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THE OOLOQIST 



which Ye Editor tooli the set of two 

 Bald Eagle eggs last spring. These 

 three eggs were of the same general 

 unusually large kind, and addled as 

 has always been the case with this 

 bird. This is the second set of three 

 of which there is any history from 

 this bird, and is to be congratulated 

 this bird, and Mr. Dixon is to be con- 

 gratulated on securing them. 



A Record. 



On April 26th, 1913, a friend of mine 

 observed a pair of Bartramian Sand- 

 pipers in a soggy field about six miles 

 from town, and believing that they 

 might nest in this locality, he went 

 out again in the first week in May. 

 He found a nest containing four beau- 

 tifully marked eggs. This is a very 

 rare find for this locality, and he 

 prizes the set very highly. 



Norman Haultain. 

 Ontario, Can. 



The Catbird. 



The Catbird is not a very popular 

 bird with most of us on account of 

 his fruit eating habits. He is a saucy 

 fellow, but aside from his fruit eating 

 habit has no other faults, if fruit-eat- 

 ing can be called a bad habit. He ar- 

 rives here in the spring, along in the 

 latter part of April. They are first 

 seen after their arrival in the spring, 

 in pairs in our orchard, or in small 

 colonies on the brier patches or under- 

 brush, which places are their favor- 

 ite residences. They are a common 

 bird with us here in Central Illinois, 

 and are fairly abundant. They sing 

 a great deal all spring, and even far 

 into the summer. They leave us, to 

 journey southward, about the first of 

 September. The catbird also frequents 

 hedgrows as well as briar patches, 

 and one finds them and the Brown 

 Thrushes the most numerous birds to 

 bQ found in such places. Several pairs 



are generally found in orchards and 

 groves about our homes, but tangled 

 underbrush and woodland bevy pat- 

 ches appeal most strongly to his na- 

 ture. 



The Catbird is of a gray slate color, 

 being somewhat darker colored in the 

 wings and tail, with chestnut under- 

 tail coverlets. 



It is a medium sized bird, being 

 somewhat smaller than the Robin, and 

 can be better compared with the Red- 

 headed Woodpecker. To me it seems 

 as though some of these birds are 

 larger than others. 



They generally rear two broods a 

 season, but their second nest is often 

 uncompleted when the time arrives 

 for them to migrate. They commence 

 building their first nest shortly after 

 their arrival in the spring, or about 

 the first week in May. The nest is 

 composed of sticks, cornhusks, twines 

 and strips of bark, and is lined with 

 rootlets and hairs. The nests are built 

 at all sorts of elevations, ranging 

 from three to thirty feet above the 

 ground. They generally build in small 

 trees or a tangle of vines, but when 

 no such places can be found, they 

 build at quite high elevations in our 

 orchard trees. There is generally one 

 pair in our orchard on the farm. 



One year they built their nest in a 

 hedgerow about three feet above the 

 ground, and the next year they again 

 built in the hedgerow about one hun- 

 dred feet from their previous nest. 

 This nest was built up higher from the 

 ground, at about an eight or nine ele- 

 vation. (I remember, I could just 

 barely reach it.) About one-half of 

 the nest was composed of cornhusks. 

 The following year this same pair 

 built in an apple tree about thirty 

 feet north of the hedge, at a height of 

 about twenty feet. The tree died that 

 fall, and was cut down, so the next 

 year they moved to the north part of 



