154 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Gleanings from Our Correspondents. 



Notes and Iteina of Interest, Queries and 

 Ansvjers. 



In Feb. No- Oologist Mr. N. F. Posson, 

 of Medina, N. Y., says in his article tliat he 

 saw a "Horned Lark" on Jan. 1st. I saw 

 the Horned Lark on Jan 25th for tho first 

 time this year. Would like to know if this 

 can be beaten; I found a nest of the H. L. 

 ou March 28, '8(5; contained 4 eggs. Goo. 

 L. White, Mt. Morris, N. Y. 



Eugene Fernholtz, Jefferson, "Wis., has 

 in his collection an end-blown egg of the 

 Blue -bird. It is of a white color having a 

 circle of blue about one-sixteenth of an inch 

 wide and about one-fourth inch from the 

 small or tip end. 



Under date of Feb. 24th, E. L. Mene- 

 fee, of San Jose, Cal., Avrite.s: 



"The egg season here has luvrdly com- 

 menced yet. I found a set of 402 e the 

 20th inst., which is unusually early for 

 this section. Although I frequently 

 hear of owls nesting even in January 

 in the Eastern states, this is the earliest 

 date that has c(jme to my knowledge 

 Avhile collecting in California for sever- 

 al years. The next eggs which the 

 wide-awake Californian oologist may 

 s«ek for are the Least Tit, Plain Tit, 

 Meadow Lark and Shrike. Roljius 

 have been unusually scarce in this sect- 

 i(m this season, as they Avere unusual- 

 ly plentiful last. I ha.^•e not seen more 

 than a dozen the whole seascni; the 

 first in October and the last on the 23d 

 inst. 



The Bluebird, HoiBse Finch and Green 

 Backed Goldtinch are among the arriv- 

 als that ha^'e become common. Swal- 

 lows have just arrived aiul 1 havt; seen 

 a few doves, although 1 siis])ect they 

 AVt'se some that wintered here. 



is unlawful to collect bird's eggs in 

 their respective localities, and if so, 

 how they can ol^tain a permit to collect V 

 As the laws in the various States, Prov- 

 inces, and we might say localities, A'ary, 

 we must advise collect(jrs to consult 

 some legal friend. But we might add 

 that the true oologist i)V the collector of 

 eggs for scientilic purp(;ses is rarely 

 molested and that in most localities 

 the law either allows him to collect ov 

 a permit can be obtained through a lot 

 of (im)nccessary (?) "red tape." 



We have received many letters from 

 et)llectors in the \arious states and Can- 

 ada making inquiries as to whether it 



E. G. B., of Monson, Me., sends us 

 an egg of the Olive- l)acked Thrush and 

 gives the following very interesting 

 description: 



"The bird is, I am quite sure, some 

 species of Thrush, but I can find no de- 

 scription ()f nest, eggs, etc., in Samuel's 

 'Birds of New England,' which uoir.- 

 cides with that of this bird. Th(3 oiid 

 strongly resembles the Hermit Thflish 

 in color and markings, when seen at a 

 little distance, but is considerably larg- 

 er. It also has a note very miich like 

 that of the Hermit Thrush -svhen the 

 nest is approached. It breeds very 

 commonly here. The nests that I ha^e 

 seen, and I have seen a hirge number, 

 was placed in a cedar tree from foiir to 

 ten feet from the» ground, and with on(; 

 excei)tion, Avithin a few feet of a pond 

 or stream of water. The nest is con- 

 structed of birch and cedar bark, grass 

 and leaves. It is quite deeply hollowed 

 and lined with grass and leaves. I can 

 not bay positively whether any mud 

 was used or nt)t, but think there Avas 

 not. The eggs are usiuilly foiu' in 

 niunber. ' Some that I haAC seen much 

 larger spots than the one I Iuiac sent 

 you." 



For tJw- Oologid.] 



The Wilson Ornitliolog-ical Chapter of 

 the Agassiz Association. 



This Society Avas oi'ganized Dec. 8, 

 1888, in order to investigate the habits 



