July, 1881.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



39 



General Notes. 



Barn Owl. — The following important 

 announcement has unfortunately been mis- 

 laid during our moving. Oliver Davie, 

 of Columbus, Ohio, writes under date of 

 May 2d : — I to-day received from one of 

 our, not altogether Christian sportsmen, a 

 beautiful specimen of the Barn Owl, 

 (/Strix Flammea), which he killed yester- 

 day (Sunday), within six miles of this 

 place. This is the second specimen only, 

 that is known to have been taken in Frank- 

 lin Co., Ohio. 



Great Horned Owls, and Eggs. — About 

 the middle of March two of my friends 

 went in quest of some Great Horned Owls, 

 and after a great deal of tramping through 

 the heavy pine woods, with sixteen inches 

 of snow on the ground, they at last found 

 and shot one. Proceeding a few rods far- 

 ther one of the party imitated the Owl's 

 call, which was answered from a very tall 

 old pine. As the answering bird could 

 not be seen one of the party, with climbing 

 irons securely fastened, went up the tree, 

 when another owl left it, only to fall to the 

 ground at the report of my friend's gun. 

 On reaching the nest, which was discover- 

 ed in the tree above it, was found to con- 

 tain three large fine fresh eggs. 



William Blanchard, Tyngsboro, Mass. 



A Talking Robin. — He is now 10 years 

 old, and when about two years old he as 

 tonished me by calling my name, and he 

 can now say Theodore as plainly as any 

 one, he sooji learned to call puss, puss, 

 puss. Kittle, Kittie, Kittie, quite plainly. 

 About five years ago a pair of Pea Fowls 

 were brought on the place where I live. 

 In a little while he learned to say "Pea- 

 cock," by hearing them talked about. 



Theo. p. Willy, Weymouth, Mass. 



An Egg wiTmN an Egg. — I noticed in 

 your magazine an account of an egg within 

 an egg; and the writer wishes to know 

 whether any of your readers had met 

 with such a case. I have in my collection 

 a small chicken's egg of a light chocolate 

 color, aod about the size and shape of a 



Barn Swallow's. It was found within an 

 ordinary hen's egg. I have read of several 

 other cases. A couple of years ago I 

 found in an old crow's nest the eggs of a 

 dove. This appropriation of the nest of 

 a crow by a dove seems to me quite un- 

 usual. Wm. R. Wharton, 



Germantown, Penna. 

 In the April number of the Oologist, I 

 notice a note about finding an egg within 

 an egg. The writer of it wishes to know 

 if there is another instance of such an oc- 

 curence. Some time ago a lady friend 

 gave me an egg that she had found within 

 a hen's egg. It was about an inch and a 

 half long and had a hard shell like the 

 outside one. 



M. K. Barnum, Syracuse, N. Y. 



Notes from Saratoga, N. Y. 



A Cormorant ( G. Carho) was shot last 

 fall at Saratoga Lake. 



Captured a young, male, White-Winged 

 Crossbill on Nov. 12, 1880. There was a 

 flock of about twelve. 



Redpolls, Nov. 27, 1880. Pine Finches, 

 Jan. 20, 1881. Shore Larks, March 20, 

 1881. Two Gt. Northern Shrikes, April 2, 

 1881. 



April 2.3, 1881, saw a Yellow-Bellied 

 Woodpecker capture a fly a la Flycatcher- 

 April 2.5th, found a young Gt. Horned Owl 

 under the nest. At this time it was cover- 

 ed with down, but is now almost capable 

 of flying, as his wings and tail are most 

 like an old bird. He makes a fine pet; not 

 being cross at all. Also, saw Red-Bellied 

 Nuthatches building. 



April 30lh, collected set of four Red- 

 Shouldered Hawks. May 2d, set of three 

 Red-Shouldered Hawks. May 9th, set of 

 two Red-Tailed Hawks. May 7th, set of 

 five Crow Blackbirds. May 14th, went to 

 a heronry on the Hudson river. Should 

 judge that one thousand Night Herons breed 

 here. We shot a number of them and got 

 about 80 eggs, all fresh. It is a little early 

 for them as only a few had complete sets. 

 Nests in hard wood trees, al)0ut 40 feet 



