140 



THE OOLOOIST 



growth. The eggs are smaller than 

 those of the American merganser and 

 of a darker tint, being yellowish-drab 

 or warm drab; average size 2.50 x 1.70. 

 The down is also darker and of a 

 warmi greyish tint. Both ducks are 

 very destructive to fish and are there- 

 fore disliked by the fishermen. They 

 are known to gunners as sawbills, and 

 their flesh is rank and unpalatable. — 

 The Ottawa Naturalist. 



Field Notes. 



On May 9th I discovered a Marsh 

 Hawk's nest containing three eggs. 

 Visited it again on May 10th, it then 

 contained five eggs, and on the 17th 

 it contained seven eggs. They meas- 

 ured from 1.75 x 1.98 to 1.75 x 1.3. 

 When I visited the nest on the 24th, 

 all of the eggs had been punctured and 

 all were in a different stage of incu- 

 bation. This was the largest number 

 of eggs I have ever found in a nest of 

 this species. 



During the first week of April, 1912, 

 a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks be- 

 gan building in a beech tree in the 

 border of the woods. They built a 

 large nest and were about it until 

 other birds of this kind left their nest- 

 ing sites. The female set on the nest 

 much of the time, but deposited no 

 eggs. Again in April, 1913, a pair 

 built in a beech about 15 rods from 

 the first nest, and this one has not 

 been used. I am convinced these are 

 the same birds that built the first nest. 

 Is this common and can any one give 

 a reason for it? 



In April, 1912, I found the nest of a 

 barred Owl containing three eggs. 

 When the young were about one week 

 old they disappeared from the nest, 

 and a few days later I found three 

 young Owls in an old stub about 30 

 rods away. The last of March, 1913, 

 I found this stub again occupied by 

 a Barred Owl who deposited but two 



eggs. When the young were six days 

 old they also disappeared, and the sec- 

 ond stub again contained two Owlets. 

 Both seasons I examined these stubs,- 

 and nothing was in the stub up until 

 within ten days of finding these. Do 

 the old Owls carry the young away 

 when disturbed? I am quite sure they 

 did in this case, as the Owl at both 

 stubs had lost part of its tail. 



Since sending in my article on birds 

 of prey, which appeared in the May 

 number of THE OOLOGIST, I was told 

 by a man that Ravens were seen about 

 an old slashing some 25 miles away. 

 As this is a rare bird in this section I 

 decided to visit the place. So on May 

 20th in company with a young friend 

 we wheeled to see the Ravens and 

 look for the nest. But when we ar- 

 rived we found the man had mistaken 

 Turkey Buzzards for Ravens. We 

 wanted to explore that slashing which 

 contains about 1200 acres of land and 

 is the home of many Turkey Vultures. 

 It began to thunder so we left off 

 hunting for nests and returned home. 

 But in the heart of the woods and in 

 a swampy part we found one of the 

 finest large Herons I have ever known. 

 With nests in all stages of construc- 

 tion even up to good sized young 

 Herons. 



My article in the May issue should 

 have read, "I put the Young Ma Marsh 

 Hawks in the coop." 



The English Sparrows are here. I 

 have watched them pick up many in- 

 sects while I have been plowing, and 

 that is good. This spring they have 

 destroyed many nests and of more 

 useful birds than they. Two nests of 

 Phoebe, four of the Chipping Sparrow 

 and three of the American Robins, all 

 in my yard. These I have seen being 

 robbed, and since then the shotgun 

 has been doing good. 



S. V. Warram. 

 Ohio. 



