104 



THE OOLOGIST. 



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small tree nervously working to the 

 top branches and chipping. I had a 

 very good view of her and saw at once 

 that she was a Slate-colored Junco 

 (Junco hyemalis) but to be sure I went 

 back up the gully a short distance and 

 she soon went back on the nest. 



Approaching cautiously I had a very 

 good view of her for about a minute 

 when she left the nest again. 



The nest was situated on and among 

 the exposed roots of a tree and under 

 the overhanging bank about 4 feet 

 from the bottom of the gully. It was 

 composed of dead leaves and grass 

 lined with dead grass. The materials 

 and structure of the nest were much 

 like a nest of the Song Sparrow though 

 the location was more like a Louisiana 

 Water Thrush. 



The eggs were four in number with a 

 greenish ground color sparsely spotted 

 with reddish brown. They reminded 

 me somewhat of the Field Spaarow's 

 eggs in color and markings but were 

 much larger. Incubation was advanced 

 and I left them in the nest. This is 

 the first authentic record of this Junco 

 nesting in Yates County, though Mr. 

 C. F. Stone and I have before this 

 seen them here in June which would 

 seem to be good evidence that they do 

 so. Verdi Burtch, 



Branchport, N. Y. 



Since receiving this I have seen a set of 4 

 very pretty eggs of this bird in the collection 

 of Mr. C. N. Davis taken this spring a few 

 miles from Branchport. They were found 

 in a sod field in hollow in the soil. The bird 

 is never very particular about situations for 

 nesting. They are not rare in the hills of 

 Chautauqua, Alleghany and Steuben coun- 

 ties, N. Y„ and doubtless occur regularly in 

 Yates- -Ed. 



Suggestions. 



Will not the editor who has already 

 effected such a marked improvement 

 in the Oologist raise a protest against 

 the wanton destruction of birds in 

 nesting time. Suppose the collector 

 who flushed a Woodcock off her nest 



and killed her had found instead of 

 eggs four young birds dead with cold 

 and hunger would not it have marred 

 the pleasure of the collecting trip. 

 Contrast this with J. Warren Jacob's 

 statement in his excellent treatise on 

 Golden-winged Warbler that he never 

 found it necessary to take the life of a 

 bird to pursue his investigations and 

 yet he has given us a life history sel- 

 dom excelled. 



And if Mr. Honecker had removed 

 the full clutch of Spotted Sandpiper in- 

 stead of leaving the parent to incubate 

 a misfit of 3 the possibilities are that 

 in a few days the old bird would have 

 had another full set of 4 and one more 

 young Actitis Macularia been spared 

 to the world as well as three more eggs 

 to a scientific collection. 



A. E. Price. 



Moth Proof Cabinets. 



So many owners of collections are 

 constantly fighting moth and dermest- 

 es pests that it might be of interest to 

 note that neither will enter a box built 

 of cedar. This was a well known fact 

 to our grandparents, for in the olden 

 houses remaining today we always 

 find the cedar closet for hanging the 

 furs and woolen clothing in, and the 

 cedar chest for blankets. 



Build your next cabinet put of cedar 

 and watch the result. 



Henry B, Kaeding. 



A Robin's Nest. 

 On June 23, 1902, I found a Robin's 

 nest made completely of binder twine, 

 no mud at all used in the construction 

 of the nest. It was in a maple tree 

 twelve feet from the ground. It was 

 lined with fine grass. There was 

 plenty of mud during the month. 

 O. H. Pease, 

 Hope, 

 Kan. 



