28 



THE SUNNY SOUTH OOLOGIST. 



verocity is a heavy tax on the industry of 

 their foster parents, whose own young ar. j 

 often starved to death or overlaid in the nest. 

 Sometimes the Cow bird deposits an egg in a 

 new made nest, before the owner has laid 

 any of her own eggs, in which case the nest 

 is generally forsaken by the owner, but when 

 one or more eggs have been deposited by the 

 owner, no attention appears to be taken at 

 the intrusion of the Cow bird on the part of 

 the majority thus imposed upon, though some 

 have been known to resent the imposition, by 

 covering the egg and raising a new nest above 

 it. When impelled by the only maternal im- 

 pulse by which nature has endowed her; the 

 female cow bird leaves her companions, and 

 goes in search of the nest of some other bird; 

 her mate sometimes follows, and while she is 

 seated, he perches on some neighboring branch 

 and by a peculiar note gives her warning if 

 danger approaches. Should she find a nest, 

 the eggs of which have been sometime in- 

 cubated, which she either knows by instinct, 

 or discovers by breaking one, she does not 

 deposit an egg therein, but goes to seek an- 

 other nest where incubation has not com- 

 menced. After the breeding season is over 

 these birds collect in large flocks, and with 

 other species, on the approach of cold weath- 

 er, make towards the tropical regions, where 

 they pass the winter season, and they are 

 seen no more until the return of spring re- 

 calls them again to the budding woods and 

 emerald fields of Canada. It is also very re- 

 markable how the young of this species, 

 when able to provide for themselves, forsake 

 their foster parents, and associate only with 

 their own kind. Sometimes a few of these birds 

 make their appearance in Ontario in the early 

 days of April, but they are seldom numerous 

 until late in May, and some of them still linger 

 here until the latter part of October. Last fall 

 I saw one of these birds among a flock of 

 English sparrows, on December 2nd. 



Wm. L. Kells, Listowel, Ont., Can. 



«•-♦*» 



[For the Sunny South Oologist.] 



BELL'S VIREO. 



(Vireo belli Aud.) 

 This little bird (often called swinger) is 

 one of our commonest summer residents in 

 festing our orchards and groves in large 



numbers. It arrives from the south early in 

 April, and begins nesting about the 15th of 

 the same month. 



It has a verj r pleasing, warbling song, com- 

 posed of five or six syllables, and considering ■ 

 its vocal powers, can be heard for a long dis- 

 tance. 



This little song may be very pretty and 

 sweet, but during the breeding season is very 

 treacherous to the bird itself, as it serves as 

 a guide to the egg collector in finding the 

 whereabouts of the nest. The male always 

 remains in the vicinity of the nest, and often 

 very near, warbling his little ditty. If any 

 one approaches the nest, the female joins the 

 male in trying to defend it. I have never 

 had one to fly at me, but they fly from limb 

 to limb keeping close to the nest, uttering 

 the simple and repeated "Chee, chee, chee," 

 in quick succession, at the same time seem- 

 ing to fan itself with its wings, and ruffling 

 its feathers about its head. The nest is a 

 very neat and strong cup-sl a jed structure, 

 pensile from the forks of a small horizonal 

 branch of a tree or bush, usually from four 

 to eight feet from the ground. Its favorite 

 nesting places is in our well shaded orchards 

 or on the north side of a hedge of the Osage 

 Orange. The material used in the construct- 

 ion of the nest is coarse grass, leaves, paper, 

 rags, etc., lined with horse hair and fibrous 

 roots. The number of eggs usually deposit- 

 ed is four, of a pure white color, sparingly 

 sprinkled with reddish-brown, chiefly at the 

 greater end. I have found sets of eggs in 

 which they were perfectly void of any color- 

 ing whatever. The size usually averages 

 .62 x .58 of an inch. 



E, C. Davis. 



[For the Sunny South Oologist.] 



NEST OF THE GREAT HORNED OWL. 



{Bubo virginiannis.) 

 The "Booby"' or Virginian Owl is quite a 

 rare specimen in Central Maryland, though 

 the little barn Owl is quite common. On 

 the evening of April 13, 1886, I started to 

 visit an old tree, in which an owl had been 

 shot shortly before. After an hour's walk I 

 arrived at the woods and proceeded to hunt 

 the tree. I found it at last . The tree was 

 a lareje, tall and crashed chestnut; a smaller 



