92 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Notes on Birds of Beaver, Pa. , 



Taken in the winter of 1887 and part of 

 1888. 



1887, Dec. 28, observed a large flock of 

 American Goldfinches, two Blue birds, and 

 a flock of Tree Sparrows. 



Dec. 31, shot a Blue bird to-day which 

 was in company with two others. 



1888, Jan. 4, observed a Yellow-bellied 

 Woodpecker, and shot an American Gold- 

 finch in its winter plumage. 



Jan. 5, saw one Buffed Grouse, two 



Cooper's Hawks, three flocks of American 



Goldfinches which were feeding in a field. 



Jan. 14, nothing seen to-day but several 



Cardinal Grosbeaks. 



Jan. 17, shot a specimen of the Tree 

 Sparrow to-day. 



Jan. 21, shot a small bird which was run- 

 ning up a tree much in the manner of a 

 Woodpecker, and when identified proved 

 to be a Brown Creeper. 



Jan. 29, birds seen to-day are Hairy 

 Woodpeckers, Song Sparrows and Snow- 

 birds. 



Jan. 31, observed a flock of Bobwhites 

 (American Quail), Yellow-bellied Wood- 

 pecker, and several Bluebirds and White- 

 bellied Nuthatches. 



Feb. 3, saw a Sparrow Hawk which was 

 seated on a tree iu a field, probably in 

 search of field mice. 



Feb. 5, took a short walk and observed 

 one Sparrow Hawk. 



Feb. 11, observed two Mourning Doves, 

 one Meadow Lark, three Blue-Jays and one 

 Red-tailed Hawk. 



Feb. 14, Observed the first Cedar Wax- 

 wing that I have seen this winter. 



Feb. 17, two flocks of Crows arrived from 

 the south to-day. 



Feb. 18, Crows and Robins are the arriv- 

 als to-day. 



Feb. 22, noted the arrivals of the follow- 

 ing birds : Bluebirds, Song Sparrows, Pur- 

 ple Grackles, and observed a flock of Bob 

 White (American Quail). 



Feb. 25, observed nothing to-day but 

 one Yellow-shafted Flicker. 

 March 2, a flock of Canada Geese arrived 



from the soutn, flying in a triangular form, 

 and kept flying northward. 



March 3, several very large flocks of 

 Crows arrived from the south. 



March 9, observed one Yellow-bellied 

 Woodpecker, one Yellow-shafted Flicker, 

 and one Purple Grackle. 



H. H. W., 



Beaver, Pa. 



Preparations for Collecting Eggs. 



As the collecting season has now arrived, 

 I will try and give the readers of the 

 Oolochst a few hints regarding the collect- 

 ing of birds' eggs. First of all, he shonld 

 be always on the lookout for nests that aie 

 not familiar to him. It is better to go on a 

 collecting trip alone, for when you have a 

 good many friends with you, Ihey are apt 

 to make so much noise aB to frighten the 

 bird from her nest, before you can get nefir 

 enough to tell from where it flew. A good 

 many birds (such as the Grass Finch, etc.,) 

 escape from their nest by running along 

 the ground and pretending that they have a 

 broken wing, while others will remain on 

 their nest until you have nearly stepped on 

 them. The collector should be always on 

 the lookout for such occurrences aud never 

 pay any heed to them, but look and see if 

 you can find her nest at once. A collecting 

 box should always be taken to pack the eggs 

 in. I always carry two boxes with me; one 

 for packing the delicate eggs in, and the 

 other for packing those that are harder 

 shelled. If you are in the woods and find 

 a hawk's or owl's nest, in a tree too large to 

 be climbed without danger, you can climb 

 a tree near this one &nd see if there are eggs 

 in it ; in such a case a fishing pole about 12 

 feet long with a net about 5 inches in di- 

 ameter, by 5 inches in depth, fastened at 

 the smallest end of the pole is neccessary. 

 With this net you can scoop the eggs, one 

 by one, out of the nest, place them in your 

 packing box and take them to the ground. 

 Hoping this will help the readers of the 

 Oologist, I remain, Yours very truly, 



G. H. R., Detroit, Mich. 



