THE OOLOGIST 



125 



February 15tli, but I left before they 

 laid any eggs." 



F. B. Eastman, 

 Fort Leavenworth, Kan. 



A Very Unusual Find 



On June 3rd of the present year, I 

 took a set of six Sharp-shinned Hawks' 

 eggs. They were all nicely marked 

 and perfectly fresh. I would like to 

 have you inform me through the Oolo- 

 gist whether or not you consider this 

 a very unusual set. It is my first and 

 only set of six and I have taken sev- 

 eral sets during my collecting. 



The nest was only twenty feet up 

 in a stunted hemlock tree at the very 

 top of a precipitous hill that was 

 grown to small patches or groves of 

 hemlock. It was a very bulky nest, 

 although the depression that held the 

 eggs was slight and the bird could 

 plainly be seen on the nest from the 

 ground. It was constructed of hem- 

 lock twigs, lined with flat chips of 

 hemlock bark and had been built on 

 the top of an old nest that was part- 

 ly fallen from the branches. 



I have been unable this season to 

 find any other than the above des- 

 cribed nest, but am well pleased with 

 this unusual find. 



C. Hart, 

 East Berlin, Conn. 



Nests of the White-throated Sparrow. 



One of the most common summer 

 residents of Hessel, Mackinaw Coun- 

 ty, Michigan, is the White-throated 

 Sparrow. If one happens to be tak- 

 ing a walk in the early morning he is 

 quite certain to hear this sweet sing- 

 er whistling his plaintive song from 

 some tree or bush. However, they 

 are rather shy and the rambler does 

 not often see them except in the vi- 

 cinity of their nests. One reason for 

 this may be on account of the thick 

 under brush and the tall grass that 

 covers the old lumber trails. The 



woods are mostly second growth of 

 cedar, spruce, and balsam; so thick 

 that it is a very difficult task to get 

 through in most places. 



For the past three summers I have 

 found the nests of the White-throated 

 Sparrows in that delightful country. 

 All three of them have been far from 

 any habitation whatever. The closest 

 one was about a mile from the near- 

 est house. 



The first nest I found was in July, 



1913. It contained three dead young 

 ones. I think some fate overcame the 

 old bird as the little ones showed no 

 signs of having been killed by any- 

 thing. They had evidently been dead 

 only a short while for neither ants 

 nor maggots had as yet found them. 

 The nest was at the foot of a small 

 sapling in a place that was overgrown 

 with little trees and bushes. 



The second year, the 22nd of July, 



1914, the nest was found close to a 

 trout stream where I was fishing. The 

 brush along this stream was about as 

 thick as it could possibly get. In 

 some places I would have to make a 

 detour of a quarter of a mile before 

 being able to get to the stream. It 

 was one of these detours that I found 

 the nest in a clump of grass. The 

 three eggs in it were comparatively 

 fresh. The old bird staid close by all 

 the while I was there and showed no 

 signs of excitement or fear. 



The third nest, July 24, 1915, was 

 on a one-time trail but what was now 

 left of it was so overgrown with 

 brushes and small trees that it was 

 next to impossible to know whether 

 you were really on or off the path. 

 Just about ten feet from where this 

 shadow of a path crossed a stream T 

 found the nest. It is the one whose 

 picture is printed. 



The picture of the Cedar-Waxwing 

 I secured the same day I got that of 

 the White-throated Sparrow. 



Albert D. McGrew. 



