66 



THE OOLOQ18T 



day in late May when a friend and I 

 explored our way across the rafters 

 and electric light wires to the tiny 

 gleam of light that marked the nest 

 entrance. Feeling our way to a place 

 where we could see and reach the 

 nest we found four good sized young 

 huddled in a nest site simila'r to the 

 one first used in the old building. We 

 took the young and not wishing to 

 really drive the birds away placed 

 against the entrance a light piece of 

 shingle that we were confident they 

 could push aside The following 

 day we took the young birds in a 

 Flicker nest box to a field that lay 

 ba'ck of the school house with the idea 

 of attracting the old birds attention to 

 the young and then placing them in 

 the box and putting it on top of some 

 telephone pole. Although we failed to 

 get the attention of the old birds we 

 nevertheless attempted to place the 

 bird box in hopes that they would dis- 

 cover the young. However, it is some 

 stunt to hang at the top of a smooth 

 pole, hold a bird box and pound nails 

 all at the same time and neither of us 

 was capable of doing it with the result 

 tliat tlie box was allowed to fall and 

 one of the young was injured. We 

 carried tliem back home and attempt- 

 ed to raise them by hand. Three of 

 them attained their size a'nd feather- 

 ing but only one is living. One was 

 killed by a rat and the other died from 

 lack of proper care. Tliis took place 

 as I have already stated in tlie sum- 

 mer of 1919. 



The following spring tlie birds were 

 still in evidence and on April the 14th 

 I visited the loft for the second time. 

 When I had approached to within six 

 feet of the nest site there wa's a sud- 

 den scurrying noise and for an instant 

 the entrance was darkened as the old 

 bird made her escape. I cannot begin 

 to describe the sensations I had when 

 I first glimpsed those five beautiful 



eggs, clean, fesh and all well marked; 

 It was a' rare sight. While I packed 

 them and noted the nest location and 

 bits of feathers and the like laying 

 about, the birds several times fiuttered 

 at the entrance within eight inches of 

 my hand and their "killy, killy" was 

 constantly heard. This was my last 

 visit to the loft and of course the last 

 time I disturbed the birds, but this 

 spring, 1921, that birds were still using 

 the Flicker hole and the janitor of the 

 building began to shoot tliem. Tliere 

 must have been some of their young of 

 former years with them as tlie janitor 

 tells me that there were five of them 

 about the place when he began shoot- 

 ing them and that he succeeded in kill- 

 ing two. He did not, however, suc- 

 ceed in driving them away as I have 

 noticed them several times during the 

 fall fiying about that locality. 



The ground color of the set I col- 

 lected is white but entirely obscured 

 with blended marking pigments mak- 

 ing the siiells a uniform color of vary- 

 ing shades of vinaceous pinkish with a 

 tint of buff. Tlie marking color is of 

 chestnut but so thoroughly blended as 

 to leave little tracings of deep chest- 

 nut spots, the same blending into 

 lighter shades much as lawny vl- 

 naceous-cinnamon and vinaceous rufus. 



William F. Jacobs, 

 Waynesburgli, Pa. 



4 



We are glad to welcome Wm. F. to 

 our columns, and hope he will prove 

 a worthy continuation of the Warren 

 Jacobs, bird students. — Editor. 



