THE OOLOGIST 



73 



next tree, located another Anna's nest 

 which contained two young, almost 

 ready to fly. This must have been a 

 very early set. 



Incubation takes 12-14 days and the 

 birds must have been at least that 

 old. Therefore the set must have 

 been laid about the twentieth or 

 twenty-fifth of February. On the way 

 home found two California Shrikes 

 nests. One was finished and ready for 

 eggs and the other contained six fresh 

 eggs. Both nests were in small wil- 

 lows along the roadside. 



March 24 — Three nests of Western 

 Red Tail all of which contained sets 

 of two eggs, incubation commenced. 

 First nest placed forty feet up in 

 small white oak on side of canyon. 

 Second nest placed at head of steep 

 canyon about fifty feet up in live oak. 

 Third nest placed about seventy-five 

 feet up in huge sycamore. This last 

 nest was lined very heavily with 

 down. 



Dudley S. De Groot, 

 Redwood City, Calif. 



Early Oological Reminiscences 



When one has been actively en- 

 gaged in the pursuit of a hobby for 

 over 30 years, naturally one has a 

 great many reminiscences. And it has 

 occured to the writer that they might 

 prove of mild interest to the readers 

 of the oldest oological journal in Amer- 

 ica. 



My love of oology was clearly in- 

 herited as my father, J. Parker Nor- 

 ris, Sr., was interested in this most 

 delightful of sciences from the time 

 he was a mere lad. He had quite a 

 fine collection of eggs in the late 

 sixties containing series of such good 

 things as Sand-hill Crane, Short-eared 

 Owl, etc., though he disposed of these 

 before my advent into this world, he 

 still retained his love for his early 



hobby. My first oological recollection 

 is being driving with him in Chester 

 County, Pa., one fine afternoon and 

 his stopping to collect a set of four In- 

 digo birds from a bush along the wood- 

 ed road through which we were pass- 

 ing. I could not have been more than 

 eight or nine years old at this time. 

 The next memory is another drive this 

 time with a cousin of mine who had a 

 small collection of eggs. We had just 

 reached the edge of our place when 

 my companion stopped and pointed to 

 a nest overhanging the road with the 

 bird on it. By dint or some careful 

 manuevering we managed to reach 

 the nest without getting off of the 

 wagon and found it contained four 

 hard set eggs which were those of the 

 Red-eyed Vireo, though I did not know 

 it at the time. About this time my 

 father began to pick up a few common 

 eggs for me thinking no doubt it would 

 keep me out of mischief. 



This collection, I, boylike, was very 

 proud of. I do not suppose there were 

 more than 200 eggs at the most, which 

 were contained in two drawers of a 

 book case stained black, belonging to 

 me. 



The first set I remember collecting 

 myself was a beautifully ringed clutch 

 of four Chats and a Cowbird egg. They 

 were taken on May 30, 1883 in a small 

 patch of woods (near our place at 

 Chestnut Hill, a suburb of Phil.) local- 

 ly known as "Blackbird's Roost" from 

 the fact that vast numbers of Purple 

 Grackles frequented it in the late sum- 

 mer and fall. I remember to this day 

 how beautiful I thought the find ringed 

 set looked in situ. Though prepared 

 antique, ie., blown with two holes I 

 would not part with this set for any 

 sum, and, curiously enough there is 

 only one other set in my large series 

 that is as handsome. 



The following year, 1884, one June 

 day, I, with several other boys had 



