143 



THE'OOLOGIST. 



ble to get a glimpse of the birds try as 

 I would although I never before took a 

 set when the owners weren't very much 

 in evidence. 



During the last two years three very 

 odd nesting sites of this Flycatcher 

 have come under my observation. The 

 oddest of the three was one situated in 

 a four inch pipe, ten feet from a travel- 

 ed road. May 23 while walking along 

 the road, shooting swallows, my broth- 

 er chanced to look into the pipe, one 

 end of which was in a tunnel, the other 

 three feet from the ground. Noticing 

 grass strewed along inside the pipe, he 

 proceeded to investigate, and soon saw 

 the nest which was three feet from the 

 mouth of the pipe. After trying in vain 

 to loosen the nest with his ramrod, he 

 succeeded, with the assistance of two 

 small Doys who informed him it was a 

 swallow's nest,in jouncing the nest out, 

 and found it to contain four fresh eggs, 

 one broken. 



Another nest was situated in a six by 

 six water spout, not more than two feet 

 from a hoisting plant which is in daily 

 operation. The third, which was ob- 

 served last year, was under the warped 

 saddle boards at the peak of a neigh- 

 bor's roof. 



Geo. L. Kaeding, 



Drytown, Cal. 



The Only Venomous Bird Known. 



Among all the thousands of feathered 

 creatures classified by the trained orni- 

 thologists, but one, the Rpir N'Doob, 

 or "Bird of Death," is known to be ven- 

 omous. This queer and deadly species 

 of the winged and feathered tribe is a 

 native of the island of Papua or New 

 Guinea. The bird is described as being 

 about the size of a common tame Pig- 

 eon, of gray plumage, and a tail of ex- 

 traordinary length, ending in a tip of 

 brilliant scarlet red. It is a marsh bird 

 and is found to inhabit only the im- 

 mense stagnant pools adjoining the 

 lakes of the interior of the island. 



The Rpir N'Doob has a hooked beak, 

 as sharp as a cock's spur, and hollow. 

 The venom with which it inoculates is 

 distilled in a set of organs which nature 

 has provided for the purpose, and 

 which lie in the upper mandible just be- 

 low the openings of the nostrils. Un- 

 der this poison-secreting labratory in 

 the roof of the mouth is a small fleshy 

 knob. When the bird sets its beak in 

 the flesh of a victim this nob receives a 

 pressure which liberates the venom and 

 inoculates the wound. 



No man, native or otherwise, was 

 ever known to recover from a bite in- 

 flicted by a Rpir N'Doob. The suffei'ing 

 in such cases is said to be much more 

 agonizing than in cases of rattlesnake 

 and Gila monster bites. 



M. T. Cleckley, M. D. 

 Augusta, Ga. 



My Oological Cabinet- 



Perhaps some of the Oologist's read- 

 ers would like to know how to get a 

 cheap, durable, safe and pretty egg 

 cabinet. I will tell you what I use: 

 two empty thread cases; one four and 

 the other a six drawer case. These 

 can be bought in dry good stores very 

 cheap. Mine cost $1 and $1.75 respec- 

 tively. I believe that no other cabinet 

 answers my purpose so well. They 

 are made in oak and maple, and are 

 "I'at-proof." My largest egg in one of 

 these cabinets is a Black Vulture's; so 

 they will hold pretty large eggs. Being 

 nicely finished and i-evarnished they 

 present a handsome appearance; while 

 the interior may contain nicely ar- 

 I'anged eggs. One cabinet may be 

 placed above the other, and make a 

 handsome piece of furniture and econ- 

 omize room. Thread cases are made 

 in several styles accoi'ding to quality 

 and finish. Two hundred medium eggs 

 can be stored in two cabinets. 



Clakence L. McCaktha. 



Troy, Alaoama. 



