54 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



TURTLE AND SNAKE EGGS. 



In Young Oologist I noticed a short 

 reference to "hard-shelled turtle eggs." 

 Last July I found along the Schuylkill 

 River two sets of eggs (hard-shelled) of the 

 water turtle, which is known around here 

 as the " Stinkpot," one set contained 20, 

 and the other 22 eggs. They are white 

 and very long in proportion to the width 

 of the eggs, they do not bulge out toward 

 one end the way a bird's egg does, but one 

 end is the same as the other. This June 

 I obtained a set of eleven snake eggs in a 

 stone wall, they were stuck together, and 

 each egg had a slit in the side, where the 

 snake had crawled out. I would advise 

 those who find soft shell eggs, such as the 

 land turtle and snake, to plaster the hole 

 up with dough, made from flour and 

 water, as soon as blown, or the egg will 

 split all to pieces. In a few days the dough 

 can be washed off, and the egg will retain 

 its shape. E. C. E. 



Roxborough, Pa. 



A two story nest of the summer 



YELLOW BIRD. 



While out egging in the latter part of 

 May, I came upon a singular looking nest 

 in the top of a Cherry tree. I waited for 

 the birds to appear, but seeing none I 

 climbed to the top. A bird about the size 

 of a " canary " flew off the nest making a 

 queer twittering noise ; I could not see 

 the other bird and so took the nest. It 

 contained three eggs of whitish color, 

 spotted with brown of dark and light 

 shades, mostlj^ towards the larger end ; the 

 markings form a circle around the larger 

 end. The nest was a double one ; the bot- 

 tom one contained two " cow buntings " 

 eggs of different sizes, and the upper nest 

 contained the three eggs described. The 

 nests were made up of strings, hair, twigs 

 and a few rags ; both nests being about the 

 size and shape of a " chipping sparrows " 

 nest. The bird I saw of a yellow-greenish 

 color; the eggs was about the size of a chip- 

 ping sparrows egg. You will greatly oblige 

 me if you can name the eggs. W. P. 

 Syracuse, N. Y. 



Your nest was that of the Summers 

 Yellow bird. This bird rather than hatch 

 the parasitie egg of the cow bunting, gen- 

 erally builds an additional story or aban- 

 dons its nest. 



BELL S AND RED-EYED VIREOS. 



I have found a few nests which I would 

 like to know the names of. 1st was a 

 small pensile nest about 8 feet from the 

 gi'ound, containing 4 small white eggs 



about the size of a wrens egg, with a few 

 small brown spots on the large end ; the 

 bird was quite a small bird, Avith grayish 

 white breast, black head and bill, each 

 wing had a streak of lighter colored 

 feathers across it. It sings pe-wee. 2d was 

 a pensile nest about 6 feet from the ground 

 containing 5 white eggs about the size of a 

 blue-birds, with brown spots on the large 

 end ; the bird resembles the pewee, only a 

 little smaller ; It made a very nice singing 

 or ratler warbling sound. 

 A. C. S., 



Ft. Madison, la. 



Both of your nests are those of the 

 Vireos. The former is doubtless Bell's, 

 and the latter the Red-eyed. 



LEAST FLY CATCHERS. 



There are quite a number of birds in 

 this locality of the following, description : 

 I will describe bird, nest and eggs, and if 

 you will tell me the name of the bird 

 through The Young Oologist, I will be 

 much obliged. The bird is about two- 

 thirds size of Pewee, and resembles it in 

 shape and color, except it is much smooth- 

 er and has finer feathers. The nest is ce- 

 mented over with the same material that 

 compose hornets nests, inside lined with 

 horse-hair, builds in apple trees. The 

 eggs are of a tinted cream color, about 

 two-thirds the size of Pewee eggs. 



F. E. D. Tilton, N. H. 



The name of birds you desire to know 

 is the Least Fly catcher. 



Amateur Collectors. 



We think an instructive, if somewhat 

 sad article, might be written on the falla- 

 cies of amateur collectors. Their greatest 

 fallacy is in regard to the value of Speci- 

 mens, their valuation being usually about 

 three times that of a.nj one else. Then, 

 too, if they come upon a specimen some- 

 what novel in its character, it immediately 

 becomes a great rarity, and beyond price. 



The amateur is also always sure that he 

 can procure anything, even if it really be 

 rare, and it is only by repeated failures 

 that he realizes the true difliculty of obtain- 

 ing rarities. We have been led into these 

 reflectiona from the circulars we have 

 from time to time received from parties 

 who proposed starting out on collecting 

 tours and wished to dispose of some of 

 their specimens beforehand. — Science Bul- 

 letin. 



