144 



THE OOLOGLST. 



Name mislaid. — Your description of j 

 bird is insufficient. It is probably 

 either the Lark Bunting or the Bhick- 

 throated Bunting. 



J. H. S., Webster, Mass.— 1. Your 

 egg of lighl-blue spotted Avith brown 

 anil bhu'k, nest like a "Chippy's," coui- 

 posi'd of needles and placed in a pine 

 tree, the bird being quite robust, is 

 douJjtless that of the Purple Finch. 



2. See answer to first part of E. E. 

 •H.'s querj^ in this column. 



W. A. B., New Shar<jn, la.— Your j 

 bird with a b!ood-red bod3', black 

 Avings and tail, ma,y be a Scarlet Ta-ua- 

 ger; although you told us nothing of its 

 size. 



L. S. D., Netlierwood, N. J.— 1. 

 Your bird with greenish-brown ijack, 

 yellowish-brown Avings with white 

 spots, bright yellow under the should- 

 ers, white superciliaiy line, and short, 

 thick and powerful bill, the eggs iwiug 

 blue spotted with yellowish-brown, is 

 the female Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 



3. Cannot judge Avithout description 

 of the bird. 



G. A., Auburudale, Mass. a 

 others. — Your descriptions are insu 

 cient. A description of the bird 

 generally necessary in order to gel a 

 idea as to the identity of nests a 



Great Horned Owl. 



( Bubo, virgiiiiamis.) 



Ft 



i^el). 17, '89, being a pleasant d:iy', I j 

 started out to pay a Aisit to my Owls' 

 nests. 



M}' course, as planned in former 

 years, lay through seA^n'al large 

 "strips" of heaA-y timber. 



A tramp of two miles brouglit \is to 

 the lirst nest v\diich seemed to be de- 

 serted. Another mile and aa^b met 

 Avith tlie same disappointment at the 

 second nest. This was discouraging, 

 but as there was another nest two miles 

 farther on, 1 continued i\iy tiresome 

 tramp bringing up, iinally, under the 

 outspreading l.ra.uches of the old hol- 



low maple which Avas the home of my 

 "liooter." All around were the freshly 

 disgorged bits of fur and bones, but the 

 cavity in the tree contained nothing. 



Was I too early':' This was tlie ques- 

 tion Avhich arose, but while I was eat- 

 ing a luncdi, the mystery was explained . 

 Three boys came along and informed 

 me that a "Hoot Owl" had been killed 

 in the wo(xls a few weeks before. 



After making my business known, I 

 was informed by one of the party that 

 lie had often heard, during the Avinter, 

 an Owl hooting in a thin strip of woods 

 nearly opposite his houst;. I kucAA^ the 

 A'cry spot, "and as it Avas only a fcAv 

 steps out of my route homcAvard, I 

 started off for the place at once. 



Arriving at tlie outskirts of the grove- 

 like Avood, I examined the first holloAV 

 oak, but found no Owl's uest. The 

 second tree, however, showed signs of 

 "life" as there Avas a feather adhering 

 to a splinter near the cavity, Avhich Avas 

 about forty feet from the ground. 

 After resting a feAV minutes, I began 

 the ascent, climbing around on the op- 

 posite side of the tree as I Avent up. 



When Avithiu three feet of the nest I 

 looked up and could see the Owl's tail 

 projecting through a large crevice. 

 Not Avishing to frighten her A'cry much, 

 1 gave her tail a gentle jerk Avhicli 

 caused her to slowly leave the uest -and 

 alight on a neighboring tree. 



The nest contained only one egg, and 

 fearing the nest Avas not complete, T did 

 not remove it. 



On the afternoon of the 20th, I re- 

 turned to collect the set which I knew 

 by this time Avould be complete. This 

 Avas a cold cloudy day and as I near(>d 

 the tree the old Owl left the nest. 



Climbing up I v.'as verj- much disap- 

 pointed to find the numijcr of eggs- had 

 not increased. 



The nest was a new one, composed of 

 a mass of leaA'es, tv.dgs and bark nicely 

 holloAved out and lined sparingly Avith 

 feathers. 



