THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



69 



ill a labyrinth of technicalities, and I un- 

 derstand you want to avoid that sort of 

 thing in your article. You must not get a 

 mistaken idea, however, that this collect- 

 ing of mine is all play and no hard work, 

 for I can assxu'e you that very often the 

 work is greatly in excess of the play. The 

 equable temperature and bright skies of 

 California are favorable to the collector's 

 comfort, but even here a man has his seri- 

 ous trials at times. Nothing can be more 

 charming in the way of outdoor pleasure 

 in such a climate as ours than watching for 

 hour after hour the habits of birds who 

 have grown unconscious of your presence ; 

 and especially is this the case during the 

 mating and breeding seasons, when one 

 can discover 



ALL THE PECULIARITIES OP MAN, 



except some of our worst ones, photo- 

 graphed in feathered miniature. On the 

 other hand, you'd find some of my ex- 

 periences anything but a joy. How would 

 you have liked, for example, to have been 

 with me for three weeks among the swamps 

 of Tulare County, where I was hunting for 

 marsh birds, and where I was almost de- 

 voured by mosquitoes and had to boil 

 every drop of water before I dared to 

 drink it? Then, again, I think you would 

 scarcely have enjoyed a trip I made last 

 winter into the Volcan Mountains, some 

 seventy-five miles from San Diego. We 

 reached our point, about 6,000 feet above 

 the sea, on the 22nd of January, were 

 caught in the great storm of the 24th and 

 were Igspt in those mountains almost with- 

 out shelter, and very near starvation point, 

 for days at a time, until the 2nd of April. 

 Between snow, rain and fog the outlets 

 from the mountains became impassable, 

 and I and my assistant were imprisoned 

 for more than two months. Our collec- 

 tions amounted to very little, and our dis- 

 comforts were the most acute I have ever 

 experienced, as during almost the entire 

 time our every rag of clothing was saturat- 

 ed with water, and our food was of the 

 most meagi'e and unpalatable description. 

 It must be confessed, however, that out 

 here such unpleasant excursions are on ex- 



ception to the rule, and that there is 

 scarcely another place on the globe where 

 a naturalist can combine such agreeable 

 results in the way of comfoi't and of trea- 

 sures to be found. I could talk to you for 

 hoiu-s on this subject, but having already 

 overstaid my time, I must really ask you 

 to excuse me." 



The Night-hawk. 



This is another of our western birds, and 

 is noctural in its habits, and is often heard 

 far into the night. The male of the Night- 

 Hawk is frequently seen toward evening- 

 mounting in the air by several quick 

 movements of the wings, then a few slower, 

 uttering all the while a sharp, harsh 

 squeak, till, having gained the highest 

 point, he suddenly dives head foremost 

 and with great rapidity down sixty or 

 eighty feet, wheeling up again as suddenly, 

 and making at the same time a loud boom- 

 ing sound, which is probably caused by 

 his suddenly opening his capacious mouth 

 as he passes rapidly through the air. This 

 bird makes no nest at all, but selects a 

 bare spot for the purpose of incubating 

 their eggs. In most cases rocky and 

 barren hills are chosen for this purpose, 

 sometimes in cornfields between the rows. 

 I have often taken sets of eggs from slight 

 hollows on the top of large boulders. The 

 number of eggs in a set is two ; I never 

 saw more ; the ground color is of a light 

 brown, with large spots of umber distrib- 

 uted evenly over the egg. The Night-hawk 

 is a migratory bird, and arrives in Kansas 

 about the 12th of May, and leaves during 

 the latter part of August or forepart of 

 September. G. F. B. 



Beattie, Kansas. 



Notes from Marshall Co., Kansas. 



Some years ago ■' Swallow-tailed Kites " 

 were plenty here, but now there are none. 

 Shrikes and Yellow-headed blackbirds are 

 plentiful here, but as soon as the breeding 

 season nears they all leave. The first 

 nest I found this season was that of a song- 

 sparrow on the 25th of March. 



a. F. B. 



