THE OOLOGIST 



395 



early. My latest dates are August 23d, 

 September 2d and 5th. 



F. Seymour Hersey. 

 Taunton, Mass. 



Notes. 



This summer (1012) I found an odd- 

 ly situated nest of a Western Fly- 

 catcher. In an old deserted barn a 

 pair of trousers had been thrown over 

 a crossbeam, and the nest had been 

 built upon the upturned cuff at the 

 bottom. The nest itself was typical, 

 and contained one egg, which however 

 was accidentally broken and the bird 

 deserted the nest. 



On May 24, 1912 I found a Shufeldt's 

 Junco nest containing two young, per- 

 haps three days old, and two addled 

 eggs; the latter pure white unmarked. 

 These are the only unmarked eggs of 

 this species that I have seen. The 

 nest was placed under the overhang- 

 ing edge of a low bank by the road- 

 side. Alex Walker. 

 Mulino, Ore. 



Field Notes. 



Jan. 8. — Found an English Sparrow's 

 nest in a corner of a porch of a vacant 

 house containing two fresh eggs. There 

 was about two inches of snow on the 

 ground and the temperature was four 

 degrees above. This is the first nest 

 of this bird which I have ever found 

 during the winter, and why the bird 

 should build during such a winter as 

 we have had is beyond me. 



Mar 22. — Found a Rose-breasted 

 Grosbeak's nest containing five eggs. 

 This is rather unusual around here, 

 three or four being the usual number. 

 As a matter of fact this is the first 

 that I have ever found containing more 

 than four; although the bird is a com- 

 mon breeder in this locality. 



Sept. 14. — Saw the largest flock of 

 Crows ever seen here. About 6:30 I 

 was traveling up the Allegheny Valley 



to spend the day at Harmarville, when 

 I saw several Crows fly from nearby 

 and start over the river. Watching 

 them I saw several more fly out, and 

 for about ten minutes a steady stream 

 flew from the top of that hill. Out of 

 curiosity, I counted them and found 

 that exactly one hundred and one 

 Crows had flown across. They prob- 

 ably roosted there, but it seemed to 

 me to be rather early for them to be 

 gathering in such large flocks. 



Sept. 30 — Found a Cowbird in a very 

 peculiar position. It was feeding on a 

 much-used street with a small flock 

 of English Sparrows and seemed to 

 be very much at home. Being an adult 

 male, it looked very much out of 

 place in such a locality, and seeing it 

 at a distance, I thought that the Star- 

 ling had finally invaded us. Except 

 tor its size and color, its actions were 

 exactly like those of the Sparrows 

 with whom it was feeding, and it show- 

 ed little fear of the passers by. 



Oct. 3.— The Cowbird was still on 

 the job, but it was gone the next day. 

 It certainly did make quite a long stay 

 in such a peculiar locality. 



Thomas D. Burleign. 

 Pittsburgh, Pa. 



Northern Red Breasted Sapsucker. 



One day last summer, May 9th, 1912, 

 I believe, I spent some time in observ- 

 ing one of these beautiful birds work- 

 ing on a soft maple tree near the 

 edge of a large wood. It was not in 

 the least timid, and paid but slight at- 

 tention to me as I sat watching it, only 

 a few yards away. 



Certain portions of the trunk, and 

 some of the limbs of the tree were- 

 systematically covered, but why the-. 

 whole surface was not tapped instead 

 of patches of one or two square feet 

 here and there, I cannot say. The^ 

 punctures as usual were in rows at. 

 even distance apart. 



