THE OOLOQIST 



262 



some mysterious manner been thrown 

 from the nest. The circumstance how- 

 ever, is not of any importance. What 

 I want to impress upon the minds of 

 Ornithologists is the rarity of punc- 

 tured Cowbird's eggs, as noticed by 

 Bendire. I do not know how the punc- 

 ture was made. 



On May 31, 1901, when I found this 

 punctured egg. I discovered a Wood 

 Thrush's nest close by in the woods 

 not fifty feet from the indigobird's 

 nest, which held three egs of Holo- 

 cichla and one Cowbird's; the lazy- 

 bird's egg was the exact counterpart 

 of the egg I found in the Linnet's nest, 

 there being no differences in colora- 

 tion, shape, and size and I have no 

 doubt but that the same female laid 

 both of the eggs. 



On May 19, 1899, at Gloucester, 

 Camden County, New Jersey, I found 

 a Brown Thrasher's nest, situated 

 about three feet up in a clump of 

 bushes in a woods, containing a fresh- 

 ly broken Cowbird's egg. It was de- 

 stroyed by the enraged Thrasher, be- 

 yond a doubt, as I saw the bird fly 

 from the nest and, immediately exam- 

 ining it I found the smashed egg. 



If any other ornithologists have 

 found punctured Cowbird's eggs f 

 should like to hear of them. 



Richard F. Miller. 

 Philadelphia, Penn. 



How to Attract the Birds. 

 The spring birds will soon be here, 

 and now is the time to prepare for 

 them. But the question is, "how can 

 I attract the birds?'' One of the best 

 ways, I think, is to build a number 

 of bird-houses and place them in the 

 trees about the yard. Of course there 

 are a great many birds that do not 

 nest in houses, but in nests. The 

 martin, bluebird and the house-wren 

 are three or the foremost birds that 



nest in houses. For martins, houses 

 with several compartments, so that 

 several families can live in them are 

 best, because they like to live in colo- 

 nies. The opening in a wren house 

 should be about the size of a silver 

 quarter, so that the bothersome Eng- 

 lish sparrows connot enter. Besides 

 houses made from wood, tin cans, 

 flower pots with the drain holes en 

 larged, and gourds make attractive 

 houses. It is best to put the houses 

 up during the last part of the winter, 

 so that by spring they will not look 

 so new. Birds like to nest in houses 

 that have been weathered before it 

 is time to build in them. 



Another way to attract the birds 

 is to place several shallow metal or 

 earthen dishes filled with water about 

 the yard for the birds to bathe in. 

 A bright metal dish is not so good 

 as a rusty one. An earthen dish is 

 best. 



Xow, you are prepared for your 

 feathered friends, and they will re- 

 pay you for your labor by giving you 

 many hours of pleasure by watching 

 them. 



Max Irwin Carruth. 

 Tarrytown. X. Y. 



Purple Grackle. 

 (Quiscalus quiscula.) 



A friend of mine who lives in the 

 city here, tells me that the purple 

 Grackle congregates on his English 

 walnut trees in the spring and peck 

 holes in the walnuts before the nuts 

 harden in order to extract the acid. 



The object in doing this, he says, 

 is for the purpose of killing the lice 

 that secrete themselves among their 

 feathers. 



The birds after extracting the juice 

 apply the poison among their feath- 

 ers and in that manner relieve them- 

 selves of the obnoxious pests. 



