28 



THE 00L0GI3T 



sets; one of these involving two eggs 

 of the previous year. I flatter myself 

 that I could not possibly be mistaken 

 in Merganser eggs, that nobody that 

 had ever blown them could be mis- 

 taken. Their hardness, thickness, 

 gloss and roundness, all are diagnos- 

 tic." I am wondering why the collect- 

 or in question did not send an egg to 

 Mr. Barnes, for identification. 



BAYNARD 



Oscar E. Baynard, than whom no 

 one is better loved by the readers of 

 The Oologist, has located at Plant 

 City, Fla., where he is now engaged 

 in buying Florida fruits and vege- 

 tables. We wish Baynard success in 

 anything that he undertakes and it 

 is a sorrowful duty to extend to him 

 our sympathy on the recent loss of 

 his mother. 



First Minnesota Yellow Rail Eggs 



On June 10, 1917, I collected the 

 first authentic set of yellow rail that 

 has ever been reported from Minne- 

 sota. 



Previously I had sent a record of 

 the presence of the yellow rail in this 

 locality, to the U. S. Biological Sur- 

 vey and had some correspondence 

 with Dr. Thos. Roberts of the Univer- 

 sity of Minnesota, in regard to this 

 report but not until last season was I 

 able to definitely locate the nest of 

 this rather elusive member of the rail 

 family. 



The nest was found in a swamp 

 just west of this village and was 

 rather loosely constructed affair of 

 marsh grass placed in a tuft of grass 

 with some attempt at concealment 

 and in about 8 inches of water. The 

 nest was only a few inches above the 

 surface of the water and was somewhat 

 damp although the bird was flushed 

 from the nest and the eggs appeared 

 warm and dry. The measurements do 



not vary one hundredth of an inch in 

 the entire clutch of 8 and are 1.10 by 

 .80. They are yellowish buff with 

 most of the spots arranged in the 

 form of a wreath around the larger 

 end although one of .them has the 

 wreath around the small end. 



I have the word of Dr. Roberts, that 

 this is the first report of the breeding 

 of this bird within the limits of our 

 state and trust that this report will 

 be of sufficient interest to readers of 

 The Oologist, to warrant its publica- 

 tion. 



A. S. Peters, 

 Lake Wilson, Minn. 



Notes from Grosse Point, Lake St. 



Clair. Wayne and Macomb 



Counties, Michigan 



October 29, 1917, Cold rain. 17 

 Swans on the bay opposite the vil- 

 lage, also three flocks of Canvas Back 

 Ducks aggregating about five hundred 

 ducks in all. 



October 31, G-olden-crowned King- 

 lets about village grounds, all day, 

 one flies against window of my office 

 and when revived is released. 



November 1st. Cool,. with snow and 

 ice. Saw 2 Meadow-larks, Bald Eagle 

 and Rough-leg Hawk. 



November 4th. Fine weather, warm 

 and bright. Meadow-larks, Tufted 

 Titmouse, Purple Finches, Pine Sis- 

 kin and Juncos about the village. 



Gerard Alan Abbott, 

 Grosse Pointe Shores. 



A Very Rare Winter Visitant 



(Nyctea Nyctea) 

 On December 14, 1917, a party 

 named Mose Leavitt, brought to me 

 to have mounted, a fine specimen of a 

 female Snowy Owl which he killed 

 near this city and on January 4, 1918, 

 another party brought to me another 

 one which he had killed. The Snowy 

 Owl is a native of the far north and 



