156 



THB OOLOGIST 



You ought to have taken the Cow- 

 bird's egg out when you first found 

 the nest. Then probably all of the 

 Warbler's eggs would have hatched. 

 —Editor. 



Field Glasses Great Aid. 



On May 17th I was assiduously 

 watching a pair of Blue-grey Gnat- 

 catchers in the timber. I followed the 

 flight of one and while sweeping down 

 the branches with my glasses, a slight 

 movement arrested by eyes. 



On the under side of a dead branch 

 was an excavation that my eyes alone 

 would never have discovered. Had 

 not the head of a female Downy Wood- 

 pecker appeared every few seconds 

 dropping the last chips from her al- 

 most completed home, I would have 

 left in ignorance of the presence oi 

 the nest. 



Not a sound was made as she put on 

 the finishing touches. May 7th deliv- 

 ered me the set of five fresh eggs and 

 a nest branch so perfect in excavation 

 that I mounted it in true museum 

 style. Isaac E. Hess. 



Philo, Ills. 



Yellow-Headed Blackbird. 



For the first time in twenty years 

 of bird study, I am able to report the 

 Yellowhead in east central Illinois 

 (Champaign county). The lone indi- 

 vidual visited us April 29-30,-May 1st 

 and 2nd. He stayed with a company 

 of Bronzed Grackles and followed 

 them in the plowed fields picking up 

 worms. Isaac E. Hess. 



The Chipping Sparrow. 

 I haven't looked into a nest of the 

 Chipping Sparrow in eight years. 

 This formerly common summer resi- 

 dent is certainly gone from this local- 

 ity. What is the experience of ye 

 Editor regarding this bird that we 

 hear so little about any more? 



Isaac E. Hess. 

 Philo, Illinois. 



Woods Birds in Village. 



The slaughter of the woodlands has 

 at least given our villages a few more 

 residents. This June several pairs 

 of Screech Owls, three pairs Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeaks, one pair Red- 

 eyed Vireo, one pair Crested Flycatch- 

 er and a half dozen pairs Wood Pe- 

 wees are making their summer homes 

 with us. 



Isaac E. Hess. 



"Treganza" a Bird Loving Family. 



We are under obligations to Mrs. 

 Treganza for the article on the Birds 

 of Salt Lake appearing in this issue. 

 The name Treganza is inseparately in- 

 terwoven with the study of Utah birds. 

 Father, son and daughter. No more 

 accurate observers exist; gifted in be- 

 ing able to transcribe their observa- 

 tions attractively to paper, we deem 

 it a lucky day for the readers of THE 

 OOLOGIST when copy from any of 

 this family of nature students reaches 

 this office. — Editor. 



Sets of Five Eggs from the Yellow 

 Breasted Chat. 

 In Southwestern Pennsylvania the 

 Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria v. 

 vierns) is a quite common summer 

 resident, nesting in patches of black- 

 berry briers or haw bushes that grow 

 in deserted fields. During the past 

 few years it has been my pleasure to 

 examine a number of nests of this spe- 

 cies but three of which held sets of 

 five eggs each. The first nest to con- 

 tain five eggs was found May 29, 

 1904. It was built four feet up in a 

 red haw bush that grew in an open 

 field, close to a second growth wood- 

 lot. One of the eggs of this set was 

 noticeably smaller than the remaining 

 specimens. The second clutch of five 

 eggs was discovered May 18, 1905, and 

 was built four feet up in a wild crab 

 apple bush that stood near a clump of 



