Aug. 1884.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



99 



As to the second statement, it is evident 

 that not only are brilliant birds most 

 sought after for ornamental purposes, but 

 that then - very brilliancy renders them 

 more conspicuous and all the more easy to 

 kill. The fact that they are in their 

 brightest plumage, and are also most 

 abundant during the nuptial season causes 

 the greatest destruction at the very time 

 when the killing of birds is of the great- 

 est import. Again, even after the birds 

 have begun to breed, then* nests are de- 

 stroyed not only by the scientific collector, 

 but by every boy who wishes a " collec- 

 tion," or who desires to combine the pleas- 

 ure of bird nesting with the profit of sale 

 to some dealer. And in the above men- 

 tioned ways I unhesitatingly affirm that 

 man does destroy far more birds than 

 do the birds of prey. The statements 

 that "so long as ornaments are re- 

 quired they will be found" and that 

 " if animals (mammals ?) may be slaugh- 

 tered for their fur, why not birds for their 

 feathers V are undeniable. I wotdd merely 

 say that the manner in which small birds 

 are generally prepared and worn makes 

 them anything but ornamental to a criti- 

 cal eye, and that the handsomest feathers 

 come from the Ostrich and Pheasants, 

 birds which are at least capable of being 

 partially domesticated. — Frederic A. IjU- 

 cas, XI. ••?. National Museum, Washing- 

 ton, B. C. 



Notes from Rehoboth, Mass. 



-KAPTOEES. 



In lieu of ruy departed "strain" of 

 Great-horned Owls I was obliged to wait 

 until the blustering winds of March had 

 given j>lace to the showers of April, ere 

 I could venture forth with confidence to 

 reap the harvest of the next breeder, the 

 Barred Owl. 



April 7th I took my trip to the usual 

 haunts of these "Hooters" and first in- 

 spected Long Hill Woods, where, since the 



spring of 1878, I had annually secured a 

 set of their eggs from one of the old 

 Hawk's nests. A pah of screaming " Bed 

 Shoulders " prospecting for a situation for 

 their domicile, greeted me with assurances 

 of success for a future visit. I diligently 

 thumped every tree that contained a nest 

 and ascended to the most likely looking 

 ones but no Barred Owl or eggs were found. 



I next went to the pine woods some two 

 miles distant, where I also annually se- 

 cured sets. Here I carefully searched for 

 Strix but found nothing. 



Matters were growing serious. My dis- 

 appointment was about all that I could 

 bear. My last resource was Oak Swamp. 

 Surely in that secluded retreat they must 

 be found. 



I secured the services of a friend and we 

 thoroughly hunted the swamp, looking in 

 every hollow stump until we found the ob- 

 ject of our search. 



In a decayed open cavity in a walnut 

 tree was a Barred Owl sitting in full view. 

 The nest was not more than ten feet up in 

 the tree. The Owl did not leave until the 

 tree was thumped ; then only flew into the 

 next tree. The set of these eggs was se- 

 cured without trouble ; incubation slight. 

 Whether the Owls in the other localities 

 will return next season is a question of 

 much anxiety with me, for I had promised 

 several friends sets of their eggs, and it 

 was a matter of much chagrin to only re- 

 cord one chick. 



The Short-eared Owl played the same 

 game as the Barred. For years past they 

 have bred in a small patch of rank "has- 

 sock grass" in a corner of a salt meadow. 

 This year a friend desiring their eggs I di- 

 rected him to the locality. As the result 

 of several hours' patient search he reported 

 nothing. A few weeks later a gunner, 

 spring shooting for Plover, found their 

 nest and young at the side of the marsh. 

 There must be some reason for such a 

 general change of breeding resorts which 

 remains to be determined. 



