72 



THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



The NiDiOLOGiST. 



AN ILLUS'JKATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE 



DEVOTHI) TO THE STUOV OK 



ORNITHOLOGY, 



Willi Special Reference to the 

 NlUIKlCATION OK NORTH AMERICAN BlRUS. 



H. R. TAYLOR, Editor and Publisher. 



IsstJED AT Alameda, California. 

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Original contributions, with or without illustrations, are earnestly 

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or her name to an article, it should not be pub- 

 lished when it is supposed to stand as a record. I 

 am particularly pleased with your illustrations, — 

 Rutln'oi Deanc Chicago, III. 



This number of The Nidiologist contains 

 almost a dozen articles, observations on bird life 

 from as viany differetit States in the Union. When 

 the magazine was launched a year and a half ago, 

 a few incredulous ones fell into the error of sup- 

 posing that it was a Western publication. So it 

 is as far as the publication office \% concerned; but 

 even that, we are inclined to think, will be re- 

 moved to New York city in the not distant future. 

 Other "doubting Thomases" deferred subscribing, 

 and are now " kicking themselves" because they 

 have to pay a good round .sum for rare earlier 

 numbers. The only .safe rule is to subscribe now. 

 Any of your subscribers will tell you that you will 

 never regret doing so. It is money well invested. 



A Patriotic Blue Jay. 



On June 5, 1894, as I was walking along the 

 street, I saw a Blue Jay pecking an English vSpar- 

 row, wliich was nearly done for and only struggled 

 feebly. As I came nearer, the Jay took the vSpar- 

 row in its beak and flew away. It went behind a 

 grape arbor and I lost sight of it, so I was not 

 able to see the end of this tragedy. 



A. L. Pe.\RSE. 



Beatrice, Nebraska. 



The " Nil)." has become a positive necessity to 

 every live, working Ornitliologist, and in my 

 judgment lanks next to The Auk' ■a'^ a scientific, 

 trustworthy magazine on American Ornithology, 

 and is bound to succeed. I consider the career of 

 the "NiD." as tjuite remarkable, as in such a 

 short time it has gained for itself a foremost 

 place. You may count me as a subscriber as long 

 as I can get the "necessary." — Glover M. Allen, 

 Newton, Mass. 



I AM Gr.Ai) to .see that the nam de plume fashion 

 is being largely done away with, .^n article or 

 note of any .scientific value is, to my mind, worth- 

 less, thus signed. If a person is afraid to sign his 



Dicersity in Nesting. 



Now is the season for the collector who 

 paN^s special attention to nesting to do 

 good work, for now he lua}- gather 

 the beautiful treasures of bird archi- 

 tecture without raising the ire of some "bird 

 protector. " 



The peculiarities of birds are evident in 

 the construction of their nests. Take for 

 example the nest of the Orchard Oriole, 

 about half of the nests of this bird are made 

 out of grass when it is yet green. This 

 shows science for the grass is easier to 

 weave when green. In the fall of the year 

 after the leaves fall you can find the nests 

 of the Goldfinch and other birds, notable 

 of which is the Indigo Bunting, who takes 

 delight in hiding his nest in a large bunch 

 of leaves which is impossible for the eye to 

 penetrate; stich a nest, is generally com- 

 posed of hemp fibre and lined with horse 

 hair and cotton from the "milk weed." 

 There is no nest that presents a better ap- 

 pearance and speaks more for the neatness of 

 the bird. Take in contrast to the Bunting 

 the Barred Owl; he selects a large tree with 

 cavity near the top, if possible, "and if he 

 is not particularly rushed he and his mate 

 pull a few feathers out and with a small 

 amount of grass scatter it over the bottom 

 of the cavity. But as a general thing he 

 lets his mate lay her eggs right on the floor 

 of the house, and here year after year they 

 breed in the same tree and live in blissful 

 content. 



Then take the Cowbird who roves arotmd 

 and lays her egg with some other bird and 

 leaves instructions for them to hatch it. 

 One day I was passing along the road when 

 I heard a great babble of bird voices, so I 

 made my way to the scene and there was 

 a hateful Cowbird .setting on a Towhee's 

 nest laying an ^^<g and the Towhee was 

 trying in every way possible to get her to 

 leave. 



I think Ornithologists pay too little at- 

 tention to the habits of the birds and es- 

 pecially to the manner of nesting. 



J. W. Bon WELL. 

 Sec'y Neb. City Nat's, Ass'n 



