lOO 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



times takes charge of the eggs as the mate 

 goes off for an airing. One of the pair is 

 on or in sight of the nest from the time in- 

 cubation begins until the young are able to 

 shift for themselves. I have repeatedly 

 seen the female on the nest and her mate 

 perched on a limb of the tree pruning its 

 feathers or wings and murmuring a not 

 iinmusical strain, evidently as a solace to 

 his companion, vrhile Robins, Sparrows 

 and Blackbirds lit upon the branches and 

 sang their melodious songs, apparently un- 

 noticed by the Hawks. Harmless to the 

 agriculturist, protected by the fishermen, 

 watched with intense interest by all who 

 care for our birds, second to none In the 

 matchless majesty of his mien, the Fish 

 Hawk is seldom molested save by the 

 oologists, ornithologists or the mere collec- 

 tor of eggs. Elisha Slade, 



Somerset, Mass. 



Spurred Towhee ; Least Tit. 



An interesting California bird is the 

 Spurred Towhee, here named from its 

 peculiar call the " Catbird." The Spurred 

 Towhee places its nest in various situations, 

 but seems to prefer a hidden position on 

 the ground. Three or four eggs are laid 

 in a nest, which is usually composed of 

 decayed leaves and lined with dry grass 

 and roots. 



During the past season I found many 

 nests, most of which were placed under 

 brush or grass on the ground. Of the 

 three found above ground, one was built 

 in the lower limb of a cherry tree, three 

 feet nine inches above ground: one in a 

 shrub, five feet six inches above the ground, 

 and the other in a eucalyptus tree, ten feet 

 from the ground. When flushed from the 

 nest the female Towhee will sometimes 

 drag herself fluttering along the ground for 

 a considerable distance in the vain hope of 

 enticing the collector from its home. I 

 have an egg of the Spurred Towhee in my 

 possession which is less than half the ordi- 

 nary size. It was found with four other 

 eggs of the usual size in a Towhee's nest 

 built on the ground. 



The Least Tit, although one of the tiniest 

 birds to be found in California, is not by 

 any means the least interesting. The nest 

 of the Least Tit is usually placed in a live- 

 oak tree, at varjing heights. Although 

 built by such a minute little bird it is un- 

 doubtedly one of the most beautiful and 

 curious nests to be found on this coast. 

 The home of the Least Tit is hanging and 

 cylindrical in form and made up of in- 

 numerable minute dead leaves, sticks, etc., 

 plentifully interspersed with dry moss. 

 The moss is held together by a fine, com- 

 paratively strong, web-like substance, 

 which is drawn out in fibres. The dimen- 

 sions of the nest are as follows: Length, 

 ten and a half inches; diameter near the 

 bottom, four inches; diameter in the centre, 

 three inches. The entrance to the nest is 

 through a small, circular orifice, in the side 

 near the top. This little entrance is only 

 three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and 

 seems hardly large enough to admit even 

 its little owner. 



The lower part of the nest, for about two 

 inches and a half, is nearly solid. This 

 firm foundation the Least Tit covers with 

 feathers and other soft substances, upon 

 which she deposits her eggs, which are 

 usually from five to eight in number 

 and pure white. 



H. R. Taylor, 



Alameda, Cal. 



" Lettuce-Bird." 



I see you state in the last Young Oolo- 

 GiST that the name " Lettuce-Bird" is ap- 

 plied to the Blue Grosbeak. I would state 

 that in the central part of North Carolina 

 it is also applied to the American Gold- 

 finch, from its feeding on the seeds of the 

 lettuce. Yours very truly, 



E. T. Adney, 

 N. Y. City. 



Thanks. Our only authority for stating 

 that the Blue Grosbeak was sometimes 

 called the " Lettuce-Bird " was that a few 

 years since we obtained some eggs from a 

 collector in Texas, which he called the 

 ' ' Lettuce-Bird. " These eggs proved to be 

 those of the Blue Grosbeak. 



