34 THE NIDOLOGIST 
early days when the ‘‘Chippy’’ seemed to 
nest in greater abundance than it does now. 
Now we cut across a meadow, for I think 
a set of nice fresh eggs of the Meadowlark 
will be worth carrying home, and so thinks 
each of the boys. But Iam again out of 
luck, for Ican not stumble upon a nest, 
but one of the boys startles a female from 
the grass ahead of him, and finds a hand- 
some set of six fresh eggs, which he takes 
up in the nest to carry in his hand. It is 
needless to say that two of the eggs were 
cracked before the day was over, and the 
remainder of the set was divided among the 
boys as singles. 
Leaving the meadow, we are in the edge 
of the woods. In our path stands a large 
denuded, dead stub, about fifteen feet high, 
containing many holes bored by Red-headed 
Woodpeckers and ‘‘Yellow Hammers,’’ and 
as we approach it a Flicker portrudes her 
head from one of the holes. Seeing the 
rapid approach ot danger, she slips from the 
cavity and sweeps her way into the neigh- 
boring trees, uttering her sharp signal call. 
As the stub is too large for the boys to clasp 
and too smooth to obtain a good hold in 
climbing, I strap on my climbers and mount 
by holding to the numerous holes up its 
length. The wood is hard and the cavity 
deep, but with my hatchet, carried stuck 
through the strap at the back of my trousers, 
I open the entrance, to find six fresh rosy- 
white eggs of the Flicker, which I pack in 
cotton in my box and lower, with injunc- 
tions to the boys to be careful in handling. 
The racket incident to breaking open the 
cavity has stirred up other occupants of the 
stub, f.r a female fying squirrel makes 
her appearance at the entrance of a hole 
above me, and investigation discloses a 
family of young ones with her. Now the 
boys are all excitement, and I open the 
cavity, at which the young squirrels scram- 
ble out and race to the top of the stub, dis- 
appearing into other holes, while the mother 
launches herself from the top of the stub 
toward the nearest tree and sails away in 
safety, followed by the eager boys. In the 
confusiona red squirrel, which had remained 
till then quietly ina large cavity in the 
opposite side of the stub, makes its appear- 
ance, runs down the stub, and races to an- 
other tree to hide among the foliage. The 
boys return from the useless chase, and I 
descend to find two of the Flicker’s eggs 
cracked by careless handling, thus spoiling 
the set for me, but leaving some good singles 
available for the boys. 
Advancing through the scattered trees, 
the remnant of woods left fringing the 
creek, we are soon upon the banks of the 
wide, shallow stream. Growing upon a 
bank about ten feet above the water, and 
leaning over the water, stands a large elm, 
and I observe a Sparrow Hawk sitting ona 
dead branch of a portion of the tree, though 
at our approach the little faleon flutters 
away with its characteristic plaintive cry. 
Seeing a suggestive looking cavity in the 
branch on which he was seated, I rap on 
the trunk, and have the pleasure of seeing 
his fair partner emerge from the hole and 
flutter away, while a Red-headed Wood- 
pecker flies scolding from a smaller cavity 
about a foot above the home of the Sparrow 
Hawks. It is fully sixty-five feet to the site, 
but as the trunk is gently inclined, and 
there are good branches at convenient dis- 
tances to rest a poor climber like myself, I 
strap on the climbers while the boys drop 
in the shade to watch the ascent. I mouut 
carefully, and reaching the side, find the 
cavity large enough for me to insert my 
hand and remove the eggs, five fresh ones 
richly marked with dark rusty—-red on a 
lighter ground. I pack them carefully and 
stow them away in the sack slung over my 
shoulders, for they are too precious to be 
entrusted into the eager hands of the boys. 
Breaking open the upper cavity, I find four 
rosy-fresh eggs of the Red-headed Wood- 
pecker, and then descend slowly and care- 
fully. (About a month later I fell thirty- 
five feet, cracking my lower jaw and loosen- 
ing two of my lower ribs. ) 
After the boys had ceased to admire the 
handsome eggs of the Hawk held safely in 
my hands, we continued our progress along 
the dry bed of the ravine, one of the boys 
and myself keeping to one side and the 
others following the other side. Meetinga 
patch of water, the boy then ahead of me 
scrambled up the steep side of the ravine to 
avoid the water, and I followed almost in 
his steps. Just as he bent over the top of 
the bank to step on level ground above, a 
female Towhee fluttered from under his 
feet almost in my face and disappeared 
over the bank. She had kept her place 
under the feet of the boy so closely that he 
had not observed her, and had I not been 
following she would have escaped our 
notice. I scanned the side of the bank, over- 
grown with sprouts and weeds, and called 
