ORNITHOLOGIST 



AND 



OOLOGIST. 



$1.00 per 

 Amnini. 



EstablislKMl March 1S73, 

 Joseph M. Wade, editor and publisher. 



10 cents 

 single copy. 



VOL. VI. 



ROCKVILLE, CONN., JUNE, i88i. 



NO. 4 



Black and White Creeper. 



ITS NEST AND EGGS. 



Having rambled some distance and not 

 having made any stimulating find, and the 

 weather being warm, it being the 20th of 

 June, it was exceedingly easy and desira- 

 ble to get down full length on the green 

 turf near to an old stump, on which had 

 formerly grown a solitary chestnut tree. 

 We had no sooner got fairly down, with 

 our face a few feet from the stump, when 

 a Black and White Creeper came out from 

 a crevice between two roots, and ran up 

 the stump and across the field with a zig- 

 zag movement over the ground in an ap- 

 parently wounded condition, first dropping 

 one wing, then the other, until it had got 

 to a safe distance when we lost sight of it, 

 and returned to the stump, and while ex- 

 amining the crevice between the two roots 

 a little under the stump and not easily seen 

 was a nest, composed in part of leaves and 

 inner bai'k of chestnut and well lined with 

 hair, being one and one half inches deep, and 

 the same in diameter, being of the size and 

 having the appearance of a well built Chip- 

 ping Sparrow's nest, in which were four 

 eggs slightly incubated. The nest was 

 built so near the stump that there was lit- 

 tle more than the lining on the side, bat 

 on the front the nest was thicker and of 

 coarser materials, as above described, being 

 built so as fill the cavity even. To make 

 doubly sure of the bird's identity we set 

 some limed twigs on each side of the nest 

 and waited patiently at a proper distance 

 for the bird's return, which was in about fif- 

 teen minutes. It first appeared on the 

 dead limb of a tree near by, running ujd, 

 then down in a manner peculiar to this 



creeper and as if in search of insects. It 

 was never still or perching, but was con- 

 tinually moving, flying down to the stumps 

 and creeping over them, then returning 

 to the tree. It finally flew to the stump 

 under which was its nest, creeping down 

 it, across and over it in different directions, 

 then flying away to return again, repeating 

 this interesting jDerformance several times, 

 until at last it alighted on the stump, 

 creeping downwards to the nest, on reach- 

 ing which it appeared to discover its disor" 

 dered condition, and started to fly away 

 once more, but too late, the limed twigs 

 caught its wings placing it at our mercy. 

 When we picked it up, examined it care 

 fully, fully establishing its identity, we 

 cleaned oft' the bird-limed twigs, and our 

 curiosity being fully satisfied we gave the 

 bird its freedom and removed the nest 

 and eggs all of which are now in our cab- 

 inet. 



Yellow-bellied 'Woodpecker. 

 ( Sphyrapicus varias. ) 

 This handsomely marked bird of the 

 Woodpecker family is a common migratory 

 species in our vicinity. It arrives from 

 the South about the 10th to 15th of April, 

 and soon becomes quite abundant in the 

 woods, where its loud rapping on dead or 

 decayed stubs announces its presence. By 

 the first or second week in May, all but a 

 few of the birds have passed farther on to 

 the North where they breed. I have long 

 suspected that a few pairs might remain 

 with us and nest, and two seasons ago was 

 fortunate enough to verify my suspicions. 

 Previous to this, I had heard of, and seen 

 stray individuals during June and July, 



