October, 18SI, 



AND OOLOGIST. 



63 



from the ground, on the bank of a creek. 

 The female was on the nest and did not 

 cffer lo leave until I got ckse to the nest. 

 While taking il.e nest she flew around me 

 and called lur mate with a sharp note — 

 peep, peep, 'i his nest, like the last taken, 

 was made of fine dry grass and bits of dead 

 leaves, and lined with fire fibrous roots. 

 Size of nest: < utside, three liy four inches; 

 inside, one and one-half by two inches. I 

 have taken two other nests, one on June 

 2ist, and one on June 25tii, 18K0. lam 

 the only one who has found the nests here 

 the past two se.;sons. They are all through 

 breeding and leave for the south about the 

 last of August. — IV. Otto Eiil rson, Cal. 



Pintail Duck. 



ITS NEST AND EGGS. 



The following is a description of a nest 

 and set of eggs of this duck {Dajila acuta) 

 collected in Will, Illinois, May loth, 1S77. 



The feinale was frightetied from tlie nes|- 

 by my approach, otherwise I sliould not 

 have found the nest, having passed and re- 

 l)assed it several times on the previous day. 

 It was built in a hummock of grass in a 

 low wet pasture near a brook and several 

 sloughes, was quite near to the road, and 

 almost in the jjath used by children in go- 

 ing to and from school, and was first found 

 by one of them who informed me. of the 

 fact 



A hollow in the centre of the hummock 

 Avas lined with dry grass and weeds, form- 

 ing the nest, which was thickly lined with 

 down. I succeeded in getting the nest out 

 whole and the dimensions below were 

 taken soon after reaching home : 



Depth, outside, four and one half inches; 

 depth, inside, three inches. Outside diam- 

 eter, nine inches; inside diameter, five inch- 

 es. The eggs were eleven in number, and 

 were nearly hatched, the embryos being with 

 difficulty extracted through a half inch hole, 

 three being broken in cleaning. The eggs 

 vary but little in size, the largest being 

 25 16x1 9-16 inches, and the smallest 2 3-16- 

 XI 9-16 inches, and 2 1-4x1 1-2. The col- 



or is a dirty wlu'te with a tinge of greenish 

 olive — at least that is the nearest I can come 

 to describing ir. 



The down in th.? nest seems to be placed 

 on the sides, there being but little on the 

 bottom. Tile ducks are cpiite plenty in 

 that vicinity duiing the spring and fall mi- 

 grations — D. //. Eato/i, iVobiini, Mass 



SriOOTiXG Birds WITH Water. — Query: 

 Ih- it safe to shoot birds with water to get 

 them without injuring them ? Say put a 

 small load of jjowder with cut wad and tal- 

 low on it to keep the dampness from the 

 powder. Tiien with water in a flask ready 

 to pour in when needed to shoot with. Or 

 is there any o:her fluid or liquid better 

 adapted for tlie purpose. I use the word 

 safe with regard to the person shooting — 

 V. M. Firor, CharIesto7vii, Va. 



Say's Pewee {Sayornis sayi) is not a 

 handsome bird, being in many respects as 

 homely as any in the mountains. Its drab 

 color and loose feathers give it a poverty- 

 stricken appearance, though the young ones 

 are handsjrae enough, 'i'he female lays 

 four white eggs, and sometimes hatches out 

 two broods in a season. A pair of these 

 birds have had a nest on the porch of the 

 commanding officer'^ quarters at Fort D. A. 

 Russel, Wyoming, since the year 1875. 

 Every season, early in April, a pair of Say's 

 Pewees make their appearance, and flying 

 about for a few days, commence making 

 repair? on their nest, which is located on 

 the top of one of the pillars. Never hav- 

 ing been disturbed in any way, they are 

 quite tame and attend to their business, 

 paying very little attention to the human 

 beings that sometimes swarm on the porch. 

 The young ones, when they are able to fly 

 a little, are the cutest little bunches of drab 

 fluff that ever was seen. They have a con- 

 fident look about them that is amusing, and 

 in a few days learn how to catch their ownt 

 flies and take care of themselves. In gen- 

 eral appearance they are very much like the 

 Arkansas Flycatcher — Co/ A. G. Brackett 

 in American Field. 



