46 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 6-No. 6. 



kept very close to the nest, and making no 

 demonstrations except to hop from one 

 twig to another, uttering a low, plaintive 

 cry. 



Z. carolinensis,[1'] — June 11, while cross- 

 ing a wheat field about 30 rods across, and 

 bounded on two sides by timber, in near- 

 ly the centre of the field, I flushed a fe- 

 male from its nest, which was flat on the 

 ground, and composed of a few small 

 sticks thrown together. The nest con- 

 tained one fresh egg. 



Black billed Magpie {P. rustica hud- 

 sonicas). — April 30th, found a nest contain- 

 ing three young birds eight or ten days old, 

 and five eggs. In four of which the young 

 birds had cracked the shells. — D. D. 

 Stone. 



Notes from Shelter Island. 

 We were disappointed in your not com- 

 ing to the Island this si3ring, as myself 

 and Griffing have done a good season's col- 

 lecting. We have made trips to Gardiner's, 

 Plum, Gull and Faulkner's Islands. We 

 went to the latter after Roseate Terns ; got 

 about forty sets, and came away jsretty well 

 satisfied. We had good luck with the Fish 

 Hawks on Gardiner's and Plum Islands. 

 Were a little too early for the Night 

 Herons, as few of the sets were completed, 

 although I got a fine set of six. 



Prairie Warblers. — I found my first 

 nest this year on May 27th, containing one 

 egg. The nest was placed in a low huckle- 

 berry bush, fifteen inches from the ground? 

 in a low growth of woods, on hilly land. 

 The next day the nest and egg was de- 

 stroyed, probably by some animal. On 

 June 5th, I found another nest, placed in 

 a birch sai)ling, nine feet from the ground 

 an unusual position. The nest was com" 

 posed of vegetable fibres, one piece of 

 string and a few fine grasses, lined with 

 horse hairs, and a few feathers of the 

 brown thrush, deeply cup-shaped and built 

 in a little around the top. I was collect- 

 ing a Field Sparrow's nest and four eggs. 

 and chirping to draw the birds around me, 



as I often do when in the woods, when, I 

 noticed a Prairie Warbler fly towards me, 

 and that he (for it was the male) came di- 

 rectly from a small bunch of oak and birch 

 saplings. He lingered around me a few 

 minutes, and then disappeared. I secured 

 the Field Sj)arrow's eggs, and then on 

 chirping again, I saw the Praii'ie Warbler 

 come out of the same bunch of saplings, 

 and I at once concluded that his nest 

 was there, but after a careful search of 

 the whole clump of low bushes among 

 the saplings, as these are the places they 

 generally build in, I was about to give up 

 in desj)air, when on looking directly up 

 over my head, I saw the long sought for 

 nest, on which the female was sitting, with 

 her bright round eye upon me. I had to 

 shake the sapling before she would fly off, 

 and on climbing up, I was delighted to 

 see five pearly, speckled eggs, slightly in 

 cubated. On June 12th, I found another 

 nest, placed in a maple sapling about six 

 feet from the ground. This was composed 

 of about the same materials, and con 

 tained three fresh eggs, and one of the 

 Cow Buntings. The Prairie Warblers ar- 

 rive here about the first week in May, and 

 I see by my record that I shot one on the 

 8th of September, and I tiiink the above 

 is about the usual dates of their arrival 

 and departure. 



Spotted Sandpiper and Mussel.-Juuc 6th. 

 As I was going along the shore of West 

 Neck Creek this day, I heard a fluttering 

 noise, and on looking around saw a female. 

 Spotted Sandpiper, that in running along 

 the beach, had stepped on a mussel, which 

 had closed its shells together on one of 

 her toes with the grip of a vice. She was 

 unable to escape, so I went up and gave 

 the leg a slight pull to liberate her, but 

 the toe came off above the second joint, 

 and I quickly set the captive free, which 

 as quickly disajDpeared around a point of 

 land, escaping by the loss of a toe, what 

 would undoubtedly have been death, as 

 the rising tide must have drowned her. 

 W. W. Worthing TON. 



