AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 405 



ROLL OF HONOR. 



Huldah Chace Smith, Providence, R. L; Stafford A. Francis, Exeter, 

 N. H. Geoffrey J. Giles, Comfort, Texas; Everett P. Walton, New- 

 Vineyard, Me.; Earle Tiflfany, LaCrosse, Wis. 



ANSWERS TO NOVEMBER PUZZLES. 



Queries. 1. The tongue of the woodpecker is pointed at the end, 

 with a number of barbs, and he can extend it four or five times the 

 length of his bill. When he has broken away the bark of a tree with 

 his powerful bill, he suddenly darts out his long tongue and spears an 

 unsuspecting insect and instantly brings it into his mouth. 



No. 2. The largest tongues are owned by birds of the duck family. 

 By the delicate sense of touch possessed by the tongue, members of 

 this family collect their food. They thrust the bill into the mud, and 

 from the mouthfuls, select by means of the tongue alone, what they 

 wish for food, rejecting other matter. 



No. 3. Nighthawks and swallows have the smallest tongues, these 

 birds also have the largest mouths in proportion to the size of the body. 

 As these birds capture insects while flying and swallow them whole, 

 taste is out of the question, and a large tongue would only be in the 

 way. 



No. 4. The English sparrow lays her first seven eggs in March 

 setting upon them about two weeks, within a fortnight after this brood 

 leaves the nest, a second nestful is ready, and so on until the end of 

 September. 



No. 5. Some owls lay one egg and hatch it, before laying another. 

 The first bird hatched must "mother" the second egg and keep it 

 warm while the real mother is searching for food. (From N. Hudson 

 Moore.) 



ENIGMA. 



1, Ovenbird; 2, Quail; 3, (a) The Barn Swallow, (b) Redstart, (c) 

 Waterthrush, (d) Chimney Swift. 



EXTRACTS FROM OUR MAIL BAG. 



I have observed sixty-six birds since June 1st. Most of these birds 

 breed in this vicinity. Page 41, Vol. V, of "Birds and All Nature" 

 tells how a Humming Bird was tamed and kept in captivity. 



Geoffrey J. Giles, Comfort, Texas. 



SOME CURIOUS HOMES. 



Ci-gam! Now our magic carpet bears us to the Chinese coast where 

 at the base of the cliffs an almond-eyed Celestial waits to row us into a 

 dark cavern on the water's edge. Here we find the nests of the edible 

 Swifts shaped like a quartered egg she'll, fastened to the walls of the 



