THE OOLOGIST. 



165 



log season for the past few years in 

 finding their nests and eggs. In 1899 I 

 found a nest with young, July 9th, 

 after watching the female bird until 

 she returned to the nest. The nest was 

 in an open pasture field near woods 

 and was sunken in the ground, but was 

 arched. 



In 1900 I watched the birds again but 

 they always seemed to know what I 

 was after and sat perched on some weed 

 and uttered their familiar notes that 

 resembles the grasshopper. I watched 

 one pair in the latter part of May and 

 :at last found their nest with five young. 

 The nest was as usual sunken in the 

 ground and just a little arched over. 



In 1901 I failed to find a nest, al- 

 though I searched diligently every time 

 I went out. 



This year I had the luck to find a fine 

 set of five nearly fresh eggs. I call it 

 J uck because I had hunted for them so 

 ' ong without any success and on May 

 .^Oth while walking home after a day's 

 hunt, and right close to the place where 

 numerous boys were playing ball, I 

 kicked up a Grasshopper Sparrow. I 

 F topped short and watched the bird run 

 tilong the ground trying to persuade 

 me on but I was up to her tricks and 

 v/hen I looked near my feet I saw five 

 pretty speckled eggs that I had been 

 looking for so many years. I found an- 

 other nest with young, and received 

 from a boy 2-3 a short time after. 

 E. J. Dablington, 

 Welmington, Dela. 



My First Oven Bird's Nest. 



No doubt every Oologist has been 

 aggravated in his bird-nestinsr experi- 

 ences, by the ill-luck which seems to 

 constantly follow one, in his efforts to 

 add to his cabinet, a set of some quite 

 common, but continually elusive spe- 

 cie. For a number of seasons I had 

 been hoping to find the nest and eggs 

 of this deep woods-loving, golden- 

 crowned songster. 



While the Oven-bird is not by any 

 means the rarest form of onr resident 

 warblers, all my previous efforts at lo- 

 cating his home had been in vain. I 

 think my readers will generally admit 

 that a well-formed desire, constantly 

 denied, finally develops into a mania. 

 At any rate that was about my state of 

 mind when I headed for the woods on a 

 fine morning in June, 1901 . Determined 

 to find Mrs. "Aurocapillus" at home if 

 possible, I tramped back and forth 

 through every likely looking spot in 

 each corner of the woods that rang: with 

 her lord's "Teacher, teacher, teacher" 

 song. Suddenly from near my feet 

 fluttered a little Ovenbird which ran a 

 few feet and then endeavored to draw 

 me away with the broken- wing argu- 

 ment. 



Stooping, I lifted the cover of a leafy 

 mound and there before my eyes, snug- 

 ly tucked away, about four inches from 

 the entrance, lay five, six, yes! seven 

 beautiful, speckled — Cow bird's eggs. 

 Isaac E. Hess, 



Philo, Ills. 



'•Foiled." 



On one of my rambles along Santa 

 Rosa Creek last collecting season, or 

 more accurate. May 18, 1902, I noticed 

 a newly completed nest of Lazuli Bunt- 

 ing. It was a fine piece of architecture 

 made of coarsely woven blades of dry 

 grasses, lined with horse hair, and on 

 finding it without eggs thought that by 

 next week I would be able to gather a 

 fine set with the nest. As per schedule 

 I made the place my promised visit but 

 on examination found only two eggs, 

 so left them to get a complete set. 

 What was my surprise ou going again 

 the following week to find one egg 

 hatched and the other nearly so, and 

 the female Gazuli singing "Foiled 

 again." 



H. F. DUPLEY, 



Santa Rosa, Cal. 



