THE OOLOGIST 



95 



Black Necked Stilts. 



In tile December number of THE 

 OOLOGIST of 1909 there is an article 

 on Hlmantopus mexicanus and rallus 

 obsoletus. I think I might add a 

 few details there. 



True enough last year, Mr. Shepard- 

 son was lucky enough to find a set of 

 {Himantopus mexicancus) Black-neck- 

 ed Stilt, but this year, Mr. J. K. Sny- 

 der and myself have been more for- 

 tunate. 



On May 22, Mr. Snyder and I visited 

 the slough for the sole purpose of 

 finding sets of these waders. As 

 soon as we came within 200 yards of 

 their nesting grounds, a small flock 

 arose from the mud and began circl- 

 ing and screaming around our heads. 



The ground from which they flew 

 was covered with an inch or more of 

 water with a few little piles of mud 

 sticking out of the water. This was 

 all overgrown with a stiff wiry grass, 

 with only a few bare places. We de- 

 cided to search this field which con- 

 tained six or seven acres, by going 

 back and forth, keeping about eight 

 feet apart, so as to cover the ground 

 fairly well. A half hour's search re- 

 vealed two sets of four eggs. Both 

 sets were laid on a few decayed 

 sticks pressed into the bare mud. 



As we felt satisfied with our find 

 we decided to hunt down the slough. 

 We came to the same place where the 

 set had been taken the year before, 

 but this year, there was less vegeta- 

 tion and here we found many sets 

 of four eggs. These nests were built 

 in the same manner and in identical 

 positions as the first two sets. 



On the way down to this place 

 from where we found our first sets of 

 black necked stilts, I found two sets 

 of Florida Gallinule, 1-10 and 1-9. The 

 set of 1-10 was placed over eighteen 

 inches of water on the edge of a tall 

 clump of tules, the bird flushed at- 

 tracting attention to the nest. The 



other set was floating over two feet 

 of water and held by a few small 

 tules about a foot and a half high. 

 Both nests were identical, being 

 made of green and half dried young 

 tules well cupped, and about six in- 

 ches thick when wet; the nest was 

 collected and shrank, losing its cup- 

 ped shape when dry. 



The set that Mr. Shepardson found 

 in 1909 and which he said was Cali- 

 fornia Clapper Rails, was found not 

 more than 100 yards from the place 

 where I found the set of 1-10. I saw 

 the set he took, before he collected 

 them, and being the flrst set I • had 

 ever seen of these eggs in situ. I 

 remembered them distinctly, and they 

 were about the same as the set I 

 took, which are Florida Gallinule. 

 Mr. Snyder collected several sets of 

 California Clapper Rails in the vicin- 

 ity of San Francisco in the earlier 

 part of the season. He was kind 

 enough to give me a set and when I 

 compared them with my sets of Flor- 

 ida Gallinule, I find that they were 

 just as different as day and night. Al- 

 so it is but rarely that California Clap- 

 per Rails built on fresh water ponds 

 or marshes; that is, like nigger 

 Slough. I am pretty sure that the set 

 that Mr. Shepardson collected is not 

 California Clapper Rail, but Florida 

 Gallinule. 



RICHARD M. PEREZ, 



Los Angeles, Cal. 



Stork. 



A Stork appeared at the home of 

 Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Hunt, of Gran- 

 ville, Illinois, and left Leland Hop- 

 kins Hunt, weight nine pounds. The 

 visit we have no doubt is the first re- 

 sult of inspiration received as the re- 

 sult of perusal of these chaste col- 

 umns. Brothers Hunt and wife are 

 staunch friends of our little journal, 

 and very devoted bird students. Con- 

 gratulations. 



