THB OOLOOI8T 



119 



where the woods were pretty thick. 

 On the outer edge of these woods 

 stands an old Elm which is entangled 

 with Wild Grape vines. In the top 

 of this old tree there are several hol- 

 low limbs. Wondering if any bird or 

 animal stayed in one of these hol- 

 lows, I climbed up to one that was in 

 the very top of the tree, and saw one 

 of the prettiest sights that one could 

 wish to see. The hollow was in the 

 end of a limb, and was about two feet 

 deep and six inches in diameter. The 

 sun was just high enough to flood it 

 with light and there in the bottom 

 was five young owls and the mother 

 bird. The mother was asleep or pre- 

 tending to be when I first looked into 

 tlie nest. She played a fine game of 

 Opossum for I took her out of the nest 

 twice and examined lier and the sec- 

 ond time I set her on the edge of the 

 hollow she flew into a near-by tree. 

 The young Owls were of a Maltese 

 color speckled with brown, and I 

 judged them to be about ten days old. 



They were all asleep except one 

 little fellow who seemed to be very 

 much awake, and eyed me with great 

 awe. I took that one home with me 

 and lie is making a dandy pet. 



In tlie same tree was another hol- 

 low not tliree feet from the Owls' nest 

 and as I was examining the Owls I 

 heard a scrambling noise and looked 

 just in time to see a large Red-eyed 

 Squirrel leap to the ground and 

 scamper off into the woods. There 

 was nothing else in the hollow. 



By that time I thought that it must 

 he getting pretty late and I started 

 for home getting there at 11 o'clock. 



If any one ever wished for a cam- 

 era of any make or description that 

 morning I surely did, for I could have 

 gotten a picture that would have been 

 well worth the trouble. 



Wm. Young, Jr. 

 Decatur, 111. 



Where Are Our Purple Finches? 



I have asked a number of ornitholo- 

 gists this question during the past six 

 years, and no one gives me a satis- 

 factory answer. My active collecting 

 days have long been a matter of past 

 history, but 2.5 years ago I should not 

 have hesitated to agree to locate 30 

 pairs of these birds breeding in a cir- 

 cle two miles in diameter, around my 

 father's home. 



This spring I had occasion to visit 

 two of their most popular haunts of 

 the old days, and took what leisure 

 time I had to look up my old friends 

 the Finches. Not a bird could I lo- 

 cate, and this is in line with my ex- 

 perience for some time back. 



They used to coconixe in any place 

 where Spruce or Austrian Pine had 

 been planted, and I have seen fifteen 

 pairs nesting in one dooryard, in 

 1892. So common, in fact, that I did 

 not care to take any sets. Just went 

 through the cocony and threw out the 

 Cowbirds' eggs; usually one or two of 

 these in every nest. 



Have these birds moved permanent- 

 ly to other parts, or are they becoming 

 extinct? If the latter it cannot be laid 

 to the shotgun, as few went that way. 

 The horse car was always their worst 

 enemy. Ernest E. Short. 



New York. 



Nesting of the Bewick's Wren. 



(Thryomanes bewicki) 

 During early May, 1911, I became 

 especially interested in the Bewick's 

 Wren. Several times during previous 

 springs I had seen a pair of these lit- 

 tle wrens, flitting about, and singing 

 their pretty songs, in the vicinity of 

 a small farm house that stood near 

 the top of a high ridge. This house 

 was four miles from my home, so to- 

 wards noon on May 5th I set out for 

 a walk to it. My inlentjons were to 



