﻿Notes from Field and Study 



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locked together, forming a very rigid struc- 

 ture, twelve inches wide at the base, five and 

 one-half inches across the top, and sixteen 

 inches high. A photograph of the nest 

 taken after it had been carried six miles and 

 severely handled, and reproduced in the ac- 

 companying cut, gives a very comprehensive 

 idea of the home of the sagacious little 

 birds. The nest proper, perched on top of 



.VEST OF WESTERN HOUSE WREN" 



this curious tower, was composed of horse- 

 hair, fine rootlets, grass, and feathers as a 

 lining. The female deposited four dainty 

 pink-colored eggs with brown splotches over 

 them, about the size of a large marrowfat 

 pea, quite large at one end and almost 

 pointed at the other. 



A too inquisitive and careless person, 

 whilst examining the nest, handled and 

 broke one of the eggs, which so disgusted the 

 little housekeepers that they immediately 

 went to work and built about two inches of 

 twigs over the nest, completely hiding it 

 and the remaining three eggs, and on this 

 oundation constructed a duplicate of the 

 discarded nest. The nest now almost 

 touched the roof of the shed, and shut out the 

 possibility of peeping into it, but inquisitive 



human nature, procured a mirror and viewed 

 the new home, which act so enraged and 

 disgusted the industrious pair that they im- 

 mediately abandoned it forever. Whether 

 the disappointed birds sought out a new 

 place for homemaking, free from meddlesome 

 man, and raised a family, the friend who 

 witnessed the tragedy related above and 

 brought me the nest was unable to say. — W. 

 W. Arnold, M. D . , Colorado Springs, Colo . 



Swallow Notes From Northern 

 New Jersey 



The summer of 1904 was remarkable for 

 the absence of Barn Swallows. Old barns 

 that had been tenanted and used for nesting 

 as long as the oldest inhabitants can re- 

 member were entirely deserted. I visited 

 an old mill and outbuildings that had 

 always been a great resort, but not a single 

 Swallow could be seen. This year a few 

 pairs took to the old homes, one pair in my 

 old barn, and a solitary pair here and there 

 in surrounding localities. 



A colony of Cliff Swallows built five nests 

 under the eaves of one barn, but the larger 

 colonies that were here three years ago did 

 not appear. — Henry Hales, Ridgeivood. 



Baltimore Oriole in Virginia in Winter 



In November I saw what I supposed to 

 be a male Baltimore Oriole. On December 

 2 j. I saw the bird again, and it had every 

 marking of an Oriole. It was seen by two 

 other persons, one of whom positively iden- 

 tified it as an Oriole or some bird having 

 exactly the same markings. — William P. 

 Caton, M.D.. Dumfries, Va. 



Migrant Shrike in Spring 



A Migrant Shrike seen on May 3, 1906, 

 is the first spring record for this locality. 

 In the June number of Bird-Lore, Mr. 

 'Chapman mentions one seen by him at 

 Englewood, N. J., as the first one ever 

 recorded from that locality in spring. This 

 species is usually found here as a decidedly 

 rare migrant between August and January, 

 but one fall, a few years ago, I noted seven 

 or eight during that period. — W. De Witt 

 Miller, Plainfield, X. J. 



