24 



THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



throat, which on the under side is quite 

 tender. He draws back, his temper begin- 

 ing to rouse under the wounds of cacti 

 and racket of the birds. He tries to get 

 out one, two, three, four times. Each 

 painful failure sees his rage increase. 

 His eyes become flame, his head flattens, 

 and dirty spots of dingy white occur on 

 his body. At last, foiled and wild with 

 rage, he strikes his poison-flowing fangs 

 into himself. Soon after he dies, while 

 the fiendish road-runndrs shout their 

 satisfaction. They remain until the 

 rattlesnake is quite dead, and then depart 

 arm in arm as it were talking it over in 

 a light exultant way. 



Anhfmga. 



Snake Bird is a name commonly given 

 to it by the English in North America on 

 account of its long slender neck, its body 

 being under water its neck has the ap- 

 pear ence of a snake rising erect out of 

 the water as its swims. By some called 

 th e Darter i ts h abits resemble Com oran ts, 

 but neck, more slender and bill sharply 

 pointed. 



The Snake bird frequents large rivers 

 or back waters and may be seen resting 

 motionless on some dead branch or snag, 

 whence it plunges beneath the surface, in 

 pursuit of fish, showing little more than 

 its slender head and neck. 



The nest is almost always in trees or 

 bushes overhanging the waters edge 

 made of sticks roots and moss, in which 

 are laid 4 eggs and there is a. very dis- 

 tingusih able difference between the species 

 of the New World and the Old, but in all 

 the species the Neck, affords, the most re- 

 markable and unique feature. 



Description of the JYests and 



Eggs of the Birds of Barnstable 



Co.. Mass. 



364. American Osprey, (425.) 

 Pantion haliaetus carolinensis. 

 This bird is quite a common resident, 

 here. I have observed several lately. I 

 have never found a nest hereabouts, but 

 there is every reason to believe that it 

 does breed near here. 



The nest is generally placed in trees, 

 but they have been found on the ground, 

 and are often placed in tall shrubs. The 

 usual number of eggs is three, sometimes 

 not more than two. The eggs present a 

 wonderfull variation in shape, size and 

 markings. The ground color is generally 

 a yellowish white, spotted and streaked 

 more or less. thickly with dark brown and 

 amber. The size varies from 2.04x1.64 

 to 2.55x185. The average size however 

 is 2.40x173. 



366. American Long-eared Owl. 



Asio WiJsonianvs, (395.) 

 This nocturual bird is a resident of 

 temperate North America at large : Its 

 nocturual habits prevent its being obser- 

 ved frequently, even when it is most com- 

 mon. It feeds chiefly upon mice, etc. The 

 nest is placed in various positions, such 

 as hollow trees, stumps, old crows nests, 

 crevices in rocks, etc. 



The same nest is used for many years. 

 The eggs are from three to seven in num- 

 ber and measure about 1.62x1.40. 



367. Short-eared Owl. 



Asio accipitrinus. (396.) 

 This common owl is found all over N. 

 A. in larger or smaller numbers, as it is 

 found around marshes and thickets it 

 gets the name of ''Marsh Owl." It is not 

 as nocturual in its habits as some of the 

 other members of its family. It of course 

 hunts its food at nights, but it also is 

 seen on dark or cloudy days scaling over 

 the meadows and marshes in pursuit of 

 field moles, mice and other small rodents. 

 The nest is made on the ground and is 

 generally placed beside a log. The egge 

 range from three to seven in number/but 

 the usual number is five. They measure 

 about 1.52x1.20 and are a dirty white 

 in color. C. C. Purdum. 



