48 



THE OOLOGIST 



sight which I had long been wishing 

 for, it seemed to bespealv the truth of 

 that old biblical saying "Seek and ye 

 shall find,'" and with a long stroke of 

 my pencil I jotted down in my note 

 book these seven roving minstrels 

 with a feeling of great satisfaction. 



Sunday, December 22d, weather 

 clear and temperature about 28 de- 

 grees, found me back at the same 

 spot for it occurred to me that they 

 might be wintering in this locality. My 

 supposition was correct, for on this 

 memorial morning, five of these little 

 strangers of the year werfe*" carefully 

 marked down in note book. 



William M. Palmer. 

 Tre"nton, X. J. 



Nesting of the Prafrie Horned Lark 

 In Southern Pennsylvania. 



' JQtocoris alpestris praticola) 

 T ^vished very much to secure the 

 nest an(i eggs of the Prairie Horned 

 Lark,^ so late in March, 1908, I set out 

 on a* tramp to a high ridge north of 

 town. Here I had frequently seen the 

 larks feeding, and had often flushed 

 them from the ground. When I reach- 

 ed the place there were no signs of 

 the birds, but soon one came sailing 

 from a neighboring field uttering its 

 familiar notes. This bird flew to a 

 bare space of ground, and soon it was 

 joined by its mate. The birds walked 

 about upon the ground, then flitted 

 from place to place. After watching 

 them carefully for some time, hoping 

 to follow one to its home, I gave up, 

 and began to search for a nest. First 

 I walked up and down a level space of 

 ground, with no signs of a nest. Next 

 I searched over a low saucer shaped 

 piece. of ground, and was about to give 

 up, when just in front of me I noticed 

 a small cup-shaped depression in the 

 earth. This was slightly lined with 

 dry grass. I made note of this find 

 and departed. 



April 7th, I walked to the ridge with 

 much hope of procuring a set of eggs. 

 Upon nearing the nest I crept up quiet- 

 ly. The bird soon heard me and flew 

 from the nest. My heart beat rapidl/ 

 as I hurried forward. 



My, it certainly was glorious to gaze 

 down at that nest! It contained fivo 

 beautifully marked eggs, which prov- 

 ed to be perfectly fresh. The nest was 

 simply a frail structure of dry grasses, 

 slightly lined with finer grasses and a 

 few hairs from cattle or horses. I pre- 

 pared the set carefully, and with the 

 nest, prize it highly; for Prairie Horn- 

 ed Lark's eggs are not easily secured 

 in our section of the state. The birds 

 are found on many of the high ridges, 

 but their nests are difficult to locate. 

 S. S. Dickey. 

 Waynesburg, Pa. 



White Catbird's Eggs. 



Sometime since we published a 

 short note announcing the taking of a 

 set of White Catbird's eggs by R. I. 

 Giles of Marlboro, Mass. He writes 

 that from that time on he has receiv- 

 ed many offers to buy or exchange the 

 same away, and that last week brought 

 the 14th of such offers. He says he 

 has no intention of parting with this, 

 and desires us to announce that fact. 

 He gives us the history of this most 

 remarkable set of eggs in the following 

 language: 



"As to location, finding it, etc., — the 

 nest was in a wild grapevine, three 

 feet up, in a small patch of alders, 

 with a little brook running through it. 

 When I found it I was looking for a 

 Maryland Yellow-throat, and as it was 

 a small spot looked it over pretty thor- 

 oughly. In a grapevine I flushed a 

 Catbird from her nest. 



Now I would look into a bird's nest 

 if I knew it to really be ten years old; 

 it isn't curiosity; it's the egg bug. 

 Of course I expected to see something 



