THE OOLOGIST. 



159 



ing season, is indescribably sweet and pa- 

 thetic, and is often beard just after sunset. 

 Its nest has been a subject of controversy 

 among Ornithologists, some saying it nests 

 in trees, and others on the ground. Accor- 

 ding to my experience its nesting is variable, 

 as I have found several nests in low fir and 

 spruce trees from one to three feet from the 

 ground. Its usual nesting place however, 

 js on the ground, sometimes at the foot of a 

 small tree or bush, which serves to partially 

 conceal it. It is a bulky nest, made of dried 

 weeds, grasses and bark, with a lining of 

 liner material, often the leaves of the white 

 pine, sometimes a little hair. It is usually 

 sunk into the ground to its brim, and placed 

 in some secluded spot where it is hard to 

 find except by accident, although I have 

 found it on the side of the road, within a 

 few feet of where teams were frequently 

 passing. Its eggs, usually three or four, 

 rarely five, are of a light bluish green, and 

 measure from .85 to .95 inches in length, by 

 . 60 to . 65 in breadth. A set of four meas- 

 ure 85x65, 85x67, 85x67, 84x63. They are 

 not distinguishable from the Willson's 

 Thrush with certainty, but are usually a lit- 

 tle larger and of a lighter bluish-green. 

 The bird utters a i^kuntive cry of two sylla- 

 bles when driven from the nest, at other 

 times it has an alarm note or breeding call 

 sounding like whree-u with the accent on the 

 first syllable. The Hermit begins to depart 

 in September, but all are not gone till No- 

 vember. 



J. T. P., South Paris, Me. 



coming day. 



For three successive years they reared 

 their young unmolested. Oil the fourth 

 year a pair of Robins built in a tree close to 

 the house, and when the Wrens came back 

 to their old home they were immediately 

 driven off. Later on a pair of Bluebirds 

 took possession of the Wren's nest and rais- 

 ed their young unmolested by the Robins. 



Probably the reason for this is, that the 

 Bluebird js more quiet and "less on the 

 fight" than the sprightly, noisy little Wien, 

 and can get along better with its neighbors. 



The House Wren like the English Spar- 

 row, is not very particular about its nesting 

 place. Any hole or nook in a building or 

 fence post, a can placed in a tree, or a bird 

 box will answer his purpose. I once read of 

 one building in the pocket of an old coat 

 hanging away in a barn. 



A peculiarity of this small bird is. its hav- 

 ing such a large bulky nest. It is compos- 

 ed of course sticks, grass, etc., and lined 

 with hair and feathers. 



Their eggs are from five to nine, generally 

 six or seven and are nearly covered with a 

 reddish brown dots. 



C. T. H., San Jose. Cala. 



Another Water Blower. 



Western House Wren. 



I notice very little has been said through 

 the columns of the Oologist of the West- 

 ern House Wrens. For three years a pair of 

 these birds built their nest in the cornice 

 work of a house next to ours. So I had 

 abundant opportunity to note its habits. 



This lively little fellow is one of our sweet- 

 est songsters. As the sun was coming up 

 every morning we could see him perched on 

 the topmost point of the house, pouring 

 forth his sweet song — joyously hailing the 



After reading the article on blowpipes in 

 the March number of the Oologist. 1 

 thought I would experiment in the con- 

 struction of a water blower. I think all who 

 try my method will like it a great deal better 

 than the one described, being simpler and 

 less expensive, as all the materials are very 

 easily procured, make a plug to fit the spout 

 of any pump, cork is the best, insert a small 

 tube or quill in the center of the cork, and 

 plug up all other places in the pump where 

 water might escape, drill a hole in the egg 

 and hold the same as when using the blow- 

 pipe, pump slewly letting the water flow 

 into the egg, it will soon be well rinsed, you 

 can make several plugs, having quills to fit 

 different size eggs, using tiny bird quills for 

 the small eggs and so on up to the size of a 

 goose quill, Try it and be convinced of its 

 simplicity. 



K. B. M. , Clarendon, N. Y. 



