

 was simply experimental. — Ed.] 



The Chewink in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. 



I have been interested in the Chewink 

 question of late in the Oologist. The 

 bird is very rare here. In the spring 

 of '87 I found the nest of the first birds 

 of this species that I had ever seen. 

 Later in the season I found another 

 pair, evidently with young, in the same 

 locality of the previous find. I have 

 seen none of these birds since. In both 

 of these cases the birds seemed to choose 

 rough, scrubby uplands that had been 

 only recently chopped over. They were 

 within easy distance of low lands 

 threaded by a small trout stream fring- 

 ed with tag alders. When I found the 

 nest of the first pair the female's alarm 

 note brought the male in a bustle of ex- 

 citement from among the alders some 

 distance off. That was the only rime 

 that I noticed them frequenting the 

 lower ground. Doubtless they did so, 

 though for I was able to study their 

 ways much less than I desired because 

 of the distance they were from my 

 home. 



Mark Manley, 

 St. Lawrence Co., N.-Y. 



Notes from Nova Scotia. 



E. A. Samuels says that "the Semi- 

 palmated Plover breeds generally in 

 the most northern parts of the contin- 

 int." I have been so fortunate, though, 



