146 



THE OOLOGIST. 



been excavated by the bivcl was a nat- 

 ural cavity iu a knot about twelve feet 

 up. The bottom of the hole which was 

 as big around as a peck measure was 

 covered with leaves and three eggs 

 were laid on the leases 



After packing the Flicker's eggs we 

 didn't find any more nests till we 

 reached the marsh, when we had not 

 gone three rods when a bird llew iip 

 and then fluttered along the ground 

 and we immediately saw that she was a 

 Wilson's Phalarope, after a few min- 

 utes search Ave found the nest contain- 

 ing four fresh eggs. After packing the 

 Phalarope 's eggs we walked clear 

 across the marsh and half way back 

 again before we found a set worth tak- 

 ing. But when about half way home 

 we had to go near a place where we, in 

 compau}- with Mr. B. F. Goss found a 

 set of five Marsh Hawks, in 1886. I 

 thought that maybe they had a nest 

 there now, so I went over that day and 

 sure enough up flew the Marsh Hawk. 

 I went up to the spot she flew from, 

 and there lay a set of five eggs. The 

 nest Avas a little pile of grass about two 

 feet in diameter and eight inches high 

 witli a small cavity in the top to hold 

 tlie eggs. [The next and ;^^last set Avas 

 another set of four Wilson's Phalarope. 



The next day Ave Avent on the lake 

 and obtained some fine sets the most 

 curious of Avhich Avas a set of five Al- 

 bino Swamp Spai-roAvs, perfectly iden- 

 tified. Don CuiiKiE, 



Waukeshaw Co., Wis. 



Pallas' Cormorant. 



PhaJacrocorax perspicilUitns. 



Newspaper clippings are sometimes 

 valuable. The following clipping- 

 taken from some paper, Ave knoAv not 

 Avhat and for Avhich we are indebted to 

 W. I. Comstock, NorAvalk, Conn., is 

 A'aluable in that it reminds us of an 

 overlooked and forgotten species : 



"Much attention has been draAvn to 



the Great Auk in recent years by the 

 astonishing prices paid by collectors 

 for its skins and eggs, Avhile Pallas' 

 Cormorant, the extinction of which iu 

 the North Pacific corresi^onds to that of 

 the Great Auk in the North Atlantic, 

 has been scarcely heard of at all. Yet 

 Mr. Leonhard Stejneger, of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, states that this bii*d 

 Avas the largest and handsomest of its 

 tribe. Only four specimens are knoAvn 

 to exist iu museums, no one possesses 

 its eggs, and the first bones found and 

 preserved Avere obtained l)y Mr. Stej- 

 neger in 1883 near the northAvestern 

 extremity of Behring Island." 



Referring to Coues' Key, to learn 

 nu)re about this overlooked Ijird, Ave 

 find the following: 



"Deep lustrous green, above and 

 beloAV, Avith blue gloss on the neck, and 

 rich purplish on the scapulars and 

 Aving-coA^erts, the dorsal feathers not 

 sharp-edged nor bordered, as in all the 

 foregoing 'species'. 



Shafts of tail feathers (said to be) 

 white; if tliis holds, it is a iinique cluir- 

 acter among our species. Adult Avith 

 coronal and occipital crests (not lateral 

 paired crests); a Avhite flank-patch in 

 the breeding season; face and neck 

 with long sparse straAV-yelloAV plumes; 

 sac orange, heart-shaped; bill blackish. 

 Large: length 36.00; AA^ng 13.00; tail 

 7.00? 9.00? tarsus 3.00; bill (along gape?) 

 4.00, A-ery stout, two-thirds of an inch 

 deep at base. North Pacific Coast. I 

 have not seen this species, Avhich seems 

 to be Avell marked. There are no 

 kuoAvn specimens in this country, and 

 none of the ornithologists Avho haA'e 

 lately A'isited Alaskan shores haA'e 

 found the bird." 



Interesting Extracts from an 18S0 Note-Book. 



May 18th. To-day I collected a fine 

 set of three eggs of the Summer Red 

 Bird, being my first set for this season. 



June 13th. Collected a set of fiA'e 



