OOLOGIST'S EXCHANGE. 



become a complete hermit, that is alone 

 with his mate at least, if he had the 

 opportunity, but the woods are so full 

 of birds that he cannot avoid them all, 

 and is brought into daily contact with 

 numerous other songsters and fellow cit- 

 izens of the woods. 



After July 15 but little is heard from 

 our short-tailed friend, but later, some- 

 times in late October, the silvery jingle 

 is heard issuing from the deepest piles 

 of brush, as musical and vivacious as 

 ever. 



Kalamazoo, Mich. 



Collectors' Experience in Ontario with 

 the Great Blue Heron. 



(Aedea hebodias) 

 by T. A. M. 

 Some friends of mine having called 

 for the purpose of having a hunt in the 

 vicinity of Hyde Park, I showed them 

 the commencement of my collection of 

 birds eggs and skins and after stowing 

 my oological aparatus carefully away in 

 my lunch basket and taking someamuni- 

 tion pouches we started out. 



We were all very gleeful, feeling sure 

 of finding something choice, and our 

 most sanguine hopes were realized, for 

 we had not yet learned of the great 

 rarities which so many are now eager to 

 obtain. 



When about three miles from our 

 village, after travelling through fields, 

 meadows, orchards, and sugarbushes, 

 we came to a deep gully, which passes 

 through quite an extensive tract of 

 forest. 



This ravine is quite wide in some 

 l^laces, and a little stream trickled and 

 played among heaps of fallen leaves, 

 upturned trees, and moss covered logs, 

 which likely had lain prostrate for gen- 

 erations. 



Above and upon all sides could be 

 heard the notes of the sparrows, orioles, 

 tanagers, and flycatchers. 



Warblers were carolling ever so gay, 

 and the clear, sweet songs of water 

 thrushes con Id be distinctly heard, but 

 above all others the screams of a pair of 

 red shouldered hawks from whose nest 

 we had just taken a set of three eggs. 

 We had started across the ravine, and 

 were picking our way amongst fallen 

 trees and thick underbrush when all at 

 once we heard a most curious sound 

 ' ' honk " " honk " " honk. " We stopped 

 and it was again repeated ; after some 



jocular remarks on the subject we 

 started to find out what it was and look- 

 ing upward, we saw what was to us a 

 novel sight, — a Great Blue Heron 

 standing upon its nest in the top of a 

 large eJm, the trunk of the tree was 

 about three feet in diameter. Our first 

 thought was to shoot the heron, but its 

 mate then came circling above and I 

 said "Boys don't shoot until we know 

 whether their eggs are laid or not." 

 But how were we to know ? The tree 

 was large and the nest high, placed 

 about ten feet from the trunk on a fork 

 of a nearly horizontal branch. 



We had taken about half a dozen sets 

 of good eggs that morning but all were 

 to us insignificant compared with a set 

 of the eggs of this bird, and we resolved 

 to have these if it were possible. 



One of our party soon brought forth 

 an axe, and felled a soft maple tree so 

 as to lodge it against the elm about fifty 

 feet above the ground. The task of 

 climbing the leaning tree was easy 

 enough, but going up the trunk of the 

 large elm, and passin g its lower branches, 

 brought perspiration freely. At length, 

 I found myself seventy -two feet above the 

 ground, standing on the branch which 

 held the nest. This branch was about 

 five inches in diameter, and looked 

 strong enough to bear my weight, but, 

 to venture out on it ten feet at such a 

 height, seemed a somewhat risky under- 

 taking. 



I hesitated a while, but, catching 

 sight of three beautiful eggs, I got 

 astride of the branch and began working 

 my way towards the nest. At that 

 moment, one of the herons, which after- 

 wards proved to be the male, came 

 flying directly at me, but when within 

 a few feet of* my head he changed his 

 mind, and alighted a short distance 

 from us on the top of a basswood stub 

 standing upon higher ground, and was 

 then shot by one of my companions. 



The nest was composed of sticks, 

 (some of them about a yard long) and 

 lined quite smoothly with twigs. The 

 nest was about three feet long on the 

 outside and eleven inches on the inside, 

 depth three inches ; its general appear- 

 ance was rather rough. 



I packed the three eggs (which were 

 quite fresh) in a shot bag, and tying the 

 end of a tape line to it, lowered it to the 

 boys below. They quickly untied the 

 tape which I wound up and began my 

 safe descent. 



