THE OOLOGIS'J. 



93 



birds collected their material from the 

 live trees, pecking away so -violently 

 that I thought they would each end 

 with a violent headache. There was 

 plenty of fallen bark and l)ito' of all 

 kinds on the ground. Why all this un 

 necessary work? Probably they want- 

 ed only material which was clean and 

 dry, knowing that a nest in a hole in a 

 tree becomes damp and ill-smelling 

 soon enough. Then the large majority 

 of birds are neat and clean oy nature — 

 their lately built nests looking like 

 "brand-new'' IjaskeLs — never being 

 made of second j',rade material. 



Once the main tiev to the tree with 

 some delicate mor-;el, made a soft, 

 sweet, cooing sound, whereupon Mrs. 

 Nuthatch came out and received it 

 out of his bill. The way they treated 

 each other was pleasant to see. One 

 might almost say to some people: "Go 

 to the Nuthatches thou unlovely one." 



It was surprising how much bark 

 they gathered and how the work still 

 went on even into twilight. T"he male 

 quit work before sunset however — 

 shovving which side of the labor ques- 

 tion had his sympathy. 



How well Mrs. Nuthatch was ac- 

 quainted with the trees a^out, was 

 proven by the directness with which 

 she flew to the tree wh-^n she Lad just 

 culled some material for her nest — 

 straight to the nest in and out again 

 and straight to the tree with scarcely a 

 pause. 



I visited the nest three days later. 

 The pair were laboring industriously 

 as ever. When I visited the place 

 again on April 11th all was quiet, save 

 my Lord Nuthatch, who was calling 

 away in the woods after his peculiar 

 manner — that contented call as of a 

 bird with its mouth full. 



Nidification was evidently over at 

 last. Did the birds have to fill up a 

 cavity before building the nest or was 

 the nest composed almost entirely of 

 bark? When I went that way on the 



eighth they were, still collecting bark. 

 After sufticient time had elapsed for 

 the full setting of eggs to have been 

 laid I went out to obtain the eggs if 

 possible. The bark was rotten so that 

 it fell otf when I struck it with my 

 climbing irons. When I reached the 

 hole, which was in a bulging knot and 

 led to the interior of a cavity of some 

 dimensions. I very soon found the set 

 was not destined for my cabinet. The 

 nest was visible, but the part which 

 contained the eggs was around out of 

 sight. The tree was too large and 

 thick and the position of the hole made 

 it too great a piece of work to chop or 

 saw. 



So I climbed down; glad after all in 

 the poetic region of my mind that the 

 collector side had failed. For if ever in- 

 dustry and patience on the part of 

 birds deserved to reap the reward I 

 thought my Nuthatches did. 



Eenest W. Vickers. 



To All M-chig"!! Observers- 



In the April Oologist, and also in the 

 Natukal Science News, reference was 

 made to the formation of our Michigan 

 Academy of Sciences, and an invitation 

 extended to those disposed to join. 



Many responded to the request for 

 observations on our State Birds, and we 

 are promised aid from all quarters of 

 the State, though of the many observers 

 in Michigan, a number have not com- 

 plied by letter, as yet. 



It is now time to begin observations, 

 and the following suggestions are offer- 

 ed to those who wish to gather Michigan 

 notes, and materials for the "M. A. S." 



General observations on arrivals and 

 departures are solicited and which are 

 to be kept after the manner of the ob- 

 servations for the Government Depart- 

 ment at Washington. But in addition 

 to general notes, it has been suggested 

 that a special family should be studied 

 in a thorough manner. After delibera- 



