THE COLCGKT. 



161 



wliifh are sc-art-ely darker than the 

 ground color of the egg. Especially is 

 this so of egg No. 4, U])()n which, when 

 held at :i distance of fourfeet from tlie 

 eye, no markings (ran at all be discerned, 

 it appearing as a plain, unmarked green 

 egg. On all the eggs of this set the 

 .spots are very minute, as much so as 

 those of the eggs of the Brown Thrash- 

 er. The conlluent ring is noticed in 

 all the eggs of this set. 



There also occurs in the eggs nf Hdlna 

 Judoviciana a slight variation in form, 

 some being more pointed or )norc 

 I'onnded at the small end than others. 



The »c'.>i'.s of the Kose-breast have 

 always appeared to me to be verj^ 

 uniform both in location and construc- 

 tion. N. F. P. 



The King Eail in Minnesota, and Other 

 Notes- 



Since writing my short article on tjie 

 "Familj" Rallidae in Minnesota" in a 

 fomner number of the Oologist, I have 

 added another species to the list. 



On June 14th, of this year I got a (\i\.\ 

 off and went out to see how the birds 

 were getting along. Arriving at the 

 meadow I started in and had scarcely 

 taken ten steps when a Blue-winged 

 Teal Hushed from under my feet. The 

 nest Avas nieelj^ lined with down and 

 contained nine eggs. I did not take 

 these as the law is very strict prohibit- 

 ing the taking of Duck eggs. 



Further on I found several sets of 

 Sora and Virginia Rails b^it left them 

 as I had no use for anj'. Noticing a 

 large bunch of swam]) hay, and as it 

 looked somewhat suspicous, I stooped 

 down to separate it, just as a King Rail 

 Hew out. I recognized it immediately 

 and was in such a hurry to get it that 

 1 shot before it was more than eight or 

 ten yards otf. When I picked it up it 

 wa:s so badlj- mangled, that I was un- 

 able to preserve more than the breast, 

 head a;<il neck. Going back to the 

 nest, I found a fine set of ten. 



They greatly resembled the eggs of 

 the Virginia, but Avere about twice as 

 Iarg(\ The nest was ecmiposed of 

 gi-asses and hay piled up to a heighth of 

 ten inches. It was slightly hollowed, 

 and as a whole, looked about like the 

 nests of the Virginia. This nest and 

 eggs arc, I beleive, tlie first recorded 

 set taken in Minnesota The birds are 

 quite rare; but five Ijeing taken in the 

 last twenty years. 



Continuing on around the lake, we 

 found two sets of Mallards' and one of 

 Teal's, which we did not take. Every 

 l)it of floating weed contained a set of 

 Black Tei-n; eggs were all around us 

 but we were looking for a set of the 

 Wilson's Phalarope, numbers of which 

 were Hying over our heads. I collected 

 several males and females, the plumage 

 of the males showing that they had be- 

 gun to incubate. Suddenly, Hushing 

 one in the long grass, I lan up and 

 found the nest. It Avas situated on a 

 small hummock, about four inches 

 above the level of the water. The top 

 of this hummock had been slightly hol- 

 lowed and lined Avith grasses. The 

 eggs, four in number, Avere a great 

 deal smaller than I had expected they 

 would be. Thej- somcAvhat resembled 

 those of the Spotted Sand Piper, but 

 Avere considerably' smaller. Having 

 had no time to measure them I am un- 

 able to giAc the exact size. 



As it Avas getting time for me to 

 return I looked around hurriedlj^ and 

 found another set of four. The loca- 

 tion of these Avere the sanie as the first 

 set. There Avere at least fifteen pairs 

 of birds In-eeding here and I am confi- 

 dent that if I had had enough time I 

 could have gotten a nice series. 



On the Avay out we found a set of six 

 Bobolink's, five Grass Finch's and five 

 Chipping Sparrow's all Avithin a space 

 of six feet. Not taking any of them Ave 

 Avondered at the hai'monious relations 

 sustained by them, and providing that 

 they all hatch out in due time; they will 



