THE OOLOGIST. 



11 



also the ludigo Buuting; the latter seeniK 

 to be increasing in numbers here. 



Our Starlings, nfimed in the order of 

 their abundance, are Red-winged Blacli- 

 bird, Meadow Lark, Purple Grackle, Bob- 

 olink, Baltimore Oriole, and Cowbird. 



The Crow is very common, especially in 

 spring and autumn, when large flocks as- 

 semble here. In the more retired parts' of 

 , the county. Blue Jays are plenty; during the 

 winter they are often seen on the outskirts 

 of the towns, probably in search of 

 food. 



The Shore Lark is most common in fall 

 and spring; a very few remain in the 

 county till -Tuly. They probably breed 

 here. 



The most abundant Flycatchers are the 

 Kingbirds, followed closely by the Pewee 

 then comes the Wood Pewee, Great Fly- 

 catcher and Least Flj'catcher. 



We have one representative of the 

 Hummingbirds, Euby-throated. Chimney 

 Swifts are very common and are often 

 found nesting in barns like the Barn 

 Swallow. Both the Whip-poor-will and 

 the Night Hawk occur ; the latter in the 

 greatest numbers. 



Except the Flicker, the Hairy and Downy 

 Woodpeckers are the most common of their 

 tribe. The Bed-headed Woodpecker is 

 not very plenty. During the migrations 

 we have the Yellow-bellied and Red-bellied 

 Woodpeckers; the former is the more 

 common. 



The Kingfisher is common along streams, 

 in the banks of which it nests. The Black- 

 billed Cuckoo is quite common ; the Yellow- 

 billed species occurs rarely if at all. 



Owls are somewhat rare, though the 

 Saw-whet, Screech and Horned Owls may 

 be found in the deeper woods. 



Among the Hawks, the Sparrow Hawk is 

 the most common. We have also, the 

 Pish, Marsh, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered 

 Hawks. 



The Mourning Doves are very common 

 and are frequently shot by hunters who 

 mistake them for Wild Pigeons. Quails are 

 seldom seen, biit the Euft'ed Grouse is a 

 common resident. The Green Heron is 



very common, and the Great Blue Heron 

 frequently occurs. 



The Killdeer, Woodcock and Snipe aie 

 not very common. The Spotted Sandpiper 

 is abundant along water. Daring migra- 

 tions a few Rails are found, but 1 believe 

 none stay to I)reed. 



WiLLAED N. ClUTE, 



Binghampton, N. Y. 



Black-capped Chickadee. 



On the 13th of last May my brother and I 

 started out on a hunt for oological sped - 

 mens. We tramped aljout four or five 

 miles without finding anything worth tak- 

 ing. Then we came to a large piece of 

 woods where we found a blue jay's nest in a 

 small oak tree. It contained one egg. We 

 then tramped around a little, until we came 

 to a part of the woods that was all swampy. 

 It looked a first class place for eggs. As we 

 stood looking around, I saw a black-capped 

 chickadee fly to an old elm stub about 

 three feet high and three inches in diameter. 

 It disappeared in a small knot hole near the 

 top. we crossed over to it, by jumping 

 from one bog to another As I was anx- 

 ious to obtain a set for my c^)llection, but 

 when we got there we found they were only 

 building. Both birds were very tame, as 

 they would almost let us touch them. I 

 visited the nest again on the 21st, as I hap- 

 pened to be that way and found it 

 contained a beaatiful set of six eggs. 

 They were creamy white, covered with pink 

 spots, thickest on the large end, thev aver- 

 age about "21-;52 X 15 32. I also took the 

 nest, as I collected nests as well as eggs. I 

 think there is as much, if not more to be 

 learned from the nest than the eggs. It 

 was composed of a layer of green moss 

 then a thick layer of some wooly substance 

 and lined with a thick coating of gray 

 squirrels' hair forming a very warm and 

 comfortal)le dwelling. 



T. W. B. 



