THE OOLOGIST 



49 



Thereafter many nests of the Ruby- 

 throat were observed, but one in par- 

 ticular remains as a fond memory 

 picture. I was passing one early June 

 day by the border of a dense wood- 

 land which skirted a creek and 

 sheltered a steep hillside. A meer 

 dull sound, as of a hummer's flight, 

 reached my ear and caused me to keep 

 a sharp eye out for the little bird that 

 caused it. But the sound died away 

 and I was about to depart, when the 

 bird returned and settled on its cozy 

 nest in an ironwood overhead. A 

 climb into a neighboring tree showed 

 that the nest was a contrast to the 

 ordinary type in that it was built on 

 the top of a last year's domicil. Thus 

 it looked much larger than does the 

 usual home of this bird. 



I collected this nest and its con- 

 tents of two incubated eggs and placed 

 them with the small series then in my 

 cabinet. But some years later they 

 became the property of James B. Car- 

 ter in whose possession they remained 

 until just recently when this young 

 man disposed of his superb collection. 



Since the discovery of the preceding 

 nests several others have come under 

 my observation, but just one of them 

 is unusual enough to be worthy of 

 special mention. It was built on a 

 small dead stick that had fallen and 

 lodged on two branches of a slender 

 hickory sapling which grew on a 

 wooded hillside. 



Odds and Ends 



During about thirty years of collect- 

 ing in the various branches of Natural 

 History, I have found a few freaks 

 that may be of interest to the readers 

 of The Oologist. 



"When still a small boy, I saw some 

 trees of odd growth; one was com- 

 posed of two trees grown straight, 

 about two feet apart and connected 

 by a cross piece not quite horizontal; 



two others had straight bodies with a 

 limb grown out a ways and then back 

 into the tree a little higher up; 

 another was a tree which had en- 

 closed and lifted in its growth, a 

 large rock resting in the fork of its 

 branches. Also two grown up about 

 seven feet and then united. 



Some of our neighbors had a pair of 

 black squirrels for several years, and 

 a few years ago, I saw one near a 

 swamp (not freaks). Another neigh- 

 bor had five, I believe it was, pure 

 white squirrels. I saw two of them 

 when they were four or five years old. 

 I later saw a live creamy white Gray 

 Squirrel and also a skin. I also saw 

 a fox~squirrel with entire underparts 

 black. 



A neighbor had a five legged cow 

 for years. 



I once had for years, a tape worm 

 taken from a fish. Also had a crooked 

 fish which was probably due to in- 

 jury. I was also told of a white 

 striped gopher. 



I have handled maybe fifteen or 

 twenty pairs of Screech Owls, and all 

 but two pairs were, one bird red face, 

 and one gray face. Of the other two 

 pairs, one pair was gray face, and the 

 other pair red face. 



I have found one nest of Brown 

 Thrasher built on the ground by a 

 vine and two nests of Mourning Dove 

 on the ground, one in a stubble field 

 and the other in a marsh well hidden 

 by the side of a high bog, among tall, 

 coarse grass three feet high; truly an 

 odd place for this bird. Also a nest 

 of this bird on top of a post in a large 

 woods close by a much travelled road. 



I have seen one, and been told of 

 one partly albino English Sparrow. 

 Have collected one set of Albino Blue 

 Jay's eggs, with usual spotting, and 

 one set of Blue Birds, pure white, 

 little gloss; both of five eggs each. I 

 later found a set of four Blue Bird, 



