72 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Notes taken at Norriston, Pa., in '87. 



April 25. Took a set of three fresh 

 Crow's eggs. On visiting this nest two 

 weeks later, I found a Green Heron had 

 taken possession of it. She had placed a 

 few sticks inside, and laid six eggs which 

 were perfectly fresh ; rather a large set, I 

 thought. I secured several sets of four and 

 one of five, of this species, during the 

 season, but this was the largest I ever 

 found. 



May 1. Discovered a Screech Owl in a 

 pole in the trunk of a maple tree, about a 

 foot above the ground. After receiving a 

 good nip I secured him, and found him to 

 be a male in the gray plumage ; thinking his 

 mate might be nesting somewhere in the 

 vicinity, I looked around, and discovered 

 a Flicker's hole in the same treo about 

 twenty feet above the first one. On ascend- 

 ing to it found his mate, but was somewhat 

 disappointed, on removing her, to rind the 

 nest contained four half -fledged young ones. 

 About three weeks afterwards, I found a 

 Flicker had taken possession of the same 

 hole and had laid ten eggs, varying in size 

 from that of an English Sparrow, to the 

 regular size; though they were most all rath- 

 er small. Incubation was slightly advanced 

 in all. On visiting the same hole tLis year, 

 1888, found a male owl, in the gray plum- 

 age, had taken up his quarters in it. 



July 2. Found a Chipping Sparrow 

 buildiug in an apple-toee near the house, and 

 thought I would watch it up. A few days 

 later, examined the nest and found it con- 

 tained two eggs of the Chipping Sparrow, 

 and one of the Cuckoo, which by its size, 

 I judged to be a Yellow-billed. The large 

 egg presented quite a contrast to that of the 

 diminutive Chipping Sparrow. 



Aug. 5. Took a set of five American 

 Goldfinch eggs, one of which was covered 

 thickly around the larger end with dots of 

 r?ddish-brown. This was the only spotted 

 one of this species I ever found. 



My latest find last season was Sept. 14, 

 when I found a nest of three half -fledged 

 Yellow-billed Cuckoos. The Yellow-billed 



are much more common than the Black- 

 billed in this vicinity. 



A Flicker wintered here this year; I was 

 much puzzled for a while to find where he 

 stayed in cold weather, but discovered it 

 only by chance. As I was watching him 

 on a walnut tree one day, he suddenly 

 started and flew straight for a house close 

 by and disappeared under the eaves, on a 

 closer examination, I found there was a 

 hole which led straight back to the chim- 

 ney, where I suppose he kept quite snug 

 and warm. I often saw him fly in and out 

 after that, but he would always stop to 

 reconnoitre, and then go in with a dash. 

 E. G. B.. Norristown, Pa. 



Tne Hose-breasted Grosbeak. 



In Iowa this bird is very common in the 

 summer season, and its loosely made and 

 fragile nest is often seen among the 

 branches of some low tree. As in a good 

 many cases the male alone is bestowed with 

 the gift of beauty, and he may be seen fit- 

 ting about and among the trees on a sum- 

 mer day, his scarlet necktie and shiny black 

 wings betraying his presence. His call is a 

 sharp and clear whistle, sometimes followed 

 by a harsh rattle like the Oriole. His 

 wines are black, under coverts white, his 

 breast is dusty white with a strip of scarlet 

 across his throat, his head is black. 



The colors of the female are plain ; brown 

 on the wings, and dusty white on the breast, 

 but without the red strip across the throat. 



The nest is a fragile structure, composed 

 of roots and straws, and is sometimes lined 

 with hair. The eggs can often be counted 

 from below; they are gent r illy three in 

 number, sometimes four. I have never 

 found more, though I have found many 

 nests in all stages of incubation. The 

 ground color is a light green thickly spotted 

 withbrown.and black, mostly around the 

 larger T d of the egg. They measure from 

 .94x.69 to 1.07 x.77. 



T. S., Clarinda, Iowa. 



