THE OOLOGIST 3^ {l^ . \K\1 



119 



ers, who caught 1,617. In that year 

 the largest number of hawks were 

 caught, 56. — From "The Rural New 

 Yorker." 



A Splendid Donation 



The New York State Museum ha:s 

 received from Mr. Benjamin W. Ar- 

 nold his great collection of birds' eggs 

 and nests, in which are represented a 

 thousand species from North America 

 alone. — From "The Guide to Nature." 

 March 1917. 



Odd Nesting Site of a Robin 

 Peculiar nesting location, selected 

 by a pair of Robins, for the last three 

 years the Robins built their nest on 

 the telephone wire protection in the 

 rear of a two story house adjoining 

 my lot and were not disturbed but 

 reared their young, a full set, twice 

 each year. This spring they selected 

 another similar place, about one hun- 

 dred feet from the farmer, on the tele- 

 phone wire protection, next to my 

 house about twenty-five feet up. I 

 discovered their nest one morning, 

 April 20th, and was pleased with the 

 new neighbors; seen the male bird 

 take up food to the mate and supposed 

 she was already sitting on her eggs, 

 but the next morning I found the nest 

 on the lawn; my neighbor, perhaps 

 not a friend of birds, had pulled it 

 down, called it a nuisance and would 

 not have it on his house. 



The second morning after the des- 

 truction of the nest the birds again 

 had their nest almost completed on the 

 very same spot, this was again des- 

 troyed. Also a third attempt to build, 

 always when the nest was almost 

 completed, but, to my surprise, these 

 birds seemed bound to locate on that 

 very place, although there is a similar 

 telephone protection on most every 

 house in this neighborhood. On April 

 30th, the Robins again had their fourth 



nest on the same place almost com- 

 pleted, but it was again destroyed, 

 same as the three former nests, very 

 cruel I think. But after all the dis- 

 turbance in building their nesi, the 

 same pair of Robins built their fifth 

 nest in a big tree, about thirty-five 

 feet from the form^er location. It 

 seems they are bound to stay in this 

 neighborhood, very brave birds) and 

 I think they will not again be dis- 

 turbed, from their present location, 

 unless the Bronzed Grackle will steal 

 and devour the contents of their eggs, 

 a very common occurrence here, since 

 the Bronzed Grackle (a bird nuisance) 

 are multiplying here so rapidly some- 

 thing ought to be done to diminish 

 their multiplying. I know Robins will 

 build their nest almost anywhere. I 

 have seen one under a moving freight 

 car, and many other strange locations, 

 but was not aware they would build 

 for the fourth time on the very same 

 spot, after three attempts and des- 

 truction of every one of the nests. 

 Maybe others have observed similar 

 occurences. 



Frank Zesch. 

 Buffalo, N. Y. 



The foregoing comes to us from one 

 of the first subscribers that the Oolo- 

 gist ever had; a man who is at pres- 

 ent past seventy-seven years of age 

 and still maintains his interest in his 

 private collection of eggs and insects. 



Truly this hobby must have furnish- 

 ed him with many pleasant experi- 

 ences and hours in his long life; and 

 his association with Ottomar Reinecke 

 as a partner and a friend as well as a 

 fellow student in natural history must 

 have added to this pleasure. 



Hawks In Maine 



In a recent communication from a 

 party in Maine located near Bangor, 

 he says in regard to Hawks; the com- 



