Notes from Field and Study 



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cated by the Foregoing letters, I leave it 

 to the learned reader to decide for himself 



the position which the discovery should 

 occupy in our avi-fauna, also what its ad- 

 vent may portend to American ornitho- 

 logy. — B. S. EowDisii, New York. 



A Pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers That 

 Moved Their Nest 



' On April 5, iqoS, 1 found a pair of 

 Blue-gray Gnat-catchers building their 

 nest. They had begun it upon a dead 

 branch of a mulberry tree about twelve 

 feet from the ground. Both male and 

 female worked at the nest, always giving 

 a sharp note while at work. In gathering 

 lichens from the trees, the little bird would 

 catch a piece with its bill and then flap 

 its wings and pull until the lichen came 

 off. The work on the nest continued for 

 ten days, at the end of which time there 

 seemed to be a lull, and the nest was 

 apparently abandoned. 



Two days later I heard them at the nest 

 again, and noticed that they seemed to be 

 tearing it to pieces. I found that they were 

 moving it to a nearby thicket — a distance 

 of about fifty yards. By watching them, 

 I soon discovered that they were rebuild- 

 ing the nest in a small oak, only about 

 three and one-half feet from the ground. 

 Here they completed it and covered it 

 with lichens, so that it was almost impos- 

 sible to be noticed. The female began 

 laying eggs, but after she had laid three, 

 something began to take the eggs one by- 

 one. Although she continued to lay an 

 egg each day for four days, she at last 

 became discouraged, and the pair quit the 

 neighborhood. — Angus McKlNNON, De- 

 Funiak Springs, Florida] 



A Humming Bird's Toilet 



On May 30, 1008, I was walking up 

 Eagle Rock Canon, just north of this city, 

 collecting botanical specimens. 1 had 

 stopped near a small pool in the little 

 rivulet and, while standing there, a Hum- 

 mingbird darted down to the water. 

 Her movement was so swift that I could 



not tell whether she entered the water or 

 not, but she flew up and perched on a 

 small twig, not more than six feet from 

 my face, and began preening herself. 

 First, with her bill, she would arrange 

 her back and tail feathers, and then, 

 standing on one foot, she would arrange 

 the feathers of her neck and head, con- 

 tinuing clear down to the tip of her hill. 

 Then with the other foot she would do 

 the other side. This continued some two 

 or three minutes, when the male flew up 

 and they darted away together. 1 was so 

 very close that 1 could distinctly see the 

 whole interesting performance. — GEO. L. 



Moxi.kv, Los Angeles, t'al. 



Bird Notes From Chicago 



CARDINAL. — A pair of Cardinals in 

 Sheridan Park built a nest in the latter 

 part of May, but the young were killed 

 by our noted lake breeze soon after they 

 hatched. Last year, Cardinals were very 

 common in this vicinity. There was one 

 pair in Sheridan Park and one in Argyle 

 Park. On one day I also saw two more 

 pairs at the Desplaincs River, west of 

 Dunning, while I think there were five 

 or six at Riverside. There are still three 

 or four at Riverside, owing to the pro- 

 tection given them, but the others, 1 fear, 

 have been killed by boys and gunners. 



Tufted Titmouse. — On February 8 

 I saw five Tufted Titmice at Riverside. 



They were quite tame and we watched 

 them for some time. On April n, I again 

 saw three at the same place, the last record 

 of them that I know of. They were seen 

 between these two dates several times by 

 other members of the E. W. Nelson 



Society. 



ROBIN. — Frank C. (bites and William 

 Gerberding, individually, saw a Robin in 

 (iraceland Cemetery on January 1, and I 

 saw two at the same time on January 20. 



Song Sparrow. — On January 18, Dr. 

 H. S. Pepoon and 1 saw three Song Spar- 

 rows near Howmanville. Song Sparrows 

 never wintered with us before, to our 

 knowledge. 



Prairie Hen. — April 12, Dr. II. S. 



