THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



155 



Chewink (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). 

 Found a set of five (large set). I never have 

 seen a set of five except this one, and al- 

 ways thought four was the common num- 

 ber until I saw given in The Young 

 OoLOGisT four or five. 



Roee-breasted Grosbeak (Zamelodia lu- 

 doviciana.) Found a set of 4 June 6, '84. 

 The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a rare bird 

 in this county. 



A new way to capture a Kingfisher. 

 June 13, 1884, I went out to Gardner's Lake 

 collecting, and one of the first nests I 

 found was a Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle 

 alcyon). I at once commenced digging in 

 the sand bank where it was. assisted by a 

 farmer's son. After digging about half an 

 hour I saw seven eggs. I immediately 

 pushed my hand in after them, and what 

 was my surprise when all at once a bill 

 closed together like a steel trap and I at 

 once pulled my hand out a little faster 

 than I put it in. I pulled my hand so sud- 

 denly that Mrs. Kingfisher came out very 

 fast on my finger), and struck my com- 

 panion a little below the chest. He at once 

 clapped his hand where Mrs. Kingfisher 

 struck and was our prize. I should not 

 care to try catching Kingfishers by this 

 method again. Hawk. 



Intelligence of the Oriole. 



On the western side of Central Park, 

 very near 103d street and Eighth avenue, 

 stands a row of elm trees, difficult to ap- 

 proach on account of a heavy growth of 

 syringa bushes around them. On a branch 

 of one of the trees, about sixteen feet from 

 the ground, a pair of Baltimore Oi-ioles set 

 to building a nest a few weeks ago. They 

 chose the extreme end of the bough, with 

 evident intention of making it a hazardous 

 experiment for any bird nester to attempt 

 to molest them. Bvit in their excess of 

 caution they appeared not to observe what 

 the few persons whose eyes wet"e keen 

 enough to see the first labors of the little 

 architects saw — that the branch was much 

 too slender to support so large a nest as an 

 oriole builds. 



When the nest was about two thirds fin- 

 ished the birds saw their mistake. The 

 branch had bent so low that it was getting 

 perilously near the grass. 



Work was at once stopped, and the 

 builders sat close together for a long time, 

 and seemed to be discussing the situation. 

 Finally, they flew side by side to a bough 

 about fifteen inches over the one on which 

 their nest was, and, leaning over, inspected 

 the distance. They seemed to be satisfied, 

 and, though it was growing rapidl}' dusk, 

 the birds flew away in opposite directions. 

 In the morning it was found that they had 

 firmly secured their habitation, and pre- 

 vented the branch from bending lower, by 

 passing a piece of white string, which they 

 had found somewhere in the park, over the 

 upper bough, and fastening both ends of it 

 securely to the edges of the nest. The 

 building then went rapidly on, and the 

 orioles are now engaged in hatching their 

 eggs. Very few persons have seen the 

 nest, and there is a fair prospect that their 

 skill and ingenuity will be soon rewarded 

 by a brood of young orioles. 



The Baltimore Oriole is a very intelligent 

 bird, but a New York ornithologist, who 

 saw the nest, said he had never seen an 

 achievement quite equal to this one before. 

 He says the art of knitting fibers or strings 

 together is well known to many birds. The 

 weaver bird of India builds its nest out of 

 a large, strong leaf, which it stitches to- 

 gether at the edges, making a compact and 

 closely adhering funnel. — New York Sun. 



Yellow-breast Chat. 



{leteria virens.) 

 This beautiful and handsome species has 

 nothing but its rich plumage to recommend 

 itself to our notice, having no sweet song 

 to cheer you with while rambling through 

 the woods. But for all that they are an 

 attractive species, and I for one would sadly 

 miss them if they should fail to pay their 

 annual visit. They are migratory, arriving 

 from farther south where they winter, 

 about the 10th of April and I can assure 

 you they generally make there arrival 



