TIIK OOLOGIST. 



I:,.', 



T. Surber, W. Vn. ; II. S. Day, 0. ; 



(t. E. McKowen. each 50cts., 1 sub. 



F. Darrow, la.; Mrs. G. F. Ware, Minn., 



each 50cts. 2 sub. 



S. E. Bacon, Pa.; F. L. Bnrrill, Mo., each 



25cts. 1 8ub. 



Prizes 37 to 50 uuawarded. List of 

 contestants exhausted. 



Notes of Interest from S. Car. 



I have read with considerable interest the 

 articles on birds which appear in nearly 

 every issue of the Oologist, and noticed 

 with regret that very few of them were from 

 SO. I have not been unable to account for 

 this as we are certainly not to be excelled in 

 the number and variety of our feathery 

 tribe. 



The most, or one of the most interesting 

 of our birds is the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 

 (Pdkrioptila ccerulea). The P. caerulea is a 

 very domestic little bird, se ldom going far 

 from his home and taking great pride in 

 the construction of his nest, which for 

 beauty defies competition. At at a distance 

 the nest is often mistaken for a knot on 

 the limb of a tree, but upon close observ- 

 ance you see a beautiful little nest lined 

 outside with star shaped lichens and on 

 the inside with horse hair, small fibrous 

 grasses and soft material. The complement 

 of eggs ranges from four -to six, and aver- 

 age .55 x .45, being of a greenish- white 

 color blotched with reddish-brown and 

 slate. 



The soft plaintive notes of these little 

 birds make one feel like a criminal when 

 robbing their nests. The most powerful 

 enemy of the Gnatcatcher is the Blue Jay. 

 It is a common sight to see a Jay perch 

 itself on the nest of the Gnatcatcher and 

 after sucking the eggs or eating the young, 

 as the case may be, pull the nest to pieces 

 with their bill. It is a singular fact that 

 the Logger -head Shrike (Lanius ludovician- 

 us) though subsisting largely upon young 

 and even old birds of the smaller species, 

 seldom attacks the nest of the Gnatcatcher. 

 It might be that the Logger-head is afraid 

 of the Gnatcatcher as they are very plucky 



when aroused, but OH this point I have 

 never been able to determine. The Shrike 

 is a particular enemy of the Yellow-throated 

 Warbler. I have often seen them, though 

 not without a battle v ith the old birds, tear 

 down the tuft of moss in which the nest is 

 always suspended, and devour the contents. 

 In like manner they destroy the nest of the 

 Brown-headed Nuthatch, by pulling down 

 the dead bark which protects the nest. 

 This Nuthatch deserves more than a pass- 

 ing notice, being the smallest of the Nut- 

 hatch family and a very interesting little 

 bird in its way. In walking through a 

 wood in the Fall or Winter one would 

 hardly notice the existence of these little 

 birds, they are so small and shy. But pass 

 through the same woods a few months 

 later when the birds are building, and how 

 different. ; the Pine-land resounds with their 

 noisy chatter, and you may see Mr. and 

 Mrs. Nuthatch flying from, tree to tree or 

 creeping in or out of their hole in the 

 decayed portion of a tree, stump or post. 

 Mr. Davie in his excellent work. "The Key 

 to the Nests and Eggs of N. A. Birds'," 

 describes the eggs of this species as being 

 next in size to a Humming-bird. Now I 

 must beg leave to differ with him, as I 

 have fpund that the eggs of the 

 Gnatcatcher in every instance was smaller. 

 The Nuthatch seldom builds a nest, merely 

 laying a few pine masts in the bottom of the 

 excavation ; on this the eggs are laid, gener- 

 ally from four to six in number of a white 

 color, profusely sprinkled with reddish- 

 brown, so much so as to nearly obscure the 

 ground color. Have you ever heard of 

 pure white eggs of the Blue Bird, exactly 

 the color of a Woodpecker's? I have found 

 them on two different occasions, in the 

 Spring of 1885. 



J. D. F., Charleston, S. C. 



Next month we intend to make some 

 very liberal Premium Offers in order to 

 induce you to subscribe for the Oologist 

 for 1889. We would advise our friends 

 not to. renew their srd)Sciptions until they 

 receive the Dec. issue. 



