THE OOLOGIST 



25 



of Latin, or advancements in social or 

 professional life have in any way 

 stiffened the dispositions of these 

 nature lovers who in spite of greater 

 experiences still delight to relate their 

 achievements in simple alturistic man- 

 ner. 



Whenever The Oologist is short on 

 manuscript I shall be glad indeed to 

 come across. 



Gerard Alan Abbott. 



Thank you, G. A Your copy is al- 

 ways good copy. — R. M. B. 



THE BLUE GROSBEAK IN TER- 

 RANT COUNTY, TEXAS 



As I had never discovered this bird 

 nesting in Tarrant County, Texas, I 

 was more than surprised when I hap- 

 pened upon a nest near my camp. This 

 nest was found by accident. I was 

 leaving camp on a bird census trip for 

 the Government. I had got about one 

 hundred feet down the fence from 

 camp when some one yelled for me. I 

 answered back, "Well, what do you 

 want?" As I said this a' feriiale Blue 

 Grosbeak flew from her well concealed 

 nest right in front of me. It was in a 

 low oak. I looked in and to my sur- 

 prise there were 2 Grosbeak eggs and I 

 Cowbird egg. I was tickled over my 

 accidental discovery. This was May 21, 

 1919_ On May 26 there were no more 

 eggs. I had disturbed the bird several 

 times so she must have la'id the other 

 eggs some where else. When this bird 

 was flushed she never would look 

 back, but keep a straight course for 

 some distant timber. It would be some 

 time before she would return to her 

 nest. 



nest. I went to the nest time 

 and again, trying to see the male 

 bird, but never did get a glance 

 at him The female was on the 

 nest at every observation both by day 

 and night, and of all the disturbance I 

 gave her she never deserted the nest. 

 This nest was five feet up in a small 

 oak tree near a fence by a truck farm. 



One hundred feet north of my camp 

 and two hundred feet northeast from 

 Williams Spring at Lake Worth, Tar- 

 rant County, Texa's. Nest composed of 

 rags, leaves, paper and spider webs. 

 Lots of newspaper formed the under- 

 parts. Inside was made of small 

 stringy rootlets and sparingly lined 

 with horse hair. My next experience 

 with Grosbeaks, the shy little bird, 

 was on June the eighth. I was always 

 watching birds and carry a note book 

 in my pocket the year around. I take 

 notes of everything in the bird line 

 that I see, both winter and summer. 

 So after a hard day's work on Marine 

 Motors I sat down out in front of my 

 shop to take a few notes and observa- 

 tions. First came a Yellow-billed 

 Cuckoo, darting in the top of an elm 

 tree catching a large worm, perching 

 on a limb, he soon done away with his 

 prey. Next a Bewick's Wren flew to a 

 can that I had tacked up in a tree. 

 She ha'd a bug for one of her young. 

 A Red-bellied Woodpecker was ob- 

 served in the act of walking the under- 

 side of a limb. A Summer Tanager 

 darted by on his way to see his wife, 

 that was snugly covering four eggs 

 not a hundred feet away. A family of 

 Plumbeous Chickadees were enjoying 

 themselves as the day was passing. 

 The sun wa's nearly down but you 

 could hear Cardinals in every direc- 

 tion. A Tufted Titmouse was noticed 

 in the utmost top of an elm tree. Now 

 and then a Crested Flycatcher or Red- 

 headed Woodpecker could be heard in 

 the dead timber across the way. A 

 Turkey Vulture came sailing by as if 

 well contented. Just up the hill I 

 could hear the Dickcissels and Lark 

 Spa'rrows singing their last tune en- 

 titled The Evening Twilight. A Paint- 

 ed Bunting darted to her nest in some 

 underbrush. All at once I heard a 

 strange and lonesome note made by a 

 shy little bird, Chee chee chee. She 

 was hopping from one limb to another 

 in the top of a tree near by. She 



