44 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



Wilson's Thrush. 



As we have had many inquiries in regard 

 to the nesting of this bird, for the benefit 

 of our readers we take the following article, 

 written by C. O. Tracy, of Taftsville, Vt., 

 from an 1882 Ornitlwlogist and Oologist : 



'■'Wilson's Thrush, except the robin, is 

 the most abundant thrush of this locality. 

 Although found plentifully in nearly all 

 situations, its favorite haunts are low, 

 swampy woods. The past summer a pair 

 of these thrushes built their nest and reared 

 their young within fifty yards of my house. 

 The site selected for their nest was by the 

 roadside, under an elm tree, among the 

 rank, growing male ferns. They seemed 

 to be an unusually social pair, and came 

 about the house searching for food, show- 

 ing no signs of fear. Teams were constant- 

 ly passing within eight feet of their nest. 

 Of twelve sets which I collected this sum- 

 mer, seven contained 4, four 3, and one 2 

 eggs, each. The set containing but two 

 eggs was taken July 26th, and would un- 

 doubtedly have contained one or two more 

 had I left the nest undisturbed. The ear- 

 liest set was taken May 30th. Six sets 

 measure as follows : Set of four, collected 

 May 30th, 92x66, 90x65, 88x65, 88x65 ; set 

 of "four, collected June 5th, 88x65, 87x65, 

 86x65, 85x65 ; set of four, collected June 

 5th, 89x68, 88x87, 89x66, 92x65 ; set of 

 three, collected June 13th, 85x68, 84x67, 

 85x68 ; set of three, collected June 20th, 

 84x70, 87x69, 84x69 ; set of three, collected 

 June 28th, 80x60, 76x62, 80x60. 



"The set taken June 28th was, I think, 

 the third litter laid by that pair of birds, 

 which will account for the small size of the 

 eggs. The eggs are oval, but vary some- 

 what in shape ; their color is bluish-green, 

 a little darker than than those of the Blue 

 Bird, and lighter than those of the Cat 

 Bird. The nest is placed on or near the 

 ground, but usually in a low bush within a 

 few inches of the ground, and is composed 

 of leaves, dried grass and weeds, lined with 

 fine roots, strips of bark, and often hair. 

 There is but little variation in the nests 

 which I have examined in this locality." 



"Tomtit," "Titmouse" and "Wheat- 

 bird." 



Cedarbirds in CaUfornia. 



On May 13th, I received a bird from a 

 friend, killed in his cherry orchard, which 

 he called the Cedarbird, or cherry bird. 



It is a wax-wing, having six waxen 



points on its wing. I mention this because 



I had never before seen one here, and was 



not aware that they were found in California. 



G. C. C, Petaluma, Cal. 



I ha^■c lived for the past five years in 

 North Carolina and studied the birds there. 



The folio-wing are the correct names of 

 the birds which your southern correspond- 

 ents mentioned: 



The "tomtit" is the Carolina Titmouse 

 {Parus caroUnvnm). 



The "titmouse " is the Tufted Titmouse 

 {Lophaphanes bicolor). Another Southern 

 name for this bird is " fairy bird." 



There are two birds called "wheatbird," 

 one the blue grosbeak (Gtmncu (xv/'uleva) 

 and the other the Indigo bunting {Pdsserina 

 cyanea). 



Are not the above statements coi-recf? 

 E. T. Adney. 



Removing Stains, &c. 



Noticing in one of the columns of Quer- 

 ries concerning stains on eggs, I would 

 say, try a piece of felt dipped in Muriatic 

 acid, of equal dilution, just so as to be 

 damp, all free drops should be wiped oif 

 cloth, and then apply carefully to spots. 

 W. S. B., Mineralogist. 

 West Medford, Mass. 



Ink Stains. 

 In the last Young Oologisit there v/as 

 a query about the best mode to remove 

 ink stains from eggs. We think of the 

 different methods we have tried that' the 

 following is the best: "Take a gill of 

 water and dissolve in 5 cents worth of ox- 

 olic acid, and unless the shell is very rough 

 it will remove the stain immediately." 

 - Yours truly, 



G. A. & D. A. LooMis, 

 North Granville, N. Y. 



To any person sending us 50 cents for one 

 year's subscription to The Young Oologist, 

 with 15 cents additional to pay the postage, 

 packing, &c., we will send any one of the 

 following articles as a premium : 



I — One egg of the Yucatan Jay, 



2— One egg of the Euphonia, 



3 — One egg of the Gular (?) Oriole, Icterus 

 Gularis. 



4 — One Mazan Creek Fossil Fern, 



5 — Two Abalone or Pearl Shells. 



