THE OOLOGIST. 



Ill 



with which I was striking the trees as I 

 passed aloug. About half way up the hill 

 I saw a Red-shafted Flicker looking out of 

 a hole iu a snag of an oak tree. I tliought 

 I would look into its nest as I came back; 

 and went on about thirty yards, when, as I 

 started to pass a ti-ee, which had been brok- 

 en off about six feet from the ground. As 

 I went to pass I noticed a hole about a foot 

 from the top of the stump, which looked as 

 if it had been made by a Woodpecker. I 

 struck the stump below the hole and a graj' 

 colored bird popped out and flew rapidly 

 away. I tried to look into the hcle, but 

 could see nothing. The stamp, though 

 rotten, was too hard to break with my hands 

 so I started back to the house and got a 

 hand-axe and ran all the way back again. 

 A few licks with the axe and I had a hole 

 ' large enough to put my hand in. I felt in 

 carefully, and was elated to feel eggs. 1 

 took them out one at a time until there 

 were three perfectly white eggs, spherical 

 in shape, and measure 1 1-16 by about 1 in. 

 As I have no caliper rule, I took the meas- 

 ure with a common rule, but the measure- 

 ments are, I think, correct. The eggs 

 were perfectly fresh, and I have no means 

 of knowing whether three eggs are a set or 

 not. I should like to know how many eggs 

 the Cal. Pigmy Owl lays. If any reader of 

 this article does know, let's hear from him 

 through this paper. 



Yours Ilespectf ully, 



A. Calderwood, Jr. 

 Sonoma Co., Cal. 



Woodcock in Southen Illinois. 



Though the game birds are the least 

 interesting to the ornithologist, except from 

 a gastroraic point of view, it may, notwith- 

 standing, be of interes to notice the occur- 

 rence of what is undoubtedly a somewhat 

 common bird in an unusual localiiy. That 

 is a Woodcock P. minor that had been 

 killed by flying against a telephone wire 

 over a low stream and was found soon 

 after. Since these are considered game 

 birds they nuist necessarily be somewhat 



abundant in some localities, though this 

 is the first occurrence in this region, 

 Southern Illinois, that has come to my 

 notice. 



The genus Plllnhela is the smallest one 

 of the perfectly detiued family Scolopacidae 

 the most interesting of the Irinicolu'. or shore- 

 birds. 



The P. minor that fell to my lot, dis- 

 IDatched as it were on the wires, after care- 

 ful manipulation furnished a first-class 

 skin. It is a female in fine plumage. I 

 would be pleased to learn of others' ex- 

 perience with this family through the 

 OoLOGisT, as I have seen little mention 

 heretofore. 



H. F. Andrews. 



Shrikes. 



Your corresdoudent C. B. C. I see is out 

 with the query on the difference between 

 the White-rumped Shrike and the Logger- 

 head. Perhapa I can enlighten him some- 

 what. 



The Loggerhead, ludovicimiwi, is the iy\)e 

 the White-riamped I. exeuhitoriden simply 

 being a variety of that species. The differ- 

 ence between the two is very close, and 

 consists chiefly as follows: 



The White-rumped is much lighter in 

 color, particularly noticeable in the uppsr 

 parts where it bleaches to a lighter shade 

 on the rump, a thing not found on the 

 Loggerhead ; the white spot on the primaries 

 is longer and narrower on the White- 

 rumped. The black line on the side of 

 the head is generally found to be shorter 

 and broader on the Loggerhead. In size 

 the White-rumped is found to be slightly 

 larger. The Loggerhead is the form from 

 the South-eastern States, while the White- 

 rumped inhabits the Middle and Western 

 States. Still another form now hails from 

 the Pacific Slope, known as the Padgway 

 Shrike. 



Geo. G. Cantwell, 



Minneapolis, Minn. 



