84 



THE OOLOGIST. 



early in May, when the young were able 

 to Hy. The male was a happy creature 

 and spent a great deal of his time sieg- 

 ing to his mate. In the last of April, a 

 California Shrike, seemingly bent on 

 mischief, caused quite a commotion in 

 the household of the Finches, and to 

 prevent a catastrophe, I drove the in- 

 truder from the premises. The bulky 

 form of the Red shafted Flicker was 

 seen about the tree upon a number of 

 occasions, but its visits were always 

 short. A California Woodpecker was 

 also among my visitors, but like the 

 Flicker, he never remained long. 

 Among the other birds I noticed about 

 the oak were, Bullock's Oriole, Western 

 Flycatcher, and Anna's Hummingbird. 



A week ago, while I was busy at work, 

 I was greeted with the loud, cheery 

 whistle of a Western Meadowlark that 

 had strayed far from its home in the pas- 

 ture-lands, and had settled down upon 

 the oak to give me a few moments enter- 

 tainment. 



These observations, taken at random 

 moments, show the amount of bird-life 

 one meets with, even in unfavorable lo- 

 calities, in spots far removed from field 

 or woodland, where our feathered friends 

 are usually found. 



HaKRY C. LiLLlE, 



Visalia, Calif. 



Mounting- Birds Nests For a Collec- 

 tion. 



I have an easy and simple method for 

 mounting birds' nests, which may inter- 

 est the readers of this valuable little pa- 

 per. 



I take a limb of a tree, with pretty 

 bark on it, for the base of the stand, 

 and saw it up into sections, the diameter 

 of the limb, and thickness of the sections 

 depending upon the size of the nests to 

 mounted. I then procure some pronged 

 t^igs, dogwood generally being the 

 easiest to find, and making a hole in the 

 base, stick the twig up in it and set the 



nest in the prong, and by passing a 

 black thread over the nest it will be se- 

 cured in place. Some nests are of 

 course often built in suitable twigs for 

 the purpose, and often it will be better 

 to set some nests right on the base. 

 After mounting the nest the stand can 

 be decorated with moss, etc., if desired. 

 J. H. Fisher, Jr., 

 Baltimm-e, Md. 



The Hairy Woodpeckor. 



Though quite common thi'oughout its 

 breeding range, especially in eastern 

 Kansas, its nest is not at all common. 

 Of course we are all of us familiar with 

 the Woodpecker's nest in general, but 

 unlike the other species, with which I 

 am acquainted, it does not often select 

 a dead stub or tree, but, more usually, 

 prefers a live tree that has a decayed 

 center. After boring through the green 

 portion it can easily hollow out a suffic- 

 ient nesting cavity. Sometimes they 

 will peck in just below a decaying limb. 

 But I know of no instances where they 

 bored through the green portion and 

 stopped. So that they must have some 

 faculty (probably by sounding) by which 

 they can select the proper trees. The 

 cavities thus formed are usuallj'^ from 

 one to two feet in depth. The pearly 

 white eggs, usually four in number, ai'e 

 laid on the removed chips. The nest 

 may be discovered by the chips under 

 the tree and also by its call, which 

 much resembles that of the Red-headed 

 Woodpecker. 



Orali K. Williamson, 

 Lawrence, Kansas. 



A Finishing- Touch. 



All eggs, before placing them in the 

 cabinet, should be rinsed out with a 

 mild solution of Con'osive Sublimate, in 

 which has been dissolved a little isin- 

 glass. This forms a coating on the in- 

 side, which makes the shell less trans- 

 parent — gives more the natural color, 

 and makes it firmer. 



Dr. A. G. Prill, 

 Soda^ille, Oregon. 



