182 



THE OOLOGIST. 



birds have a preference for the twilight 

 or evening. 



When not flying about they usually may 

 be found sleeping on some chimney-top 

 or unfrequented roof. In such places 

 the careful observer may see much of 

 Nighthawk nature that does not come 

 to the surface elsewhere. During their 

 waking moments they sedately parade 

 up and down their retreats and show 

 capabilities for doing nothing that a 

 tramp might envy. 



Since they pass so much time upon 

 the l'oofs, I concluded that they nest in 

 such situations, but had no chance to 

 Verify this until this year. On June 

 10th, through the kindness of Mr. 1ST, 

 E. Severson, I was able to secure a set 

 of two eggs from the flat roof of a 

 building in the heart of the city. 



The roof was of gravel and so much 

 did the eggs resemble it, that it requir- 

 ed a search of ten minutes by four per- 

 sons to find them. There was no sign 

 of a nest — scarcely a hollow. The eggs 

 do not differ from those found in the 

 fields. Upon blowing they were found 

 to be nearly fresh. The birds were not 

 at home when we called but were seen 

 circling near the building several times 

 during our stay. 



WlLLARD N. CLUTE. 



Omaha Crows Again. 



In reply to "Coleopterist" (in May 

 Oologist) I will sav: 



1st. That Government reports are 

 not always correct in every particular 

 as has been proven before now. Hu- 

 manum est err are. 



2d. I have examined the stomachs of 

 a number of Crows, and find as I said 

 in the March Oologist, that they con- 

 tained mostly offal and animal matter, 

 and especially has that been the case 

 with young birds. 



"Coleopterist says that "the Crow is 

 valuable occasionally as a scaA*enger." 

 I say and can prove that they are good 



scavengers at all times, and if he will 

 pay the expenses I will send him un- 

 opened stomachs in alcohol so that he 

 ' can make personal examinations of 

 them. 



However as I said in my previous ar- 

 ticle on this subject, the Crow of this 

 vicinity seems to have some different 

 habits from the Crow of parts of Ohio, 

 Indiana and Pennsylvania and very 

 likely their qualities as scavangers dif- 

 fer also. 



I do not mean to say that the Crow 

 does not do any damage, but only that 

 "He is not as black as he is painted." 

 Faithfully Yours 



ISADOR S. TROSTLER, 



Omaha, Neb, 



An "Owly" Find. 



A few days ago, a friend of mine, Geo, 

 H. Jenkins, and myself, went after Bur- 

 rowing Owls' eggs. We found two 

 holes. One contained 11 eggs, and a 

 young Owl besides the old pair. Most 

 of the eggs were highly incubated. The 

 other hole seemed to be endless, but 

 just as we were about to give it up, we 

 saw the old female. One more stroke 

 with the spade and I could reach 

 them. I reached them ! I got a hand-, 

 ful of owls instead of eggs, as I had ex- 

 pected. I pulled them out and reached 

 in again. More Owls. Again. The same 

 thing. I pulled out Owls, Owls and 

 more Owls. 



Fourteen young Owls, and two old 

 Owls came out of that hole. The young 

 ranged from about two days old up to 

 almost full-grown owls, and presented 

 a comical sight, sitting in the grass. 

 There can be no doubt but that they 

 were all of one family, as there were no 

 other Owls within t xo miles of there. 

 Merlin C. Johnson, 

 Aberdeen, So. Dak, 



