34 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 3 



Flicker. Ah ! this is the work of an Owl. 

 Guess I will look close. After examining 

 a few well known holes, I climb to the de- 

 cayed top of the "summer sweeting " in 

 which I found a Scops not a week ago. 

 Sitting in the same j3lace, I find the object 

 of this search, a Mottled Owl, in the red 

 plumage. It is now nearly dark and soon 

 I reach home, nnsling my fish basket, con- 

 sign the owl to my owlery, and in a few 

 moments have the Grosbeak, with the ex- 

 ception of drying, ready for the cabinet of 

 skins.— F II G. 



Notes from Central Iowa. 



Rose-breasted Grosbeak, (Zamelodia lu- 

 doviciana.) One of the most common of 

 our Summer residents. Out of over 

 seventy-five nests taken near here during 

 the last three seasons, none were below 

 eight feet above the ground; the highest 

 about thirty feet ; average between ten and 

 fifteen feet. The largest number in set, 

 five ; sets of three and four being generally 

 met with. 



Green Heron, (Putorides virescens.) 

 Most common of our Herons here. Breeds 

 abundantly along the rivers and about 

 small swamps. Of four sets taken June 

 3, 1883, in a small willow swamp, three 

 contained four eggs each ; the fourth, five. 



Kingfisher, {Ceryle alcyon.) Generally 

 appears about the third week in April, and 

 remains sometimes as late as the second 

 week in November. Eggs laid about the 

 first of June. 



Blue-gray Gnatcatchee, {Polioptila cce- 

 rulea.) Last week in June ('81) found a 

 nest with two young, nearly fledged. May 

 19' (1883) found a nest ready for the recep- 

 tion of the eggs, but on visiting it a few 

 days later, for the purposa of securing the 

 eggs, found nest gone. 



White humped Shrike, (Panius ludovlei- 

 anus excubitorides.) Several nests. One 

 taken May 2 ('81) contained three fresh 

 eggs. June 14, noticed three young, only 

 a few days out of the nest. 



Quail, {Ortyx virginiana.) Common. 

 Took one nest with eighteen eggs. 



Red-headed Woodpecker, (Malanerpes 

 erythrocephalus.) Common Summer resi- 

 dent. A few, perhaps, spend the Winter 

 with us. Saw one the second week in Jan- 

 uary. Have secured two eggs only about 

 one-fourth the usual size. One was taken 

 from a nest from which nine eggs were se- 

 cured. The second in a nest with four 

 others of the usual size. 



Brown Thrush, {Harporhynchus rufus). 

 Found nest with three eggs, one of which 

 was less than one-third the usual size. 



Scarlet Tanager, ( Pyranga rubra). 

 Rather common summer residents. Sets 

 generally contain four eggs. Found one 

 nest with a Cowbird's egg embedded in 

 the bottom. The Cowbird had evidently 

 laid its egg in the nest, and the Tanager, 

 not having completed its nest, built over 

 it. Did not notice the egg until I had 

 taken the nest clown and chanced to turn 

 it over and discovered the egg in the bot- 

 tom. The nest contained three Tanager's 

 eggs. 



Summer Redbird, {Pyranga azstivd). 

 Sets taken by me in this vicinity all con- 

 tained four eggs, without exception. 



Pileated Woodpecker, (Hylotomus pi- 

 leatus). Is occasionally seen during the 

 winter, in the heavy timber. — C. P. PTeyes, 

 Pes Moines, Iowa. 



Birds of the "Panhandle" W. Va. 



THE JOURNAL Or REV. W. E. HILL FROM JASVARY TO JUNE, 

 (INCLUSIVE) 1883. 



PART I. 



Prefatory Note. This journal was not only written as 

 a personal diversion, and in the prosecution of the author's 

 own ornithological studies, but with a special reference to 

 its availability as a private and supplemental means of in- 

 struction and encouragement to his children in the study of 

 Bird-life. An afterthought suggested that, aside from its 

 possible interest to ornithologists as a list of birds of this 

 vicinity, and as a record of the experiences of an amateur, 

 with the original descriptions in simple, unscientific terms, 

 its publication might prove helpful and encouraging to oth- 

 er children than his own. The proverbial interest that 

 attaches to a published diary — by reason of its characteris- 

 tic variety and freshness — commends it as an available 

 medium for the communication of knowledge. There are 



