THE OOLOGIST 



187 



We endorse both the spirit and Ian- 

 gauge of the above. The publication of 

 Col. Shield's lecture was made in the 

 Oologist without due considertion or 

 thought. Shields is one of the best 

 bluffers who spends very large portion 

 of his time endeavoring to extermi- 

 nate the living wild fowl and wild 

 animals of the earth and in his later 

 days has undergone a radical reforma- 

 tion. It has been our observtion that 

 the newer the convert, the more noisy 

 his protestation of faith. However, we 

 must disagree with the statement that 

 our friend Ganier makes of the natu- 

 ral enemies of the birds. We would 

 put the common house cat away ahead 

 of both the Jay and Grackle put to- 

 gether. Editor. 



Boy Bird Killers 



I have read the article by W. A. 

 Strong on the slaughter of birds in 

 last Oologist and want to say that 

 here in my experience that the small 

 boy and the air gun is far more des- 

 tructive than all other human 

 agencies. 



Some seasons there will be a craze 

 for air guns and I guess there will be 

 fifty boys with air guns and they 

 claim to hunt sparrows. Every year 

 there are more or less small birds 

 brought to me to be identified or 

 mounted that are picked up along the 

 sidewalks, etc.,, probably shot with 

 air guns. 



Another cause of scarcity of birds 

 is lack of shelter. Forty years ago 

 very few farms but what had more or 

 less brush along the fences and road 

 side and waste places. Today most 

 of the woods are pastured, waste 

 places cleaned up and cultivated road 

 side cleaned up. 



Storms destroy some. We had a 

 storm in May that blew down wind 

 mills, silos and barns. There was a 

 robin sitting across the street, another 



in my hen-yard, one in my garden and 

 one with large young on the farm and 

 all were destroyed and I did not see 

 one around the house after the storm. 



Where there was five to ten before, 

 I have only seen one young robin this 

 summer. Several Warblers were 

 brought to me after the storm. 



Delos Hatch. 



Oakfield, Wis. 



NOTES FROM CAMP GRAHAM, FT. 

 WORTH, TEXAS 

 The Lucky Humming Bird 



My mother and I were out in front 

 cf our camp when we heard a Hum- 

 ming Bird making a fuss as if in dis 

 tress. Looking up in a sycamore tree 

 near by I saw her fighting a large 

 snake. The snake was making for 

 her nest which was out near the end 

 of the limb. I got a long fishing polo 

 and with the help of another fellow 

 we knocked the snake out of the trea 

 and killed it. The nest held two half 

 grown young. If the mother bird hal 

 not given the alarm when she did the 

 young would have been swallowed 

 alive by the snake as he was within 

 two feet of the nest when we knocked 

 him down. 



Green Heron Nesting in Tarrant Co., 

 Texas. 



The only notes that I have for Green 

 Herons was migration datas. But 

 now I have them nesting in the coun- 

 ty. A set of four was collected by Mr. 

 Gentry and wife while they were 

 camped with me on Lake Worth in 

 May. This is the first set ever col- 

 lected in the county as far as I know. 

 The Brave Wren. 



A wren had the braverw to build in 

 my grub box this summer. She built in 

 a coffee can that was in one corner of 

 the box. The lid of this box formed 

 a table which we ate on. 



She raised five young and would be 



