56 



THE OOLOGIST. 



A Conflict for Possession. 



T^T^HERE there are bird-houses erected 

 ^' for the accommodation of the many 

 and more social species that inhabit our 

 cities, contests for possession are_ of frequent 

 occurrence. I witnessed an interesting en- 

 counter a year or so ago, which in a round- 

 about way involved disputants of four dif- 

 ferent species. A pair of White-bellied 

 Swallows had taken up their quarters in a 

 box of eight compartments, and had in- 

 trenched themselves with a newly-begim 

 nest, when two pairs of Purple Martins 

 made their appearance, and, alter inspect- 

 ing the other bird-houses about, concluded 

 that the one occupied by the Swallows would 

 suit tliem best ; but the small owners perch- 

 ed on the top of their box and would not al- 

 low the Martins to come near them for 

 some time, until one, braver than the oth- 

 ers, alit on the little stand before one of the 

 holes and went in. Then began a noisy 

 conflict, which drew quite a number of 

 spectators, for the occurrence was witness- 

 ed on Sunday. "J'he Swallows darted at 

 and harassed their larger opponents with 

 great vigor, and finally, after about an hour 

 of clamorous controversy, the Martins left 

 the locality, whether from defeat or dislike 

 of the situation I did not know. Then the 

 Swallows, doubtless exulting in their vic- 

 tory over the intruders, commenced bring- 

 ing more material for the nest, but were 

 disturbed again by a pair of Blue Birds that 

 had occupied the box the pi'evious year. 

 They would not allow these new-comers 

 even to inspect the empty compartments, 

 but the former tenants did not immediately 

 give up, and the Swallows were bixsily oc- 

 cupied at intervals in attempting to drive 

 them off. Finally, after nearly two days 

 of occasional skii-mishes, the Blue Birds re- 

 tired and took up their residence in a little 

 rustic box in a remote part of the garden. 

 The Swallows were troubled again in a few 

 days by a pair of House Wrens, and these 

 they found their strongest rivals, for though 

 not openly equal to charging the house, they 



loitered about the place for a few days, and 

 when the Swallows were away in search of 

 material, they entered and took away parts 

 of the nest to form their own, located some 

 distance away. However, the persevering 

 Swallows did not give up, but promptly laid 

 five eggs and reared their young in security. 



Avis. 



The Missouri Sky-lark in Texas, 



SEVERAL times during the first week in 

 October, while passing through a flat 

 prairie with short grass, I flushed a small 

 bird, which from its flight and white tail- 

 feathers I thought must stand near the ge- 

 nus Plectrophanes^ but as it was too early 

 for any of that genus, I wondered if it was 

 not Baird's Sparrow, which I had never 

 detected here and was on the lookout for. 

 On October 8tli, having my gun with me, I 

 succeeded in killing the only one I found, 

 and saw at once that it was more nearly 

 related to Anthus than Plectrophanes, and 

 upon closer examination it proved to be un- 

 doubtedly Neocorys sprxiguei, (Ai\d.) Scl. 

 Although collecting almost every day from 

 the 8th to the 15th, no second specimen was 

 taken until the 15th of October, when I se- 

 cured two more ; one on the same flat prai- 

 rie, and the other on a prairie ridge with 

 some rocks and tall grass. The first two 

 w^ere taken on the wing, while the latter 

 was killed on the ground. I had good op- 

 portunity of observing its movements, and 

 was a little surprised at not being able to 

 discover the see-saw motion of the tail, so 

 readily discernible in Anthus ludovicianus. 

 Another item worthy of note is that only, 

 one hird has ever ieen seen at one place, since 

 Dr. Coues has noted that during August 

 and September, he found them in flocks, 

 on the north boundary of the U. S. 



It is strange why collectors have never 

 noted this bird's winter habitat in Texas or 

 Mexico, as it is evidently a regular mi- 

 grant or winter resident of these sections. 

 Gainesville, Coohe Co., Texas. 



G. H. Ragsdale. 



