THE NIDOLOGIST 
COLLECTING IN FLoRIDA. 
ECEMBER 18, 1895, while on the 
Indian River in Florida, I took sets 
of Bald Eagle which would have 
hatched in two or three days. In one set 
in particular the chicks were peeping 
loudly. 
I stopped at St. James City, on Pine 
Island, two weeks anda half. I found six 
Eagles’ nests within a mile anda half of 
the hotel, five of them being tenanted. 
From one nest, on December 23, I obtained 
one badly incubated egg; the others con- 
tained young. All of these birds must 
have laid their eggs in November, and it 
must have been quite early in the month 
when they first began thinking about 
housekeeping. On the north end of La- 
costa Island are about one hundred pine 
trees. In one of these pines I found a nest 
on December 30. Some fishermen had 
killed one of the birds about two weeks 
before. Thinking I would find eggs, I 
shinned up to the nest and got a nice set of 
two. They were covered up with dry 
grass. I think this must have been done 
by the other parent after its mate was 
killed. 
During the winter I sawa good many 
Eagles, and all, with but three or four ex- 
ceptions, had the white head and tail. 
February 4, 1896, while on Observation 
Island, in Lake Okeechobee, I went 
throtigh a rookery of Florida Cormorants. 
‘The nests were in custard apple trees which 
stood in two or three feet of water. A 
number of nests contained young nearly as 
large asthe old birds, others had young the 
size of a Quail, and a good many were less 
than a week old. Many of the nests had 
eggs so far advanced that I did not take 
them. ‘The sets ranged from one to four. 
A single egg ina nest would be as badly 
incubated as a full set. When the young 
attain some size the stronger must push 
out the weaker ones, for there were only 
one or two birds in a nest. By visiting 
every nest I managed to secure about fifty 
fresh eggs. 
One generally experiences some pleasure 
in taking new eggs, or specimens of any 
kind for that matter, but this day was an 
exception. The nests and trees were white 
with excrement, and the water below was 
black and filthy; and, besides, it took a 
little nerve for an unseasoned Yankee to 
wade around in such a paradise for snakes 
and alligators. 
In this same rookery I took a set of three 
of American Egret. 
On the east side of the island were three 
nests of the Osprey, 12 to 18 feet up in 
stunted cypress trees. When I first landed 
on the island I visited these nests and 
found them empty. ‘They had had fresh 
material added to them recently, and three 
pairs of Ospreys were hovering about. I 
intended to leave the island on the morning 
of the 5th, but was obliged to stay there 
until the 7th on account of a heavy wind. — 
Just before leaving I visited the nests once 
more, and from oneI obtained one egg. 
Afterwards, while in Myers, I met a gentle- 
man who informed me that he had visited 
the island about a week before me,and that 
he had taken a set of three eggs from one of 
the nests. 
The distance from Fort Thompson to 
Lake Okeechobee is twenty-four miles, and 
except in crossing Lake Hicpoehee the 
current is exceedingly swift. I rowed this 
distance in a small skiff, most of the way 
agaiast a head wind. From my experience 
I would suggest to your readers that 1f any 
of them ever build a row-boat to use on 
swift water, to make it as narrow as is pru- 
dent and give it the required capacity by 
additional length. 
February 11 I found a set of two fresh eggs 
of the Black Vulture. ‘There was no nest 
whatever; they were on the ground under 
the trunk of an upturned oak, in a small 
hammock out on the big prairie. 
February 15 I hired a man and rig and 
went out on the prairie north of Fort 
Thompson for Burrowing Owls. We drove 
anumber of miles and got seven birds. 
The ground and the grass were still wet 
from a heavy rain, so we could not makea 
good burn, although we spent a good deal 
of time in setting fires. JI am quite confi- 
dent we could have got more Owls it we 
could have burned off the tall grass, but at 
no place did we find the burrows near to- 
gether. I dug into the burrows that were 
