THE OOLOQIST. 



25 



This entirely answers the descrip- 

 tion of our small nesting Shrike, and 

 I, for my part, am entirely satisfied 

 as to its identity. 



Charles P, Alexander. 



Editor Oologist, 

 Dear Sir: — 



Please give me the breeding range 

 of the Migrant Shrike (lanius ludo- 

 vicianus migrans). How does the 

 bird differ from the Loggerhead? 



On May 21st, last, I saw several 

 Red-breasted Nuthatchs picking at 

 the cones on a spruce tree. They 

 were clinging to them in a manner not 

 unlike that of the Chickadee. I am 

 well acquainted with the Red-breast- 

 ed Nuthatch and am not mistaken as 

 to identity. Is this a common occur- 

 rence? 



I saw a Cape May Warbler here on 

 May 18 of this year when the Warbler 

 migration was at its' height. The mi- 

 gration was rather late this year, on 

 account of the very backward spring 

 I suppose. The first Warbler I saw 

 was the Black and White which ar- 

 rived on April 30, when the weather 

 was far from agreeable. Warblers 

 were very abundant this spring. I 

 shot a Fox Sparrow on April 25th. 



I saw a nest of an American Gold- 

 finch within two feet of the ground 

 this year. 



D. B. 

 Cobourg, Canada. 



See answer elsewhere in this num- 

 ber. (Ed.) 



Editor Oologist: 



I noted with interest your state- 

 ment concerning the singing of Warb- 

 ling vireos on the nest in December 

 Oologist, because I have found it 

 very difficult to obtain accurate date 

 on the songs of sitting birds or of 

 female birds in general. 



Mr. Burroughs' statement has been 



often quoted, but is certainly wrong 

 as to some species. I have watched 

 house finches (carpadacus mexicanus 

 frontalis, nesting for many years, and 

 invariably have found that the fe- 

 male bird persistently sings a por- 

 tion of the song of the male, some- 

 times for an hour at a time, the male 

 responding with the full song in a 

 tree near by. A reliable observer re- 

 ports to me the same trait in a fe- 

 male black-headed Grosbeck observ- 

 ed by him. I should like very much 

 to see all such instances reported. 

 Junius Henderson, 



Boulder, Colorado. 



The Quail Trap. 



Norwich, Comi., Bulletin. 



The Quail Trap, Dec. 3, 1907.— Well, 

 the open season is over without much 

 honor for either gunner or state. 

 What, indeed, can be expected from 

 protective laws that do not protect, 

 when the commonwealth of Connec- 

 ticut allows 20, 000' licensedi men to 

 shoot sixty day in depleted covers? 

 Through October the cry was "No 

 game," but in Novemiber, when the 

 leaves had fallen, gunnersi had fine 

 weather, made fairly good bags, and 

 by December 1, clearly showed that 

 one month of open shooting can clean 

 up all superfluous game. 



A leading editorial from a journal 

 in a sister city maintains with stout 

 bravado that city hunters are gentle- 

 men, and iby association, example, and 

 influence, help to elevate the" manners 

 and social status of farmers and farm- 

 ers' families. Perhaps a residence for 

 the last eiglit open seasons' in the 

 country may permit me to insist that 

 farmers have few lessons in polite- 

 ness and fleld etiquette to learn from 

 the sporting "gent" from town. The 

 average city gunner, as I have met 

 him, fastens his horse to a hidden 

 barpost, steals into the woods, picks 



