36 



THE OOLOGIST 



TWO SPECIES OF BIRDS USE ONE 



NEST. OTHER "EMERGENCY 



CASES" OR DOUBLE SETS. 



The Western Red-tailed Hawk Ac- 

 commodates a Pacific Horned Owl 

 In Assisting In Supplying a 

 Complement of Eggs. 



I have, in my collection seven sets 

 of eggs, or rather double sets of eggs, 

 which seem of sufficient interest to 

 publish in The Oologist. 



1. Pacific Horned Owl and Western 

 Red-tailed Hawk. Collected by J. S. 

 Appleton, March 20, 1900, at Simi, 

 Calif, One egg of the Owl and two 

 of the Hawk, in a nest on a cliff where 

 the Owls had nested for twelve years. 

 The old Owl was on the nest when 

 found. All three eggs fresh. 



2. April 5, sixteen days later, the 

 Owl was again sitting upon the nest 

 which now contained one of the Hawk 

 and two of her own eggs; incubation 

 begun. 



3. Western Grebe and American- 

 eared Grebe. Four of the former and 

 one of the latter in a nest constructed 

 by the latter species. Collected by 

 Gerard A. Abbott, at Devil's Lake, N. 

 D., May 28, 1900. The American- 

 eared Grebe occupying the nest at 

 time of discovery. 



4. Black-billed Cuckoo and Yellow- 

 billed Cuckoo. Three eggs of the for- 

 mer and one of the latter. Collected 

 by R. T. Anderson, Aylmer, Ont., Can- 

 ada, June 8, 1897. 



Mr. Anderson observed the nest 

 each day, and the marks on the eggs 

 indicate that the single egg of the 

 latter species was the last one laid. 



5. San Diego Song Sparrow and 

 Anthony's Towhee (Melospiza c. 

 cooperi and Pipilo c. senicula; accord- 

 ing to Ridgway's "Birds of North and 

 Middle America," pages 367 and 437 

 respectively). Four of the former 



and one of the latter. Collected by 

 Harvey M. Hall, at Riverside, Calif., 

 April 14, 1891. Both birds near the 

 nest. 



6. Bluebird and Carolina Chicka- 

 dee; collected by a friend near 

 Wayneburg, Pa., May 11, 1892. 



The Chickadee had constructed a 

 nest in a post and laid two eggs; the 

 Bluebird built a nest of grass and 

 rootlets on top of this and deposited 

 five eggs, to which number the Chicka- 

 dee added five more, probably at in- 

 tervals between the laying of these 

 of the Bluebird. All eggs were fresh. 

 Both birds were near the nest post. 



My friend damaged one of the eggs 

 of the Chickadee in the top nest, and 

 in attempting to secure the nest with 

 the eggs crushed the two eggs in the 

 under nest, not knowing of their pres- 

 ence. 



7. Brown-headed Nuthatch and Blue- 

 bird. Collected by Thomas A. Smith- 

 wick, Merry Hill, N. C, April 26,1891; 

 four eggs of the former and one of 

 the latter. Old Nuthatch on the nest 

 at time. 



J. Warren Jacobs, 

 Waynesburg, Pa, 

 March 1, 1920, 



''Spring's Awakening." 



The welcome notes of spring ring 

 from the woods and valleys in the 

 early part of March. The Cardinals 

 begin to sing their early morning song 

 as the Titmouse answered in the dis- 

 tance. Crows cawed on their north- 

 ern journey. As the sun begins to 

 shine from over the hill tops the 

 Plumbeous Chickadee was heard sing- 

 ing the day light, early morning 

 spring song. It sounds to me like 

 they were saying "We're here — Who 

 are you?" Jumping around in the dead 

 trees they examined every natural 

 cavity and also the Woodpeckers' 

 holes in search of a nesting site, I 



