THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



with such tools, so that when it was almost 

 dark barely a tiny hole was excavated 

 about three inches through into the nest 

 cavity. The hole was just large enough 





Nesting of Lewis' Woodpecker. 



for an egg to pass through, and as luck 

 would have it it was just below the nest. 

 A quantity of debris was raked out before 

 a single egg came in sight. It was all the 

 nest contained, and by great care was ex- 

 tracted in safety through that small hole 

 into the hand of the collector. 



While he was all-absorbed in his work I 

 had a good chance to sketch him from mj^ 

 saddle, and when he returned to show him 

 how near Darwin was right in his hypoth- 

 esis. P. W; Nahl. 



AN OWL STORY. 



While chatting about birds once with the 

 genial proprietor of the wayside inn at 

 Sargents, Cal., he told me a rather funny 

 story about two Great Horned Owls (Biihi 

 Virginianus Siib-Arctiais) whi.^h he had kept 

 for many years as pets. 



When he first got them they were quite 



young, in fact they had to be fed with a 

 spoon attached to a long stick. As they 

 grew older they began to have nightly 

 visits from all the big Owls in the country 

 round. They would come by the hundred, 

 said mine host, and roost in the old oaks, 

 where they hooted mournfully all night, 

 much to the edification, no doubt, of their 

 imprisoned friends. 



Mr. Goodhue, for that was the gentle- 

 man's name, at that time lived all alone, 

 and he averred that the weird cries of the 

 ill-omened birds used often to awaken him 

 from sound slumber, when he would be 

 terrified by hearing close by his window 

 the words, in solemn tones, " Hoo ! Good- 

 hue, 5'ou ! Goodhue! hoo! hoo!" T. 



AN ADVENTURE WITH AN EAGLE. 



For a week a little company of us had 

 been having glorious sport shooting geese, 

 duck, and other game birds in northern 

 Iowa. For two days we had been in camp 

 on a little bayou putting out from the 

 lower end of Clear lyake. During the 

 night there had been a drizzling rain. 

 Earl}^ in the morning I had gone out to the 

 lake's edge, to fire the loads out of my 

 gun, fearing the charges had become 

 damp. 



L,ooking up and down the lake for some- 

 thing animate to shoot at, I caught sight of 

 a Black Mallard flying leisurely along down 

 towards the foot of the lake. As it came 

 opposite to me, at a distance of 60 yards, 

 I gave it the left hand barrel, and it fell 

 dead into the water. 



While waiting a few moments for it to 

 float ashore, I discovered another very 

 large bird high up the lake, and also 

 coming my way. Stepping out of sight 

 into the thunder brush that grew thickly 

 almost to the water's edge, I waited but a 

 very sho;t time until the great bird sailed 

 directly opposite to my cover in the 

 brush. 



Catching sight of the dead duck floating 

 in the water it poised in the air to inspect 



