The second paper of the evening was by Dr. L. B. Bishop, 

 and was entitled "Some apparently nndescribed Eggs of 

 North American Birds." [Published in full, at the end of 

 this Abstract.] 



Remarks on the subject of unusual nests followed the 

 paper, and Dr. Bishop placed on record the following obser- 

 vations on the Barred Owl {Syrnium varium) and Bed-shoul- 

 dered Hawk (^Buteo lineatus~) laying in the same nest. 



At a meeting of the Liniisean Society held April 23, 1901, I reported, 

 finding, in company with my brother, Herbert M. Bishop, near New Haven 

 on April 13 of that year, three eggs of the Red-shouldered Hawk and one 

 of the Barred Owl in the same nest, on which the owl was sitting. Incu- 

 bation was begun in the hawk's eggs but that of the owl was fresh. On 

 that day, I saw no Red-shouldered Hawks in these woods, where they have 

 bred for years, and neither hawks nor owls on April 22, though on this date 

 I found the broken shell of an owl's egg lying on the ground about ten feet 

 from the tree. 



On April 1, 1902, 1 found in the same woods a nest containing two eggs of 

 the Red-shouldered Hawk and one of the Barred Owl, with the hawk sitting. 

 Incubation was somewhat advanced in all the eggs. This nest was about 

 300 yds. from that containing the combined set of last year, and at the 

 farther end of the small grove of heavy timber which is all that now 

 remains of a once extensive woodland, where I have in past years found 

 both species breeding in separate nests. Both nests were in large trees 

 without branches of any size below the nests, at an elevation of 41 and 39 

 ft., and as neither tree showed any evidence on the bark of having been 

 climbed, I feel confident that the eggs were laid where I found them. On 

 April 3, I searched this woodland thoroughly, but though I heard the hawks 

 crying could find no trace of the owls. 



My explanation is that the destruction of the surrounding woodland had 

 reduced the available building sites to such an extent that a contest arose 

 between the birds. The owl was probably the aggressor in both instances, 

 as the second nest was undoubtedly built by the hawk, and (though the 

 first nest had been deepened by the owl) that the hawk's eggs were the 

 first laid was proved by their more advanced incubation. 



February 10, 1903, and February 24, 1903. — No quorum 

 present. 



March 10, 1903. — Annual Meeting. The President in 

 the chair. Eleven members and fifteen visitors were present. 



The busuiess part of the meetmg having been postponed 



