THE OOLOGIST. 



ly covered with a thick, pinkish nest-exu- 

 dation, to the thickness often, of a sixteenth 

 of an inch. This substance becomes in a 

 short time as hard as the shell. Eggs are 

 laid usually about the first of June. 



623. DOUBLE-CKESTED CORMOKANT. 



The range of the Double-crested Cormor- 

 ant is not so restricted as that of the last 

 mentioned bird. Dr. Coues gives it a place 

 among the birds of the northwest, and says 

 it is found throughout the interior. It al- 

 so is an Atlantic bird, its range being from 

 Newfoundland to North Carolina. It breeds 

 in Labrador, building its nest both upon the 

 ground and in trees ; this is like that of the 

 preceding species in material and construc- 

 tion. The eggs are from three to five, long 

 and pointed, measuring 2.50 by 1.52 inch- 

 es. Two specimens in my collection are 

 pale bluish- white, speckled with a few scat- 

 tering dots of umber. A thin incrustation 

 of white substance envelops the shell, prob- 

 ably the washing of the nest. Many of the 

 little dots are scattered upon this substance, 

 and by scraping come out, which would in- 

 dicate that at least some of them do not be- 

 long to the egg as a natural marking. 



TO BE CONTINUED. " OvUM." 



Nesting of the Great Northern 

 Shrike in New York. 



Thkee facts of importance go to prove 

 that the Great Northern Shrike breeds in 

 this State, and that it is the commoner of 

 the two species mentioned in the list of Cen- 

 tral New York Birds. First : Having been 

 observed about all winter, it nests mainly 

 in the same place in which it winters. This 

 has been noted by careful observers ; ludo- 

 vicianus is never seen here in winter, it 

 being strictly a southern bird — it arrives 

 about the beginning of April. Second : It 

 commences to build its nest as early as the 

 first of April, frequently as early as the 20th 

 of March ; a bird arriving as late as the 

 Loggerhead Shrike, even if already paired, 

 would not commence to build as early as 



that date. Third : Collurio ludovicianus 

 is not found in New England at all, a sin- 

 gle specimen only having been seen in Mas- 

 sachusetts, where its occurrence was acci- 

 dental. If this bird is not found in New 

 England, it is highly improbable that so 

 small an intervention of country as lies be- 

 tween those States and the central part of 

 New York — barely a hundred miles — would 

 create such a marked example of geograph- 

 ical distribution. It cannot be said that C. 

 boreaUs is abundant in any portion of the 

 State, nor has it been found to breed in any 

 part so frequently as in the more northern 

 counties. If our correspondents will be 

 particularly observing of this bird, especial- 

 ly in this State, obtaining specimens when- 

 ever practicable, and will communicate to 

 us such notes as they make, we will giv6 

 due credit for the same in our columns. 



Northern and Southern Humming- 

 birds' Nests. — There is quite a dissimi- 

 larity in material between the nests of north- 

 ern and those of southern Humming-birds. 

 Out of at least half a dozen specimens of 

 the former, every one is lined with wool, 

 and the fine cottony substance found in the 

 pods of the milk-weed. Three of the lat- 

 ter from North Carolina, are lined with a 

 light, flufl^y, pinkish substance. The li- 

 chens are more plentiful in all these nests 

 than in the northern specimens, the whole 

 structure is lighter and on the whole hand- 

 somer, though much more fragile. These 

 three southern specimens are deeper, and 

 the sides are thinner than in those taken at 

 the north. These nests, being collected at 

 random, form probably the average of all 

 specimens taken in the south. 



The season in the south and wesl is now 

 fairly open. Our correspondents seem to 

 be making valuable collections in those lo- 

 calities, from the numerous reports of rare 

 eggs we have received. We shall soon 

 hear from them in interesting letters to 

 The Oologist. 



