60 THE NIDOLOGIST Be); \Z4 
the while of a landsman to wade thigh deep in 
water above six inches of mud, and with yards 
of moss trailing after his tripping feet, if he can 
add a coveted set ot eggs to his collection of a 
species he never sees except when he visits the 
swamps? I should feel myself unworthy the 
name of egg crank were I to complain of hav- 
ing to stand in water up to my middle while I 
ate my lunch (always too small on such occa- 
sions), knowing that just beyond among the 
reed stems was a fine set of Least Bittern await- 
ing my progress. 
I suppose that most of the readers of the 
Nipo.tocist have enjoyed the pleasurable ex- 
perience of parting the intervening flags as 
quietly as possible in order to surprise the ten- 
ant of a nest seen in hazy outline among the 
stems in advance. It is no unusual thing to find 
the King Rail in her canopied home sitting 
contentedly in the shadow of the reedy walls of 
her nest, and the first view of her brown outline 
will amply repay the enthusiastic Ornithologist 
for the labor necessary to reach her at home. 
If he is not overimpatient, she will give him 
ample time to impress on his mind a picture 
which he will afterward recall with continued 
interest. She does not care for the fact that 
he is only three feet away and bending over 
her with mouth open wide enough to engulf 
her, and eyes standing out far enough to war- 
rant his being classified with the stalk-eyed 
animals for the time. She is not frightened, 
but interested, and the look of inquiry plainly 
manifested in her frank countenance tells us 
that she wonders what sort of creature we can 
be. But those eggs under her are a magnet 
which draws us irresistibly nearer, and now 
suspecting danger she glides forward and down- 
ward and disappears among the flag stems. 
And now we count the extent of the prize, care- 
fully marking each egg on the side least richly 
colored. Weare not allowed to make our cap- 
ture without protestation, however, for Mrs. 
King (it should certainly be Queen) Rail has 
not gone far from the scene and now manifests 
her presence quite openly, frequently stepping 
out from behind a tuft of flags to angrily utter 
her cry, and then slinking behind another tuft, 
through whose separated stems we can trace 
her excited movements. I have said her title 
should be the Queen Rail, for she is «without 
doubt the head of the family, and without her 
the name King would be rather inappropriate. 
It is she who takes forcible possession of the 
homes of her meek neighbors, the Gallinules, and 
itis she who defends her home so spiritedly 
when it is invaded, sol respectfully submit 
that the King Rail is more a king by marriage 
than in his own right. 
( To be continued.) 
Epiror NiboLocist. 
Dear Sir: A female Briinnich’s Murre was 
killed at White Lake, Oneida County, N. Y., 
December 13, 1895. These birds seem to have 
become quite common in the northern part of 
this State the past few years. ‘ 
W. S. JOHNSON. 
Boonville, N. Y. : 
Two Bird Curios. 
Epiror NIDOLOGIST. 
Dear Sir: Last week I secured two Ornitho- 
logical abnormities, of the existence of one of 
which I know of no parallel instance. On the 
sixth instant I secured a female Western Yellow- 
throat which had the upper mandible curved 
to the side and downward, as in the genus 
Loxia. Notwithstanding the deformity in bill, 
the bird was in excellent condition, and its 
stomach contained several larvee and a few 
small beetles. On the following day I took a 
Californian Towhee that exhibited two distinct 
bars on its tail. ‘The first bar is about fifteen 
hundredths of-an inch in width, and crosses the 
tail obliquely just beyond the tips of the under 
tail coverts. Its color is whitish, and is more 
distinct than the other, which crosses the tail 
an inch below the first—its color is tawny, and 
it is not exhibited on the under side of the 
tail. Last month we were visited by some strag- 
glers from southern Arizona. On the second 
of November two male Vermilion Flycatchers 
were observed along the Santa Ana River, near 
here, one of which was taken. 
EpMUND HELLER. 
Riverside, Cal., December 9, 1895. 
Abnormal Nest and Eggs. 
Epiror NIDOLOGIST. 
Dear Sir: On June to, 1895, I collected a 
nest and four eggs of the Chewink (Pipz/o 
erythrophthalmus) nearthe edge ofanopen grove, 
the eggs of which are notable, being equal in 
size to many eggs Gf.the Brown Thrasher. They 
measure 1.04X.77, 1.05xX.78, 1.04x.78, and 1.04x 
.77.. The markings are not unlike those found 
on the typical egg of the latter bird, being free 
from the usual gray and lilac shell markings, 
