THE OOLOGIST. KC^^ 



53 



ity of the data in those good old days. 

 And yet those eggs were good traders. 

 How very exacting are some of the 

 modern fellows who want "full and 

 complete data, written in ink*") 



Also nest of the Kingbird, in apple 

 tree, two eggs, which are white, spotted 

 with brown. 



Junes Saw several Gray Plovers 

 (Bartramian Sandpiper) sitting around 

 in cornfields. Quail (Bob-white) are 

 common along the roads, as well as 

 young rabbits. 



June 7-11. Went on a fishing excur- 

 sion to Clear Lake and Illinois River 

 (in an adjoining county.) 



June 11 Virden 111. Found a nest 

 of the Mockingbird, containing four 

 young. (This was the genuine MmMS 

 polyglottus, which is still found spar- 

 ingly as a summer resident of the local- 

 ity. P. M. S.) I brought the young 

 home. When I was taking them from 

 the nest, both old ones flew at me, 

 making a great noise. The nest was in 

 a low, thorny bush, about three and a 

 half feet from the ground, and set in 

 the thorns. It was composed of sticks 

 and lined with fibers, like the nest of a 

 Brown Thrush. This is the first nest of 

 the Mockingbird I ever saw. (The 

 young turned out to be a female and 

 three males. I put them in the care of 

 a barber, who affected the rearing of 

 such creatures. One male survived, 

 which was sold for five dollars when it 

 reached majority. The songster was 

 sold on credit, and we still have five 

 dollars a-coming. However, that was 

 not the only time I have been buncoed 

 in my collecting experience, so let it 

 pass. P. M. S.) 



June 13. Found a ' Garden Oriole's 

 nest in an apple tree in an orchard. It 

 contained young, about a week old. 

 This is one of the prettiest and most 

 curious nests I ever saw. It is com- 

 posed of long dried grasses, woven to- 

 gether in a wonderful manner into a 

 basket, and fastened to the small twigs 



so as not to swing loosely, like the Balt- 

 imore Oriole's. 



Also found a nest of the Red- winged 

 Blackbird, containing four eggs. The 

 nest was in an apple tree. (My ac- 

 quaintance with Agelaius phoeniceus 

 Linn., began in an orchard away from 

 water, and it then seemed perfectly 

 natural for me to find it nesting there. 

 However, I have since learned that it 

 was rather unusual. ) 



Also found a nest of the Wood Pewee. 

 It was in an apple tree, set upon a hor- 

 izontal branch, one of the lowest. It 

 was a very pretty little nest, composed 

 of hair, fibers and feathers, woven to- 

 gether into a cup. Four eggs, of a very 

 ligh yellowish color, with a few spots 

 of browru This interesting little bird 

 sits upon a stake or limb of a tree for 

 hours at a time. (The foregoing broad 

 generalization was not warranted by 

 observation. P. M. S.) When it sees 

 an insect, it flies forward, seizes it and 

 returns to its perch, to repeat the oper- 

 ation as soon as an opportunity pre- 

 sents itself. 



To-day I found a nest of the Phoebe 

 in a well. The nest was in a niche of 

 the brick wall, where a brick had been 

 displaced, about ten feet (not up) from 

 the wooden box enclosing the opening. 

 The nest contained young birds. The 

 well had water in it, and was used 

 every day, water being drawn up by 

 means of a rope over a pulley. This 

 seemed to me a curious place for a 

 bird's nest. 



June 15. Found a nest of the "Riin 

 Crow," or Yellow-billed Cuckoo. It 

 was in an apple orchard, and was com- 

 posed of a few sticks and fibers, loosely 

 laid together, and contained two young 

 about two weeks old. 



Saw a garter snake trying to make a 

 meal off a young Meadow Lark about 

 half grown. The snake was about two 

 feet long. It had the bird by one wing, 

 which it had nearly swallowed. The 

 bird was fluttering and crying at a 



