70 



THE OOLOGIST. 



swamp, when I saw the nest. It was 

 fastened to the siu-rounding rushes and 

 contained seven eggs. I liuslied and 

 shot the female close to it. The eggs 

 were creamy hrown thickly spotted 

 with brown. 



The American Coot breeds here quite 

 extensively. I have often found their 

 nests when looking for those of the 

 Pied-billed Grebe. 



The eggs ranging from six to fourteen 

 in number, are laid in a shallow nest of 

 rushes, which are laid lengthwise and 

 across. The eggs are clay color, finely 

 dotted with black. 



In spite of what Mr. Davie says in 

 regard to their flesh and about young 

 sportsmen shooting them as gauie 

 l)irds, but not hankering after their 

 flesh in riper years etc., I maintain that 

 they are good. I have occasionall.y run 

 across one while after ducks and when 

 they are cooked I was never able to tell 

 the difference. Perhaps my palate has 

 not been so highly educated as Mr. 

 Davie's, at any rate I never jet have 

 found a person who sports at the Mud 

 Hen who, if questioned, c^n own up to 

 having tasted of them. They are like a 

 great many other things made to ap- 

 pear worse than they really are. 



W. D. JL. BakHE, 



Minneapolis, Minn 



A Half Day's Egging in Los Angeles Co. 



About eight o'clock one morning last 

 season ('89) my cousin and I startetl on 

 a small collecting hunt to stay half the 

 (lay. As we were passing by son)e 

 eucalyptus trees, our attention wtis at- 

 tracted to a young Mockingbird not 

 able to fly. We soon captured him and 

 put him inside of a handkerchief. As 

 we were crossing a small stream, we 

 came to a sycamore tree in which my 

 cousin had seen a nest, but it had been 

 torn down since he was there, l)ut by 

 the alarmed movements of the female 

 which was a Black-chinned Humming- 



bird {Trodiilns Alexandri) 



we knew that there must be a nest in 

 the tree and'^so there was, which con- 

 tained two fresh eggs. After packing^ 

 them lip we tietl the horses and investi- 

 gated a hole in the dead limb of a syca- 

 more tree out of which small straws 

 were protruding. C It proved to be a 

 nest of Parkman's Wren. My cousin 

 was knocking against the end to enlarge 

 the hole, when all of it came off and it 

 was well that he had his hand under it 

 or the six fresh eggs it c<)ntained would 

 have been broken. 



We had the good luck to find another 

 set of two eggs <jf the Black-chinned 

 Hummingl)ird.;;iAs (Uir time had about 

 expired, we, started home well pleased 

 with our success. 



M. L. Wicks, Jk., 

 Los Angeles, Cala. 



A Bird Funeral. 



Having heard the question a numbei- 

 of times, as to' what becomes of the. 

 bodies of birds which die a natural 

 deatli, and never liaving heard anyone 

 say they had found one, and as I never 

 had in my 6 or 8 years of bird hunting, 

 I thought I would write the Oologist' 

 concerning an incident which came 

 under my notice about a year ago. 



I was sitting in a swing in an orchard 

 when 1 noticed a number of Bluebirds 

 which seemed greatly excited about 

 something. On going closer, I found 

 they were burying a Bluebird in a hole, 

 perliaps 4 x 2^ inches and had it nearly 

 covered. When it was taken out, I 

 found it to be full grown and could see 

 no signs of its having been shot. 



I do not pretend to say this is what 

 becomes of all birds which die. It is 

 the only time I have ever seen such a 

 funeral. 



W. W. MOSHEB, 



Scott Co., Ills. 



