OOLOGIST'S EXCHANGE. 



OOLOGIST'S EXCHANGE. 



ARTHUR E. PETTIT, 



Chairman. 

 Published Monthly at 30 Cents per Tear. 



Terms of Advertising. 



Five lines $1.00 I One inch $2.00 



Half Column 7.00 Column 13.00 



Address all communications to Arthur E. Pettit, 

 P. O. Box 2060, New York City. 



Entered at the Post Office in New York as second 

 class matter. 



EDITORIAL. 



Will our correspondents please write 

 their letters in ink ? Those written in 

 pencil, after being handled a few times 

 become so badly smudged as to make it 

 nigh impossible to read them. 



Suggestions in regard to this paper 

 are in order. 



We are advised that a certain pub- 

 lisher is passing criticisms on the last 

 number of this paper. If we are able 

 to find out who the knock-kneed, long- 

 legged, gamble-shanked, big-footed 

 blear-eyed, dilapidated specimen of a 

 man is we won't leave enough of him to 

 fill a Humming-bird's egg. 



We have hot received very many re- 

 sponses to our prize story offer in last 

 issue ; we presume our friends are too 

 busy collecting to give it much atten- 

 tion. 



This number completes the continued 

 article under the title of instructions 

 for Collecting Bird's Eggs, and we trust 

 some of our friends have benefitted by it. 



At an early date we will begin an 

 article on catching, preparing and 

 mounting birds. 



A few inquiries have come to this 

 office for Yol. 1 of this paper complete. 

 The January and October numbers are 

 out of print and cannot be furnished at 

 any price. We have about 12 sets of 

 volume I, excluding January and Octo- 

 ber numbers, which we will sell at 20 cts. 

 per vol. post paid as long as they last. 



All articles we advertise include post- 

 age. 



We will be glad to answer any ques- 

 tions in regard to Birds, their nests, or 

 eggs. But where eggs are sent to us 

 for indentification we must insist on 

 the return postage accompanying them. 

 Subscribers will please bear in mind 



that we have no curiosity business and 

 can therefore devote a good deal more 

 time to our paper. Our advertising 

 rates have been criticised as being en- 

 tirely too high for the size of the paper. 

 We want to say that advertisers do not 

 care much about size, but about class of 

 people it goes to and circulation. Our 

 paper goes all over the U. S. and 

 Canada with about twenty Mexican sub- 

 scriptions and twenty-five Foreign 

 subscribers, and the circulation is 1,500 

 monthly, which is as much if not more 

 than any other paper in this line. We 

 attribute our success to the fact that we 

 don't puff any dealer. 



The sloobologist of Albion is degener- 

 ating. It used to be second to none, 

 but has now degenerated into a third 

 class paper. About one-half of each 

 issue is taken up with its bargain lists, 

 which bargains nobody wants, one- 

 eighth to Davies new check list, and rest 

 to some scientific discussion which in- 

 terests no one but the person who 

 writes it. " Wake up " Mr. Mattin and 

 save your paper's reputation. 



The Loon. 

 by W. T. P. 



The Loon, or Great Northern Diver, 

 in the summer months is found in the 

 northern tier of States and northward, from 

 Atlantic to Pacific. In winter it goes as far 

 south as Florida. 



The males measure nearly three feet in 

 length from end of bill to tip of tail, and 

 five feet in extent of wings. The females 

 are somewhat smaller. 



The body and neck are long and de- 

 pressed, and feet are far back. 



It would be almost impossible for anyone 

 not a professional Ornithologist to give a 

 minute description of the plumage, which 

 is rather variegated, especialty on the long 

 neck. I will simply say that the back is 

 black, streaked with white ; under parts are 

 white, tail dark brown, except at tip, 

 which is of a lighter brown. The bill is 

 black ; iris, bright red ; and feet grayish 

 blue, with webs of a dark brown. 



They are found in considerable numbers 

 in Northern Wisconsin, where the writer 

 made their acquaintance, while camping 

 on one of the many lovely lakes for which 

 the Badger State is noted. 



In early morn the Loons would be seen 

 flying over the lakes in flocks of from three 

 to seven. They fly high and rapidly, the 

 neck and head stretching out directly in 

 front. 



