a » tae 
birds to arrive in the spring. They have 
been here since April rr in no small num- 
bers, and can be heard singing at almost 
any time of day. Like other birds, they go 
in greatest numbers where they can find 
their own peculiar nesting locations, seek- 
ing the fir spruce and cedar trees, and as 
such accommodations fail in one place, they 
move along to a new district. 
B. A. GARRETT. 
Hamilton, N. Y. 
* 
* * 
NortH DAKkoTaA COLLECTING. 
A four days’ trip to the wild country just 
completed, netted a companion and myself, 
nine sets and two singles, Ferruginous 
Rough-legged Buzzard, 1-5 lLong-eared 
Owl, 1-5 Canada Goose, I-2 Sandhill 
Crane, 1-11 Shoveller Duck. Am now 
watching a pair of Ferruginous Rough-legs 
completing a nest on the verge of a steep 
bench overlooking a lonely valley not more 
than two miles from this point. They are 
somewhat belated, and I take them to be 
the same pair that I disturbed while build- 
ing on a rocky hillside less than half a mile 
from their present location, as the former 
site was promptly abandoned after my visit. 
On April 17 a boy brought mea set of 
two (one broken) of the Ferruginous, to- 
gether with the female, which he winged as 
she left her nest. My yard is enclosed with 
a woven-wire fence, and I[ turned this fine 
bird loose and kept her nearly four days, 
and I feel that I am pretty familiar with 
this magnificent species that seems but a 
short remove from the Eagle. 
EUGENE S. ROLFE. 
Minnewaukan, N. D. 
* 
* * 
MY FIRST NEST IN 1896. 
I had the good fortune of discovering a 
nest of Anna’s Hummingbird, containing 
two eggs, on February 14,1896. ‘The nest 
was constructed on a horizontal limb of a 
Monterey cypress tree, and was supported 
by two small twigs which formed the shape 
of a V. It was nine feet from the ground, 
_ composed of bits of bark, moss and cob- 
webs, lined with a few pieces of cotton and 
California Partridge feathers. 
Unfortunately the eggs contained well- 
developed embryos, which would doubtless 
have hatched in a day or two. I think I 
can safely say these eggs were fresh on 
February 5, thereby making this an ex- 
THE NIDOLOGIST 105 
tremely early nesting date for these little 
birds considering the climate and location 
of San Francisco. As far as I can learn 
this is the earliest record for this species 
ever taken in San Francisco county. 
CLAUDE FYFE. 
San Francisco, Cal. 
x % 
YELLOW—-HEADED. BLACKBIRD IN FLAG 
LAKE, FULTON COUNTY, ILL. 
After reading Mr. P. M. Silloway’s arti- 
cle in the last number of the NrpoLocis’, 
in which he refers to Flag Lake, I looked 
over my notes and found the record of a 
set of four eggs, of the Yellow-headed 
Blackbird, taken trom said lake June 6, 
1894. This was the only set taken, al- 
though in company with Dr. Strode I 
searched for them on several occasions. 
A number of the birds were seen, but an 
effort to secure a specimen for the cabi- 
net failed. J. R. MAGUIRE. 
Lewiston, Ill. 
«x 
A NOTE ON THE MEADOWLARK. 
On May 24, 1895, while at Beatrice, 
Neb., a set of seven Meadowlark’s eggs 
were brought me bya friend, collected ina 
field about twelve feet from a seldom trav- 
eled country road, the nest not being rooted 
over as is usually the case. Six of the 
eggs were so badly incubated that I could 
not save them. The remaining egg was 
addled. This set might have been of 
Sturnella magna, but was probably the west- 
ern form, S. magna neglecta. 
A.S. PEARSE. 
* 
* * 
ENGLISH SPARROW IN WASHINGTON. 
I observed to-day on the streets of Puy- 
allup a male English Sparrow. This is the 
first instance it has ever come to my ob- 
servation in this section in my three years’ 
residence here, either by notice or hearsay. 
Have they been reported elsewhere on this 
northern coast ? Gro. G. CANTWELL. 
April 14, 1896. 
BREEZES. 
A. M. Farmer writes from Clinton, 
Mass.: ‘‘Nearly thirty Bluebirds have been 
observed here this year, so we are not en- 
tirely deserted by them.’’ 
Here is a sample of what I wish I could 
doevery day: February 2d, collected a 
