40 



THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



ings vary greatly, and some of the eggs would 

 be readily mistaken for the last species. 

 Average measurement 2. ioxi. 68. 



C. C. Purdum. 

 (To be Continued.) 



The bob-white. 



Ortyx Virgi7iiana. 

 The bob-white is an all the time inhabitant 

 with us. I have noticed him sitting on a 

 stump for an houi at a time echoing his plain- 

 tive bob-white at short intervals. While 

 out collecting this year I found a nest con- 

 taining 14 eggs. When I came up the old 

 bird flew off but lit on an old stump about 

 150 yards distant. Then she sat for full half 

 an hour. After I had obtained the eggs I hid 

 myself securely and awaited her return in 

 about 30 minutes she flew back and alighted 

 on the ground near her nest, after preening 

 about for some time she took a sudden de- 

 parture. Her nest was made of grass, weeds 

 and some dead leaves and was situated under 

 a large bunch of grass near an old chestnut 

 stump. When blown the eggs proved to be 

 perfectly fresh and measured as follows ; 5 

 measured 1.21x91 — 5 measured 1. 20x89 the 

 other four, 1.22x91 — 1.21x90 — 1.21x92 — 1.22 

 X90. Ernest E. Lee. 



Covington, Ga. 



South may differ from those farther North' 

 but I have never been in a locality where they 

 committed such depredations as he speaks 

 of, and have never met any one who knew of 

 such. I have works from different authors, 

 but none speak of the Buzzards ever taking 

 life. 



The gentleman seems to have been a close 

 observer of the birds habits long before I had 

 my eyes open, and I think we will all accept 

 his truths gladly. No doubt, Mr. Atkinson 

 could give us a very interesting account of 

 their depedations among stock, etc. I have 

 taken a set of Black Vulture eggs as far North 

 as this on March 16th. 



C. E. Pleas 



The Reprimand. 



(For the Collectors Monthly.) 

 Dear reader : — A controversy is not the 

 thing to appear in a paper like this, yet, we 

 all wish to be understood as we say and mean. 

 In the June and July No. of this paper Mr. 

 Atkinson, Dime Box, Tex., takes exceptions 

 to my article in the Ftb. No. because I stat- 

 ed only what I knew to be simple facts, that 

 I had no authentic record of the Turkey, 

 Buzzard ever attacking a living being. Please 

 do not think I "go toarues" at being told of 

 a mistake. If I am wrong I always want to 

 know it, but I left plenty of room for the 

 gentleman to send in his experience without 

 misconstruing the meaning of any remarks. 

 I know not how the habits of the birds in the 



Breeding: of Yellow Legs in 

 Monroe Co. IV. Y. 



A. O. U. (255.) Often called water plover 

 o Yellow-legged plover. This bird is a rath- 

 er common spring migrant here, and about 

 the 20th of May can be found near almost 

 any small pond. While on the wing I have 

 often heard it called Golden plover, but its 

 peculiar cry will always identify it. It is a 

 very rare breeder here and I have not yet 

 found its nest with eggs. On about the 20th 

 of July 1888 I found a female and 4 young 

 birds. I was riding along a much travelled 

 road at the time, and, on seeing the old bird 

 fluttering along I got off of my wagon and 

 hunted out the little ones which were only a 

 few days old, and very pretty. They looked 

 some like young woodcocks, but were lighter 

 colored, and of coarse with smaller beaks. 

 When I got the young birds, the old one be- 

 came almost fearless coming right under my 

 feet fluttering along as though badly hurt, 

 and uttering a plaintive twitter some like the 

 Spotted sandpiper only louder. The young 

 wonld once in a while utter a low peep. The 

 place where I found them was quite a dis- 

 tance from any woter course but close to a 

 rather wet swamp. Last summer (1890) there 

 was a male of this specie which feed every day 

 in a meadow near here, through the months 

 of July and Angust, generally near sunset. 

 I do not think there need be any doubt but 

 that its mate had a nest near here. These 

 are the only instances I know of and think 

 they are quite rare here. 



Ernest H. Short, 

 Chili, Monroe, Co., N. Y. 



