THE NIDIOLOGIST 



169 



eggs it was exceedingly difficult to find one of 

 these birds' eggs, and when found I dreaded 

 the removing of mother Owl from her nest, as 

 many bite and claw the hand. This season I 

 have had but one or two bites from Owls, as I 

 have learned to remove them by. grasping their 

 backs. 



The first set taken here was on April i by a 

 friend of mine, fresh. 



On the 15th of April I took a set of three in- 

 cubated, from a hollow in a small wood. From 

 this same hollow I took another set of three on 

 on May 6, fresh. On the 17th I took a set of 

 three from a large hollow in an oak ; on 13th 

 of May took another set from this same hollow, 

 incubation about ^. On April 20 I took ^ 

 from a hollow about forty feet up in an oak ; 

 on May 1 1 took a set of four from same hol- 

 low. 



On the 27th of April I took a set of two, 

 heavily incubated. This is the second set of 

 two taken here. 



The interval between the taking of two sets 

 from same bird is, on an average, nineteen 

 days. 



If the hollow is not destroyed they will al- 

 ways deposit a second set therein, and occa- 

 sionally a third set. 



Tallahassee, Fla. R. W. Williams, Jr. 



Low Nesting Sites of Bubo. 



MR. ''WILLIAM HENRY," in his po- 

 etical contribution to the May " Nid," 

 asserts that after twelve months' cor- 

 respondence the highest record of 2. Bubo's nest 

 was ninety feet, and the lowest twenty-six. I 

 would therefore like to say that here in Pueblo 

 County, where diminutive junipers struggle 

 for existence among the limestone hillsides, 

 and whose branches, unlike those of the gigan- 

 tic sycamores, sweep the ground rather than 

 the sky. Bubo virginianus subarcticus nests at 

 a very low height. It is unusual to find a nest 

 higher than twenty feet, and fifteen feet is 

 about the average, while twelve feet and even 

 eight are not infrequently noted. Nesting sites 

 of birds very often appear to be governed by 

 surroundings. Thus it will be seen that the 

 Western Horned Owl, when nesting in a local- 

 ity like the above, is compelled to build very 

 low; but to the eastern bird, situated in more 

 favorable circumstances, the matter of height is 

 purely a matter of choice. The heights here 

 given apply also to Buteo swaifisoiii, Archi- 

 buteo funigmeus, and occasionally Aquila 

 chrysaetos, when in similar localities. 



Pueblo, Colo. WiLLOUGHBY p. Lowe. 



Editor Nidiologist. 



Dear Sir: In my last letter I mentioned the 

 loss of our dog. " Misfortunes oft prove bless- 

 ings in disguise." By a little stratagem we soon 

 located him at a farmhouse on the shore of 

 Devil's Lake, near Jerusalem, and twenty miles, 

 distant from our " shack." Early on the morn- 

 ing of the 24th of May we started for the afore- 

 said farmhouse. 



Our route lay over high rolling prairie, and 

 one set of Chestnut-colored Longspur's eggs 

 were all we took until we reached the lake. We 

 soon found the dog, and his keepers informed 

 us that they had coaxed him away from some 

 half-breeds. 



We made arrangements to stay at this house 

 for a while, and as we had a few hours of day- 

 light yet we took a look through a patch of tim- 

 ber near by, and came back richer by four sets 

 of American Golden-eye and one set each of 

 the Swainson's and Ferruginous Rough-legged 

 Hawk. The next day was. spent searching 

 the more distant timber. 



The best find of the day was made by Mr. 

 Mummery. He found a nest of American 

 Golden-eye in a large oak tree. It was in a hol- 

 low formed where a limb had broken off about 

 fifteen feet from the ground. Out of this nest 

 eight eggs were obtained. He proceeded tO' 

 prepare the eggs while I started for the nearest 

 house to buy a luncheon. When I returned he 

 informed me a female Golden-eye had gone into- 

 a hollow in a limb about ten feet above where 

 the other eggs were taken. It only took a short 

 time to transfer the eggs, twelve in number, tO' 

 our collecting baskets. Both nests were lined 

 with the usual amount of white down. Out of 

 an ash stump we picked twenty-one eggs of the 

 Golden-eye, but did not value this clutch as it 

 was undoubtedly the product of two females. 

 This stump w^e were informed had in former 

 years contained as high as thirty-two eggs. 

 Sundown found us on our way to the farm- 

 house with five sets of Golden-eye, two sets of 

 Ferruginous Rough-leg, five sets of Swainson's. 

 Hawk, besides several singles of Hawks and 

 Owls. 



We have taken sixteen sets of Golden-eye 

 this year. The greatest number of eggs in 

 any one, aside from the clutch of twenty-one,, 

 was fifteen. The highest nest was thirty-five 



