OOLOGIST'S EXCHANGE. 



offering by vomiting profusely the re- 

 mains of his last meal (much to our dis- 

 gust). Grabbing the bird by the neck, I 

 told R. to free him from the trap, after 

 doing which I let the old fellow go. 

 With a flap, flap of his huge wings he 

 sailed off without even so much as a 

 •'thank you.'" I invariably made a 

 practice of releasing all the Buzzards 

 who were unlucky enough to be caught 

 in the traps, for they are an inoffensive 

 bird, and on the whole do a great deal of 

 good by eating the carrion, which would 

 otherwise decay and cause a large 

 amount of sickness among the residents. 



After releasing the Buzzard we con- 

 tinued on, and, after loosing two more 

 of the same birds, we at last came to a 

 trap which did not hold a Buzzard, but 

 which did hold a very angry specimen 

 of a Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo linea- 

 tus alleni), which, upon our near ap- 

 proach, showed signs of disputing the 

 way. It was a large male specimen in 

 full plumage, and I was not sorry to ob- 

 tain it. Directing Mr. R. to loose the 

 bird's feet from the trap, I made a grab 

 for the bird's head and succeeded in get- 

 ting a sharp reminder, that I was not 

 dealing with Buzzards, from the hawk, 

 in the shape of a smart tap upon the 

 back of my hand from his beak. This 

 ' • riled " me a little and I made a desper- 

 ate clutch at him, and succeeded in ob- 

 taining a firm hold upon his neck. Great 

 Scott ! how he screamed ; he seemed to 

 be calling all the birds in Brevard County 

 to his aid. R. quickly released him from 

 the trap, and I took him by the feet and 

 we started on our return. 



I believe that hawk made me more 

 trouble than all the birds I saw in Florida; 

 once, as I happened to swing him rather 

 near my nether limbs, he made a grab 

 and succeeded in making me howl lustily. 

 I now procured a stick, and every time 

 that Mr. Hawk made a dive for me, I 

 hit him a crack with my stick. We soon 

 arrived at the house and after making 

 some comparisons with "Ridgeway's 

 Nomenclature," in regard to the color of 

 the eyes, bill, etc., I killed him, and after 

 placing it with my other specimens ob- 

 tained during our trip up the river, started 

 out again, alone, to see what I could find. 



After looking around a little while, I 

 at last concluded to take the row boat 

 and see if I could find a few water birds. 

 As I rowed down the creek, my attention 

 was attracted by the queer actions of a 

 Water Turkey (Anhinga anhinga) upon 

 a tree about one hundred and fifty yards 

 away. He would stick his bill straight 

 up in the air, one moment, and the nest 

 he would straighten it out like a snake 

 when it strikes. I stood up in the boat 



and resolved to put a stop to his 

 wiggling ; so taking my Winchester, 

 I adjusted the sight to the distance re- 

 quired, took a careful aim and blazed 

 away. The ball seemed to strike some- 

 where near him, for he immediately 

 stopped his antics, quietly slid into the 

 river and disappeared from sight. 



It was by this time getting very near 

 dark, and not desiring to tarry after 

 darkness had set in, I unshipped my 

 oars and pulled for home. 



On my way I noticed the following 

 birds, but, as the light was rather un- 

 certain I refrained from wasting any 

 powder upon them : 



Green Heron (Ardea virescens). 



Little Blue Heron (Ardea ccerula). 



Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). 



American Egret (Ardea egretta). 



American Osprey (Pandion haliaetus 

 carolinensis). 



Royal Tern (Sterna maxima). 



Blue-winged Teal (Amas discors). 



Pintail Duck (Dafilacuta). 



Loads for a 12 bore Breech-Loader. 



By F. C. Baker. 



Having made for myself a formula of 

 loads for my gun, and having used them 

 with success, it occurred to me that others 

 might be bothered as I was, over the 

 weights to use in collecting specimens, 

 and I take this opportunity to give my 

 experience to my fellow collectors. 

 TABLE. 



3 drams powder, 1 oz. shot, all sizes under No. 10. 



%y % " " 1 " sizes Nos. 10, 11, 12. 



2% " " M " sizes, dust. 



^„, lt lt ,, » j lor snort distances, 



x 9i *6 ) U11 cier 10 yards. 



Shot larger than No. 10 should have 

 two wads over powder. 



Buckshot should be chambered, and a 

 thin wad used between each chamber; 

 from two to four will usually form a 

 chamber according to size. 



Crimp large sized cartridges, and glue 

 in top wad of light charges. 



PRIZE STORY OFFER. 



For best story about Birds and their 

 nesting habits, etc. , a set of Four Eggs 

 White Throated Sparrow; second best, 

 set Three Eggs Acadian Flycatcher ; 

 third best, set Five Eggs Red-headed 

 Woodpecker. Articles must be in our 

 hands by Nov. 25, 1889. We would like 

 to hear from all in regard to this. If we 

 receive a goodly number of replies, prizes 

 of greater value will be offered. 



The Oologist's Exchange, 



Box 2060, New York. 



