76 



THE OOLOGIST. 



March issue of Popular 'Science News 

 is of more than ordinary interest to the 

 OoLOGiST's readers. Among others Dr. 

 Shufeldt's valuable article on "Auks 

 and Their Allies" and Dr. J. Hobart 

 Egbert's "Analysis of the Brain," with 

 half-tone of the author, especially at- 

 tract our attention. 



Early in January twelve ornitholo- 

 gists received special requests to send 

 the editor of the Oologist their photos. 

 As fast as received half-tones have been 

 made and it has been with no small de- 

 gree of pleasure that ye editor has be3u 

 able to present them to the readers of 

 the Oologist. Biographical sketches 

 or introductions were deemed unneces- 

 sary as all were well known to our 

 readers by their writings. Should you 

 happen to write a 1st prize article (or 

 2d prize one, if the writer of the 1st has 

 previously been presented)for the Oolo- 

 gist it might be well to bear in mind 

 that you ai'e "booked." It was from 



this standpoint that the original twelve 



{'94 writers) did penance. 



An Unusual Visitor. 



It may interest the readers of the 

 Oologist to know that on Feb. 11 an 

 American Herring Gull was shot on the 

 river here. It was with a flock of Mer- 

 gansers and seemed rather tame. An- 

 other bird of the same kind was seen 

 but could not be secured. As our sta- 

 tion is more than two hundred miles 

 from this Gull's nearest haunts, it is 

 hard to find a reason for its occurrence 

 here. Both its stomach and crop were 

 entirely empty, showing that it had been 

 without food for some time. Probably 

 it was driven out of its course by one 

 of the winter storms. 



WiLLARD N. ClUTE, 



Binghamton, N. Y. 



An Eccentric Flicker- 

 Last summer I observed an incident 

 which is, to my knowledge at least, un- 

 paralleled. I had found a Mourning 

 Dove's nest in process of construction > 

 on a limb of an oak tree, near a path 

 which I used daily. 



Imagine my surprise a few mornings 

 later at seeing a female Flicker sitting 

 sedately on the nest. Resisting tempt- 

 ation I passed by, and returned at noon 

 to investigate the matter. 



The female Dove was on the nest 

 when I, climed the tree and did 

 not fly until I had almost touched 

 her. The nest contained her own set 

 and on the edge of the nest, which was 

 larger than is usual, was a cracked egg 

 of the Flicker. 



Walter Drai'rr, 



Baraboo, Wis. 



Good Authority. 



Mr Editor-.— I am so much pleased 

 with the February number of the (Oolo- 

 gist that I cannot forbear congratulat- 

 ing you upon your success in this line. 

 The steady improvement in the general 

 tone of the contents, from volume to 

 volume is so great as to cause one to 

 speculate upon the probable time when 

 the limit must be reached. 



Before closing I desire to call your 

 attention to an error in Mr. Harry C. 

 Lillie's otherwise superior contribution 

 entitled "Destruction of Birds." His 

 assertion that "young birds usually 

 lead in the flight to the south" is in 

 direct opposition to tha oft expressed 

 opinion and actual observation of the 

 great body of working ornithologists. 

 It is quite pi'obable that the young of 

 the year of a few species do migrate 

 before their parents and it would be in- 

 teresting to know what species do so. 

 F. L. Burns 

 Berwyn, Penn. 



