THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



lined wilh dry leaven and dead ferasj 

 placed beside a log or under a brush 

 pap, and can hardly ever be seen at a 

 few feel distance. The bird is uol easily 

 flustered after she has commenced to sit, 

 |nd will often allow you to walk within 

 ii few feet of her and then you can watch 

 fcr at your pleasure. She will raise and 

 Impress her plumed crest continually, and 

 .* is indeed a, pretty picture. 



The eggs resemble in shape those ofthe 

 lob-white being pointed at one end but 

 ire much larger. In color they resemble 

 pose of the Or., Ruffed Grouse, except 

 ping of a little deeper redish tinge. 



The number laid is from (; to 12 al- 

 though as high as 22 have been found 

 in a single nest, I do not believe that j 

 two birds use the same nest in depositing 

 their eggs. 



I have one set of 0, one of 8 and one I 

 bf 12. 



P. B. Peabody has a set of 6 collected | 

 >.V myself. All were collected in Lime 

 'O., Oregon, in the cascade range of | 

 nountains. 



This bird has a call note similar to Bob- ! 

 Kite, but it is moreofawhistleingsound j 

 nth full accent on the first note. 



It generally does not breed below an 

 levation of 3000 to 4000 feet. 



Ph. A. G. Prill. 



Some of our Winter Birds. 

 The Paridae. 



Mr. Moore gives the extent of birds 

 ges to be as follows. 



Swans, Parrots and Ravens, 200 years. 

 lagle, 100. Geese, 80. Hens and Pig- 

 Mis, 10 to 16. Hawks, 30 to 40. Crane, 

 i. Blackbird, 10 to 12. Peacock, 2o! 

 elican, 40 to 50. Thrush, 8 to 10- 

 fren, 2 to 3. Nightingale, 15. Black- 

 *P, 15. Linnet, 14 to 23. Goldfinch, 

 to 24. Redbreast, 10 to 12. Sky- 

 irk, 10 to 30. Titlark, 5 to 6. Chaf- 

 nch, 20 to 24. Starling, 10 to 20. 



I For The Collectors' Monthly.) 

 <>ur common residenl of this family is 

 ,1m ' Black Capped Chickadee, whicl/at- 

 tracks attention throughout the winter 

 by its Raucy cry of pe-wee. Tbisbird.like 

 all the representatives of this Family 

 builds its nesl in a hole. The nest i.~ uever 

 more than fifteen feel From the ground; 

 and is composed of moss, softly lined with 

 "air or rabbits Uw. and occasionally a 

 few feathers. The eggs, which arc from 

 t() "r to nine in number, arc white. 

 blotched with reddish brown and lilac 

 find about .<i<)x.4< in size. The chickadee 

 ! is a vfvy bold bird, frequently building 

 ] ,s n< ?s1 near a I se, and in this particu- 

 lar is quite different from another resi- 

 dent, the Tufted Til mouse. 



Hie latter is found along the timber- 

 belts, usually building its nest a1 a dis- 

 tance from the ground, laying from five 

 to eight white egtcs, sparingly blotched 

 with red and purple: .75x.53. This lard 

 ' is one of the first harbingers of spring; 

 their somewhat shrill notes making the 

 woods fairly ring in the early spring. 



Our third and last resident of the Pari- 

 dae, is the While Breasted Nuthatch, 

 which was formerly rare in this locality. 

 but is now becomming quite common. 

 They lay from five to eight white 

 (which have a pink hue, below being 

 brown,) blotched and splashed with red 

 and purple. What a pecular bird it is: 

 With a manner in which is blended the 

 boldness of the Chickadee with the shyness 

 of the Titmouse, the Nuthatch neither 

 defies man nor seeks to avoid him. His 

 first cousin S. Canadensis, is a winter res- 

 ident ■ here, and is by far the most inter- 

 esting of all the family. He posseses all 

 the sauciness of the Chickadee, with a 

 good deal ofimpudencecombined; allow- 

 ing one to approach within a few feet of 

 him, when suddenly with a "cheet* "cheet" 

 and a saucy jerk of his tail, he is off! 



Several winters ago I spent some time 

 experimenting with these birds. There 

 was one, especially that was very tame: 

 and I determined to catch this one. 1 did 

 catch it; but immediately let it go, to see 

 if it would come back to the trap. In less 

 than five minutes, I had it again; and 

 this time I kept it. It grew very tame, 



