THE NIDOLOGIST 61 
but retaining that fresh and beautiful blush 
characteristic of the Towhee, and which, in this 
case, is the chief differentiation. ‘The nest is 
also of an extraordinary diameter, 5.75, in con- 
trast to 3.00 inches, outside measurements of 
another nest collected the same season. 
Berwyn, Pa. FRANK L. Burns. 
See ee RO 
A Bluebird Note. 
Epiror NIpo.Locisv. 
Dear Sir: I recorded a Bluebird (.S7a//a sia- 
dis) to-day here in the city. Weather clear and 
warm. More Bluebirds were heard flying North. 
C. M. Case. 
Hartford, Conn., December 22, 1895. 
* * * * 
Double-crested Cormorant in Indiana. 
Epiror NIDoLocistT. 
Dear Sir: On Thanksgiving Day last a 
Double-crested Cormorant was collected by 
Mr. F. E. Earle, of this city, on the banks of 
Walnut Creek, two miles from Greencastle. 
The bird was full size, winter plumage, and was 
alone. It is the second one that has been re- 
ported from this State. Yours respectfully, 
Cy Ga bASSET LT. 
Greencastle, Ind. 
LEAs? SANDPIPERS and various Sparrows that fre- 
quent small marshy sloughs on the shore of Alameda, 
Cal., have a singular enemy in a domestic cat, which 
hunts for them successfully with an utter disregard for 
ooze and salt water. We have seen this stealthy 
hunter returning from a foray covered with black 
mud. A Belted Kingfisher which frequented the raft- 
ers under the Bayfarm Island bridge, in that vicinity, 
was caught and killed one day in the presence of the 
writer by acat whose ordinary diet was fish. The 
bird was motionless, eyeing the water for its prey, 
when it fell under the cat’s eye and got scooped. 
Most people know what a ‘‘dead” advertisement 
is. It is dead because it no longer pays, having be- 
come “flat, stale, and unprofitable,” yet is continued 
to be published by an editor to ‘‘fill up.” None of that 
sort are carried in this magazine—we haven't the 
space. Our advertising solicitor clipped an “ad” 
from a sportsman’s magazine the other day, and, 
scenting a contract, went on a hunt for the adver- 
tiser. He didn’t find him. The man had been dead 
two years. Unnecessary to state that the ‘‘ad’’ was 
very dead. 
“ BasBiTtT” has got up anew drill. It will be as 
popular as his wonderful auxiliary barrel when fully 
introduced. Like all great things, it’s a wonder no 
one ever thought of it before. 
I RECEIVED the Nipo.ocistT to-day and was very 
much pleased with it, and it will be worth to me $5 a 
year. R. W. MATHEWS. 
St. Paul, Minn. 
Duck Hawks of Mount Tom. 
“N an article in Popular Science News (to 
whose courtesy we are indebted for the 
accompanying illustration) Dr. J. Hobart 
Egbert says: 
Mount Tom, in Hampshire County, Mass., 
has been the birthplace of many broods of 
DUCK HAWK. 
young Duck Hawks. Indeed, it is the opin- 
ion of the writer that at least one pair of this 
species of Falcon has nested on the rocky 
ledges of this picturesque mountain each year 
for many decades. ‘This opinion is founded 
upon personal observation and the knowledge 
of sets of eggs which have been taken from the 
shelves that now exist and have long existed on 
its almost perpendicular sides. In recent years 
the writer has never failed to locate a nest when 
exploring this mountain during the nesting 
period; and others, in still earlier years, have 
demonstrated the preference of the Duck Hawk 
for this mountain as a nesting site. 
The nest of the Duck Hawk is not easily 
located by one unaccustomed to the work. 
Missiles may be hurled from the summit of the 
cliff, and may even strike the rocks in close 
proximity to the ledge which shelters the nest- 
ing bird, but ordinarily she cannot be driven 
from her retreat until some approaching body 
warns her of imminent danger. Her courage is 
almost invincible. When driven from the eyrie, 
