THE OOLOCIST. 



85 



by some authors as four or five. I have 

 never seen more than three, although I have 

 found several nests. The eggs are of a 

 dirty white, spotted and blotched with 

 brown. 



GrREEN Heron. — A common summer 

 resident; breeds in colonies of 25 or 30 pair; 

 nests in small oaks or chestnuts; nest is 

 composed of a few sticks put together as if 

 the bird was in a hurry. In fact the eggs 

 may sometimes be ('ounted from the 

 ground. Have often seen the eggs roll out 

 while climbing the trees. Eggs 4 to 6 in 

 number, pale blue in color. 



Belted Kingfisher. — Common breeds; 

 sometimes remains throughout the winter; 

 nests in a hole in a sand bank, sometimes 

 dug to a depth of 8 feet. I remember one 

 hot day I dug 14 feet in a high bank, and 

 was rewarded with one broken egg. The 

 number of eggs is usually 7, pure white, 

 always laid upon the bare ground at end of 

 burrow. I have never found any mate- 

 rial of any kind in the hole. 



Black -BILLED Cuckoo. — Common sum- 

 mer resident; nests in low bushes; nest 

 made of sticks and leaves, loosely put to- 

 gether; eggs bluish-green. Some authors 

 give the number of eggs as 4 or 5, but I 

 have never seen more than three, rarely 

 over two. W. H. Lucas, 



West Stratford, Conn. 



From Ohio. 



Arrivals for 1886: 



February 11, House Wrens; 19, Robins. 



March 14, King-bird; 15, Bobohnk; 16, 

 Killdeer; 25, Turtle Dove. 



April 13, Purple Martin; 21, Spotted 

 Sandpiper; 25, Baltimore Oriole; 27, Cat- 

 birds. 



June 21, Ruby-throated Humming bird. 



The following are some large sets found 

 here last year: Blue Jay, 6; Pewee, 5, and 

 1 young; Baltimore Oriole, 6; Flicker, 9 

 and 11. 



Birds that remained here during this 

 winter: English Sparrows, Song Sparrows, 

 Chipping Sparrows, Black-capped Chicka- 



dees, Blue Jays, Tufted Titmouse, Screech 

 Owl, Blue birds, 1 Catbird, Crows, Belted 

 Kingfishers. 



Kingfishers stay here during the coldest 



winters, but it puzzles me where they get 



their food when the creeks are frozen over. 



The following are some of my important 



finds last season: 



Five sets of the Purple Grakle; one of 

 these contained a runt egg, no larger than 

 a Blue bird's. 



Three nests of the Mourning Dove; one 

 of these was a few sticks placed across the 

 top of an old Robin's nest. 



Two sets of English Sparrow. They 

 build chiefly in pine trees, a large bulky 

 nest, entrance in the side. They lay a new 

 complement as soon as the last one has 

 hatched out. 



Two sets of Blue Jay. These generally 

 build in pine trees. 



Several sets of Pewees. Their nests are 

 numerous on the rocks along the creek. 

 About half the eggs I find have dots on the 

 larger end. They hatch two or three 

 broods in a season. 

 June 16 — One set of Field Sparrow. 

 June 26 — One set of White-throated 

 Sparrow. 

 July 5 — One set of Cardinal Grosbeak. 

 "D. T. M.- 

 Poland, Ohio. 



Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. 



{PoUoptila caerulea.) 



This beautiful little bird is one of our 

 smallest summer residents, ranging next in 

 size to the Humming birds {Trochieidas). 

 It arrives in this locality about the 15th of 

 March, and immediately becomes abundant; 

 in fact the " woods are full of them." On 

 all sides they are heard uttering their sim- 

 ple long drawn out c-h-e-e — c-h-e-e — c-h-e-e. 

 At times while hunting for flies and small 

 insects, they will warble a very pretty little 

 song, which is very soothing and pleasant 

 indeed. I have for hours watclied this 

 graceful little creature flitting to-and-fro 

 among tlie green foliage of some thick 

 wood; here they would stop a moment to 



