General Notes 151 



The soft stone satisfies the mother's instinct, and holds the heat 

 while she is off the nest. 



The eggs are three, remarkably large for the weight of the 

 bird. We agreed that the ground color was greenish, uninfluenced 

 by the books studied later. They say creamy or buffy. The mark- 

 ings are as described, shining blackish, with large blotches around 

 the larger end. The small end is almost acute. The mother had 

 probably heard us coming, and was running a few rods away, but 

 after our examination, when we moved about four rods into the 

 shelter of the trees, she came to the nest without hesitation, and 

 hovered over it but would not settle. The male has not been seen, 

 taking apparently no further interest in the proceedings. 



The eggs were all laid by the twentieth of May, when the nest 

 was first found. We were desirous of learning what we could of 

 the period of incubation of this class of birds. June 15, one egg 

 was hatched and the others pipped. A day or two later Mr. 

 Ludlow found everything gone. A bull snake had been seen in the 

 vicinity, and probably knew all about the matter. The nestling 

 was well covered with down, as is the case with all birds that 

 leave the nest young. Can anyone add more accurate data as to 

 the period of incubation? 



J. M. Bates. 



Red Cloud, Neb. 



LITTLE BLUE HERONS NEAR COLUMBUS, OHIO 



On July 2, 1916, two Little Blue Herons {Florida caerulea) in 

 the white plumage were seen and studied at close range for some 

 time, at a swamp near Canal Winchester, about fifteen miles 

 south-east of Columbus, Ohio. 



Mrs. R. 0. Ryder, 



Columbus, Ohio. 



