THE NIDOLGGIST 45 
their holes in a clay or sand bank, usually 
ina railroad ‘‘cut.’’ The holes are com- 
monly about two feet in length,and widened 
at the end, on which is laid a scanty nest 
composed of a little grass and feathers. 
The eggs are from four to seven in num- 
ber, usually six, and laid by the 25th of 
May. ‘They are pure white in color and 
average .70x.50. The birds are all gone by 
the first of September. T'wo broods are 
raised. 
Rough-winged Swallow:—The Rougb- 
wing is less common than the Bank Swal- 
low, but not at al) uncommon. ‘They ar- 
rive about the same time as the Bank Swal- 
lows and depart a little earlier. The nests 
are placed in holes in stonework and iron- 
work of bridges, and when such a place is 
not accessible they resort to holes like the 
Bank Swallow. 
The nests are more substantial than those 
of the Bank Swallow, and composed of 
sticks, hay and weeds, lined with grass and 
feathers, The eggs are five or six in num- 
ber, pure white and average about the same 
as the Bank Swallow, and are laid the last 
week in May usually. 
The only place I have met with them is 
near Mendota, Minn., in Dakota county, 
where they are quite common and associate 
with the Bank Swallows, which are found 
breeding there by the thousands. 
St. Paul, Minn. 
fe + 
Notes from Illinois. 
N December 12,.a friend brought mea 
fine specimen of an Owl of golden 
yellow plumage covered with dark 
spots. On first examination I thought I 
had a rare prize, but a more thorough one 
proved it to be an American Barn Owl. 
If this were the first discovery of the 
species and I had the honor of naming him, 
I should surely call him the ‘‘ Monkey-faced 
Owl,’’ his resemblance to that animal, both 
in looks and actions being truly remarkable. 
Whether the Barn Owl is common or not 
in this locality I could not say with accur- 
acy, but would judge not, as he is rarely 
met with. 
His Owlship is at present alive in my 
barn-loft, and whenever approached will 
lower his head below the level of his feet, 
moving his head back and forth, slowly 
swaying, with great brown eyes rolling 
like balls of fire. 
If he does not soon exhibit a better appe- 
tite I shall give him a pedestal and an hon- 
ored piace in my cabinet. 
On July 15, I secured (from the top of 
an evergreen in our town park), a set of 
five eggs of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I 
could scarcely believe my eyes, and as yet, 
have not decided whether to call it a set of 
five or two sets, one of two and one of 
three. Two eggs were nearly fresh, one 
slightly incubated and two contained large 
embryos. 
On July 14, I secured a nest of five Robin 
eges, the only set of this size I have found 
in twelve years collecting. Besides the 
number in the set, I consider the date as 
remarkable. 
More Warblers and small birds have 
nested here this season than for many sea- 
sons past, partly perhaps on account of the 
growing scarcity of the Raptores in this 
section. 
On October 1 a Great Blue Heron came 
flopping down in a barn-yard inside our 
town limits. He walked around very un- 
concernedly, scaring all .he fowls off the 
place, until his career was terminated by a 
shot gun. He is now a valued member of 
my cabinet. It is a question whether 
hunger or exhaustion compelled him to 
alight in so strange a place. 
Philo, Ills. Isaac 5. Hxss. 
cree 
Sustains the Title. 
Among the brightest of the many journals 
reaching our editorial desk especial notice 
must be aceorded to the Nidologist, an 
illustrated monthly published at Alameda, 
Calif., which ably sustains a right to its 
sub-title as the ‘‘Exponent of American 
Ornithology and Oology."’ Within the 
limits of its field no journal has a better 
corps of correspondents or a more able 
editorial staff—the name of R. W. Shufeldt 
of the Smithsonian Institution as associate 
editor being a sufficient guarantee of the 
Nidologist’s sterling value.—Sports A field. 
roe 
SNOWY OWLS IN CALIFORNIA. 
Snowy Owls invaded California in some numbers 
early in December, driven down by northern 
gales. One was shot on Bay Farm Island, near 
Alameda, December 1, and three were taken in 
Sonoma county. Mr. Gillette, of Chula Vista, 
San Diego county, informs us he saw one there 
about the same time. These records are the first 
for California 
