82 



THE IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



to it. I found 12 eg-g-s altogether. 

 One held a hole in it. Four 

 were dried down so that I could 

 not blow them and the remaining- 

 seven were fresh. There was no 

 other hole near so am sure there 

 was onh" one pair of birds at the 

 nest. I have never been able to ac- 

 count for this." (W. "W. Loomis. ) 

 ''Last July while spending a few 

 weeks camping on the biiuks of 

 a beautiful creek bordered on 

 cither side bv a band of timber, 

 traversing the prairie of 111. I 

 had an elegant opportunity to ob 

 serve a few habits of these birds. 

 Although early in the season 

 thousands of Barn, Eave, Bank, 

 Rough Winged, and White bel- 

 lied Swallows had gathered here 

 prior to their exit. The lovv-, 

 marsh}' ground on the one side and 

 the broad expansive prairie on 

 the other furnished T>lenty of foo 1 

 since they were swarming- wiili 

 insect life. Here one could com- 

 pare their flight, grace and l)eau- 

 ty. I believe the Barn Swallow 

 as it easily and gracefully skims 

 over the ground excites profound 

 admiration, although the White 

 l)ellied deserves equal rank. One 

 scene shall always be remembered 

 it was on the evening of the 19 th. 

 of July, 1894. I was following a 

 little rivulet through the swampy 

 portion in search of Rails, when 

 suddenly I came to a spring which 

 l)r()ved its source. Here was a 

 small lake some 20 feet in diam- 

 eter; clear, cool and sparkling free 



from all aquatic vegetation which 

 covered the adjoining lakes, 

 bounded all around by the high 

 prairies. This was the swallow's 

 "Long Branch" dozens at a time 

 pitch into its limpid waters, shako 

 themselves and glide on returning 

 again and again to renew the 

 manuevcr. The air av;-lS full of 

 them and most strikingh' beauti- 

 ful appeared the AYhite bellied :is 

 it would dip its white breast an:l 

 pass on. These, although not in 

 so g.-e:it nu'ubers as the othe; s, 

 make themselves very conspic- 

 uous by their conlrastiiig colors 

 and beautiful flight. At d:irk 

 they perch on the Ivo.i weed, in 

 the prairie bounding the sw:imp. 

 Five to ten on a ;',;:iglc reed, 

 almost bending- it to the ii-rounJ. 

 Here they were re-en forced daily 

 until August 10. '9 4. w hen they 

 all w'lnished, th:^t n!glit as if by 

 magic." (Paul Bartsch. ) 



. Family AMPELID/E. 



613 Ainpelis giirui'js. (Linn.) 



BOHEMIAN WAX WING. 



"The Bohemian Wax wing- is a 

 wanderer and rare in Boone Co., 

 leading as its name implies a Bo- 

 hemian life, wandering like the 

 Gypsies from place to place at- 

 tracting the attention of the 

 people who ordinarily do not 

 notice our useful and more plain- 

 ly colored birds. Perhaps the 

 Creator has given these lovely 



