138 



THE OOLOGIST. 



boat, and rowing among the creeks, 

 soon started a flock of Pectoral Sand- 

 pipers, from which we obtained six. 

 After rowing about for some time and 

 seeing nothing, and as it had begun to 

 rain, we decided to start for home, 

 which we did after mooring our boat 

 and shooting a Spotted Sandpiper. We 

 reached home about dark, thoroughly 

 soaked, but having had a good time, 

 and adding some specimens to our col- 

 lection. 



F. A. Brown, 

 Beverly, Mass. 



Not Unusual. 



Editor of Oologisi: 



I had a little experience yesterday 

 which I expect neaiiy all oologists have 

 had, but as I have never seen any of 

 them in your paper I thought I would 

 write you mine. Yesterday my partner 

 came to me and said he knew where 

 there was a Hawk's nest and as he 

 couldn't get off from his business, he 

 would like for me to go and climb to it. 



About four o'clock I started out on 

 horse-back with a couple of compan- 

 ions, and we found the tree without 

 much trouble for he had described the 

 the position very accurately. We all 

 got down and hitched our horse and 

 then the fun began. The tree was a 

 white oak about four foot through and 

 it was about twenty feet to the first 

 limbs. I did not carry my irons for I 

 didn't think I would need them, but I 

 did. After about fifteen minutes of 

 pushing and punching -with a rail or 

 two I finally succeeded in reaching the 

 the first limb. From the first limb to 

 the second was about ten feet and I 

 had to throw a rope over it and pull 

 myself up and while I was straining 

 and pulling and the dust and bark was 

 falling in my eyes and shirt bosom, the 

 boys on the ground were encouraging 

 me with such remarks as this, "It is 

 nice and cool down here." 



"That don't make me tired a bit." 

 "What must I tell your mother," and 

 such as that. The last was when I had 

 got pretty well up. Then they began 

 to speculate as to how many bones I 

 would break if I were to fall, and how 

 they would break the news. I expect 

 I made some remarks to them that had 

 more strength than brotherly love in 

 them, but they didn't have any effect on 

 them. But I was fully repaid for all 

 my work when I found three fine eggs 

 of the Red-shouldered Hawk in the 

 nest. I let them down, and arrived 

 safely on the ground, after being nearly 

 an hour and thirty minutes climbing 

 the tree. 



Will some of the other friends please 

 give their experiences ? 



W. W. B , 

 Mayfield, Kentucky. 



Some of Our Louisiana Birds. 



One of the distinctive Southern birds 

 is the gaily colored Painted Bunting, 

 (Passerina ciris). He generally makes 

 his appearance in this section of the 

 country somewhat late, in the latter 

 part of March or April; but he is a bus- 

 iness bird and begins the work of nest 

 building shortly after his arrival. 



With the assistance of the female he 

 puts together a rather pretty structure, 

 generally in the upright forks of a bush 

 or on the limbs of a small tree. The 

 nest is composed of grass, rootlets, 

 small twigs, and paper when it is hand- 

 dy. Then the female deposits her eggs 

 while the proud father sits on adjoining 

 twig and sings with all his little might. 

 In due time the younglings are hatched 

 but they resemble in no wise the gaudy 

 colors of their father, but instead are of 

 the olive type of coloring of the female. 

 The nest is very often placed in orange 

 trees, and I have seen them, though 

 rai-ely, in very tall trees, The eggs of 

 the Painted Bunting are generally four 

 or five in number and are of a grayish: 



