THE OOLOGIST. 



129 



Jim and perched upon my sholuder. I 

 paid no attention to hiai and he at once 

 commenced to investigate the contents of 

 my pockets. Tlaere being only a few tooth- 

 picks in them I let him withdraw these and 

 conceal them in a knot-hole, after these 

 were disposed of he tried to pull the buttons 

 off my coat, but as they would not come and 

 there was nothing else about me that he 

 wanted, he flew down the walk and lit near 

 Jack, who appeared to be asleep. After 

 watching him closely for sometime to be 

 sure that he was not shamming, for Jim 

 judges everybody by himself, Jim jumped 

 into his dish and commenced eating the few 

 bits of meat left ; suddenly out went one of 

 Jack's strong pinions and Jim received a 

 rap over the cranium which I have no doubt 

 made him see stars, at anj' rale he flew 

 straight across the yard and against the 

 fence with a dull thud and fell senseless to 

 the groiiud. 



Sept. l-±. Snot a Bittern. The Am. Bit- 

 tern although still to be found breeding in 

 favorable localities along the river, is mucTb 

 less common than it was when I became an 

 oologist four years ago. In 1885 I could 

 walk along the river edge and flush sevens 

 of these birds within two miles, but this 

 season although I was often in their haunts 

 only two birds were seen. 



Sept. 8. Shot a Sharp-shinned Hawk and 

 White-bellied Nuthatch. This hawk is very 

 scarce in summer but common in spring and 

 fall, the Nuthatch resides with us through- 

 out the year, being common at all seasons. 



Oct. 15. While Snipe hunting to-day 1 

 saw a Pileated Woodpecker. 



J. C. W. 

 Detroit, Mich. 



The Robin Wintering in the South. 



berries and mast which they afford. The 

 holly trees are they favorite resorts and in 

 one of these tress a number of these birds 

 can be seen almost any time of the dpy 

 satisfying their ravenous appotites. But 

 the Robin does not remain all the time so 

 selfish; sometimes he comes near our habi- 

 tations and partakes of the berries of the 

 china tree. Here he is not as tempei'Kle as 

 he ought to be; he eats too niuch of these 

 berries and becomes intoxicated and falls to 

 the ground. 



At this season of the year this bird is in 

 an excellent ct)ndition, and notwithstanding 

 the old legend (to kill a llobiu makes the 

 cows give blood for milk), they are killed 

 by great numbers. It is said tliat at a 

 certain point on the Warrior river, in this 

 State, these birds congregate by the millions 

 to roost, an I although d )zeus of hunters 

 are there every ni^ht, no diraiimtiou iu 

 their number is noticeable. The noise 

 they make can be heard two or three 

 miles. 



But man is not the Enbiu's only enemy; 

 he is attacked very often when seeking; the 

 china tree, by the Mockingbird and made to 

 beat a hasty retreat. I have a number of 

 times witnessed the above proceeding. 

 The Robin espies the berries and without 

 suspecting the least danger, flies to the 

 tree, but alas, poor bird, his expectation 

 was of no avail. 



Winter has nearly passed us now. The 

 Robin sees the approach of Spring, and 

 mounting one of the tallest trees, calls for 

 his dusky mate, utters his shrill farwcll 

 note, and is off to his Summer home far 

 away. 



C. W., York Sta, Ala. 

 Feb. 4, "89. 



No doubt your Nortliern readers are all 

 very familiar with the Robin's Summer 

 habits, but his Winter habits suppose they 

 know very little about. 



The Robins arrive here about the nuddle 

 of October, and fill the woods with their 

 cheery notes. They seek the swamps and 

 dense woods mostly, on fvcoQuut of the ! very fast. 



How to Make a Mechanical 

 Egg Drill. 



First secure the works of an old clock 

 and see that the spring is not broke, then 

 take off the pendulum, ticker and hands, so 

 that when the spring is wound up, the 

 pinion which turns the hands goes around 



