ISO 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



reddish brown spots, thickest at the larger 

 end. Now if you would inform me the 

 names of these eggs through the columns of 

 the Young Oolooist or otherwise you 

 would greatly oblige me. 



W. H. B., 



Plattsville, Conn. 



No 1. Your Blackbird is the Red-and 

 buff-shoulder(;d ; they frequently make 

 their nests in low bushes. 



2. The Golden-crowned Thrush — often 

 known as the " Oven-bird" on account of 

 its covered nest. 



"MEXICAN CANARY." 

 I tliink that pari of the answer to J. B. 

 B.'s question, in the February Number is 

 incorrect, as the Painted Bunting or Non- 

 pariel, commonly goes by the name of 

 Mexican Canary in Texas (where I lived 

 for some years). But it may be otherwise 

 in different localities. 



L. B. F., 



Richmond, Va. 



JOTTINGS FROM RHODE ISLAND. 



Noticing in the last Young Oologist 

 an article on the intelligence of the Blue- 

 Jay, I thought I would send you the fol- 

 lowing article on the subject which I clip 

 from the Watchman : 



"Near Knoxville, Tenn., recently a 

 Blue Jay was seen to fly a number of times 

 to a high picket fence to attract a pair o:f 

 kittens placing on the lawn. The kittens 

 finally mounted the fence and began a cau- 

 tious approach from picket to picket. 



The Jay let the first get within 18 inches, 

 then hopped over between the two. The 

 second kitten approached, the bird hopped 

 over it. It turned and the Jay hopped 

 back and between. The first kitten 

 approached and the bird hopped back over 

 it, and so kept it up until one kitten got 

 disgusted and left, and the other followed 

 soon after. Once or twice the J&y tried to 

 inveigle the kittens to another frolic, but 

 failed." 



Last summer I found about 6 inches 

 below the water, a large bunch of jellylike 

 matte]-. The outside was covered with 

 minute fresh water 'algae" etc. On cut- 

 ting into it with a knife it appeared to be 

 exactly like jelly, and quite transparent. 

 Can you tell me what it is V 



Which system of classification in Botany 

 is more universally adopted, that of Lin- 

 neas or that given by Gray in his text-book, 

 on the subject ? And also other systems of 

 classification. 



About a mile from where I live there is 

 a stream of water which in one part of of 

 its course has become "so clogged up with 



bushes growing out of the water as to be 

 almost a swamp. It is, however, an easy 

 matter to get tlirough some parts of it, as 

 there are small canals just large enough to 

 admit a small boat. It is a great resort for 

 Redand-buff-shouldered Blackbirds and 

 Purple Grakles. Last year I found there 

 a nest of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo con- 

 taining 4 eggs nearly hatched ; also a nest 

 of the Swamp Sparrow containing 4 fresh 

 eggs. The latter nest was about 6 inches 

 above the water, in a bush growing out of 

 the water. Both these birds are verj' rare 

 in this immediate vicinity. January 20th 

 a young man who attends Brown Univer- 

 sity here, shot a single Field Sparrow, and 

 Feburary 10th I saw a Chipping Sparrow. 

 According to the Watchman frogs were 

 peeping on Januarj' 12th, in the meadows 

 about Taunton. Yours trulj', 



W. Y. O., 

 Providence, R. I. 



A QUAIL QUERY. 

 I have noticed during the fall while gun- 

 ning, that nine-tenths of the Quail that I 

 have killed are females. I have flushed 

 several flocks, killing pretty nearly all in 

 each, imd have found this to be the case. 

 In one 1 shot 17 and there was but one 

 male bird in it. In another I killed 14, and 

 there was but two male birds. Out of 78 

 that I have bagged, I killed but 8 male 

 birds. Is this a common thing ? I thought 

 that some of your readers might be inter- 

 ested in it. I was always of the impression 

 that the male predominated. 



E. T. M., 



Nazareth, Pa. 



HUMMINGBIRDS. 

 UNFINISHED NESTS— EAULY NESTING. 



In reply to the querj'^ of E. T. A. in the 

 February Young Oologist as to whether 

 or not Humming-birds were ever known 

 to lay their complement of eggs before 

 completing the nest, I will say that last 

 year I found a nest of the Humming-bird 

 which, although containing two eggs, was 

 plainly not yet completed. While observ- 

 ing this nest I repeatedly saw the female 

 bring lichens and moss, and arrange them 

 on the nest, thus proving beyond a doubt 

 that the Humming-bird does not in every 

 case finish building its nest before the eggs 

 are deposited. On Februaiy 13tli of this 

 year I took a set of Anna Humming-bird 

 with incubation far adrancsd. Whether 

 the beautiful w^eather that has prevailed in 

 this part of the state during the past month 

 has anything to do with this extraordinaril}' 

 earlv breeding I can only conjecture. 

 H. R. T., 

 Alameda, Cal. 



