THE NIDIOLOGIST 2(\oi, \<^a,<^ 



137 



greedy bird, and. remarkably bold in its foraging 

 excursions. 



Schoolcraft met with this Jay in the neigh- 

 borhood of Lake Superior way back in the 

 twenties, and from then till the present time it 

 has been embraced in all but two or three 

 lists of Michigan birds. One authority men- 

 tions the finding of a nest May 27, 1872, but I do 

 not credit it, so far south as Ann Arbor, Mich., 

 42° 30' south latitude, in the nesting season. 



It is evidently one of those birds, like our 

 familiar Blue Jay, which is not driven away from 

 its usual haunts by extremes of weather, and 

 therefore is rarely seen in the south. I doubt 

 if it was ever south of 43° in this State. As 

 much as I have been in the woods, and with 

 my eyes always open for this species, yet I have 

 never seen it at any point excepting at the north. 



North of the 45° it is quite well known, 

 especially in the winter, when it appears about 

 the settlements and camps. 



Raven, Corvus corax principalis, Ridgw. 

 Undoubtedly abundant formerly, but now very 

 scarce in most sections, and totally extinct in 

 some counties. The Raven is not given to 

 migration to any extent, and is a permanent 

 resident wherever found. Therefore, it may 

 be taken in some numbers in one county, while 

 it is unknown, except as a rare straggler, in an 

 adjoining county. We may say that its pres- 

 ence has been decreased through the advent of 

 the Crow, allowing that the advance of civiliza- 

 tion, or colonization of many unsettled parts, 

 has increased the number of Crows as it has 

 lesened the former abundance of Ravens. 

 The increase of the Crow population has noth- 

 ing to do with the disappearance of tha larger 

 relative, as the two birds could undoubtedly 

 get along together nicely. Let us say, rather, 

 that man has affected the changes so noticeable 

 in these two instances. 



Between 42° and 43° north latitude there 

 are but few Ravens to be found now. but I have 

 been convinced that they breed in Van Buren 

 County, as the young of the -year have been seen 

 flying in May. Further north they are more 

 common, and in the Upper Peninsula they are 

 even abundant, according to one authority.* 



This bird will eventually become extinct in 

 our State, as will the Sandhill Crane and Wild 

 Turkey, and at present it is, like those species, 

 very uncertainly distributed, and is fast being 

 crowded out south of 44°. 



American Crow, Corvus Americanits. Once 

 unknown to this State, according to old resi- 

 dents. Not embraced in the list of Professor 

 Sager, published in 1839, showing that it was 

 not here at that date, because it is prominent 



* Ed Van Winkle, Delta County, Mich., q. v., " O. and O.,' vol. 

 jicvii, p. 186. 



and well marked, and easily recorded if present. 

 It was known in the Upper Peninsula as early 

 as 1850, according to Cabot, but it may be that 

 he was in error. Jerome Trombley, of Monroe 

 County, in the southeast corner of the State, 

 s*"ates that the Crow was not seen in that neigh- 

 borhood previous to i860. I am sure it was 

 very rare in my locality, about 42° north latitude 

 and 85° west longitude, even as late as 1865. 



It is now abundant everywhere south of 44°, 

 and common as far north as Mackinac Island. 

 In time it will be a nuisance in every part of 

 the State.* 



Black billed Magpie, Pica pica hiidsonica. A 

 Rev. Mr. Day, once a missionary in the Upper 

 Peninsula, informed me that this bird is not rare 

 in northern Michigan, and that it was quite 

 common there in the sixties. Embraced in 

 published list of Michigan birds. There is little 

 reason to doubt this record, as the species is 

 recorded in Wisconsin and Illinois. 



SCOLOPAX. 



Kalamazoo, Mich. 



Peculiar Sets of Eggs. 



Is it only a " freak " of nature that in some 

 sets of eggs one or more of them should 

 be so very different from the rest in size 

 or coloration ? Or is there some scientific ex- 

 planation for it? If so, I wish some one who 

 can explain it would do so; for, during a num- 

 ber of years of collecting and studying, I have 

 been particularly interested in "freak" sets, 

 but have as yet been unable to satisfy myself as 

 to the cause of them. 



In a set of three Spizella socialis (full com- 

 plement) in my collection, two eggs measure 

 .71X.46 each, while the third measures .81X.46, 

 and is, moreover, of a very peculiar shape, 

 being pinched in, so to speak, in the middle. 



A set of four Sialia siaiis, collected at Enter- 

 prise, Fla., measure .85X.69, .86X.69, .85X.68, 

 and .96X.76, the last being nearly half as large 

 again in bulk as either the other three. 



A set of five Meiaiierpcs carolinus, taken at 

 Cape Gable, Fla., measure .93X.66, .87X.63, 

 .81X.64. .74X.60, and .70X. 57, the contents of the 

 first being nearly twice as much as of the last. 



A set of five Cistothorus palustris, in which 

 one is a pure white, the rest being almost a 

 solid chocolate color and quite dark for these 

 eggs. 



A set of three (the full complement) Den- 

 droica cestiva, in which one is a pure white, the 

 other two being their natural color. 



L. W. Brownell. 



* G. A. Stockwell (Archer), vol. viii, 19, 300, Forest and Stream, 

 says of the Fi.-ih Crow : " Frequently seen in the neighborhood of 

 the great lakes in Michigan.'" I do not credit this note. 



