The OoLOGiST. 



VOL. XVIII. NO. 7. 



ALBION, N. T., JULY. 1901. 



Whole No. 178 



The Oologist. 



A MontMy Publication Devoted to 



OOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY AND 

 TAXIDERMY. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and Items of Interest to tne 

 student of Birds, their Nests and Eggs, solicited 

 from all. 



TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: 



Single subscription .'50c per annum 



Sample copies 5c eacli 



The above rates Include payment of postage. 



Each subscriber Is given a card good for a 

 Want, Exchange or For Sale Notice. (This card 

 la redeemable at any time within one year from 

 date thereon.) 



Subscriptions can begin with any number. 

 Back numbers of the Oologist can be furnished 

 at reasonable rates. Send stamp for descrip- 

 tions and prices. 



^?"Remember that the publisher must be notl 

 fled by letter when a subscriber wishes his paper 

 stopped, and all arrearages must be paid. 



ADVERTISING RATES: 



5 cents per nonpareil line each insertion. 



12 lines in every Inch. Seven Inches in a col- 

 umn, and two columns to the page. 



Nothing inserted for less than 23 cents. No 

 "special rates," 5 cents per line is "net," "rock 

 bottom," "inside," "spot cash" rate from which 

 there is no deviation and no commission to 

 agents. If you wish to use 5 lines or less space 

 it will cost you 25 cents; 100 lines, 15.00; 1000 imes, 

 $50.00. "Trade" (other than cash) advertise- 

 ments will be accepted by special arrangement 

 only and at rates from double to live times cash 

 rates. Due Bills and Cards payable in advertis- 

 ing wlU be honored only at regular rates In force 

 at the date of issuance of said bUl or card. 



Remittances should be made by Draft, Express 

 or Postoface Money Order, Registered Letter or 

 Postal Note. Unused U. S. Postage Stamps of 

 any denomination wUl be accepted for sums un- 

 der one daUar. Make Money Orders and Drafts 

 payable and address all subscriptions and com- 

 munications to FRANK H. LATTIN, 



Albion, Orleans Co., N. Y. 



ENTERED AT P. O., ALBION, N. Y. AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER. 



How Some Birds Capture Their Prey. 



The manner in which the different 

 species of birds capture their prey is 

 very interesting to the observer. There 

 f.re divers, snappers borers, grubbers, 

 scoopers, skimmers, diggers and many 



others of devious ways. In swimmicg 

 and flying most of the birds pive evi- 

 dence of their habits of securing their 

 prey, as seen in the methods of the Fly- 

 catchers and in the movements of the 

 Ducks in the water. But the habits of 

 nest construction are often quite dissim- 

 ilar from the methods of food capture. 

 We know that the Woodpeckers can 

 bore for food and at the same time hol- 

 low out their nest, but the Kingfisher 

 uses its beak in securing its prey in the 

 water, and yet burrows in the sand 

 when forming its home, while the Wood- 

 cock, which bores for its food, builds its 

 nest on the surface of the ground. The 

 Bank Swallow captures its prey in the 

 air, but burrows in the bank like the 

 Kingfisher. The Great Blue Heron 

 spears or snaps up its prey in the water 

 and yet it builds its nest of sticks quite 

 similar to the ways of many small birds. 

 There are no groups of birds which 

 have no" marked variations in some 

 habits and it is interesting to note them 

 in comparison. 



Loons, Mergansers, Auks, Guillemots 

 and many other birds secure their prey 

 by diving, and many can and do remain 

 a long time beneath the surface and 

 make long flights, so to speak, through 

 the water in pursuit of fishes. I have 

 twice seen birds swimming under the 

 water and they seemed to be flying. In 

 capturing their prey they undoubtedly 

 use their winss in a similar manner. 

 There is small chance of our seeing the 

 actual capture by these diving birds, 

 but we may reason that they secure 

 the minnows by a movement similar to 

 that of the Heron in his wading and 

 snapping. 



Let us compare the ways of a few 

 birds in securing prey from the water, 

 on the surface or near it. The Osprey 



