THE OOLOGlST 



221 



This species is said to catch some 

 live fish, to feed on shell fish and crust- 

 aceans and to drop hard-shelled spe- 

 cies upon the rocks, to break shells 

 and render contents more easily ob- 

 tainable. 



This gull breeds from No Man's 

 Land, an island some twenty miles off 

 shore from Rockland, Me., to the sub- 

 Arctic coasts, breeding abundantly at 

 certain points in Labrador. I beileve 

 they also breed commonly around the 

 great lakes, where the desired insular 

 protection is best. 



Nests are usually composed of 

 sticks, moss, sea-weed or analogous 

 material, with considerable depres- 

 sion for eggs and it may be placed on 

 the ground, on rocks, or if much dis- 

 turbed, on high stumps or in tree tops. 

 The eggs are greenish or grayish 

 brown or drab with numerous spots, 

 Dlotches and scratches of different 

 shades of brown more or less over the 

 entire surface. The conventional 

 wreath of spots at the larger end is 

 often in evidence. Three eggs are 

 usually laid and the downy young 

 closely resemble the egg. The colora- 

 tion affords both the best possible pro- 

 tection, as they resemble the conglom- 

 erate stones rounded by the ceaseless 

 action of the sea, and might be easily 

 over-looked by enemies. 



Half tone represents two adult 

 males, and a characteristic set of eggs. 

 (The half tone plate accompanying 

 this article showing the mounted male 

 and female bird and a set of eggs will 

 be found on page 208 of this volume 

 (November issue, 1914). 



Charles L. Phillips. 

 Taunton, Mass. 



Nesting of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak 

 in South Jersey. 

 On July 7th, 1913, near Lenola, Bur- 

 lington County, N. Y., on the north 

 branch of the Pensauken Creek, where 



I was camping for several days I 

 found an empty Rose-breasted Gros- 

 beak's nest in a small maple grove. 

 It was in an arrow-wood sprout seven 

 feet high, placed about five feet upon 

 several horizontal limbs beside the 

 stem, and loosely situated. It was a 

 typical nest of the species and so far 

 as I could judge no young had been 

 raised in it. I think it had been rob- 

 bed as it was along a path and no 

 Grosbeaks were observed anywhere in 

 the neighborhood. 



The rarity of this species as a nester 

 in South Jersey makes it desirable to 

 record the discovery of this nest. 

 There are only two records of its 

 nesting in this part of the state; Bever- 

 ly, a few miles above Lenola, and 

 Haddonfield, several miles south of 

 where my nest was found. 



Richard F. Miller. 



Oddities in Coloration. 



I have in my collection, the Virginia 

 Rail, clear white sets; some are slight- 

 ly marked and finely; some are very 

 dark blotched.- Among the Killdeer 

 and Spotted Sandpipers several sets 

 that have a double yolked egg, fully 

 again as large as the others in the sets. 



Several years ago I was with a 

 friend in the Tonawanda Swamp. We 

 found the nest of a Marsh Hawk with 

 three eggs. My friend shot the Marsh 

 Hawk and mounted it. When in the 

 act of skinning, we found one egg in- 

 side, which is of the same color as 

 the Green Heron's eggs, light bluish 

 color, and as I keep my collection in 

 completely dark drawers, it has until 

 today kept the bluish color. 



Ottomar Reinecke. 

 Buffalo, N. Y . 



Results of the Federal Bird Law. 

 November 11th and 12th was spent 

 with a few friends at Thompson's 

 Lake on the Illinois river. The closed 



