24 



THE SUNNY SOUTH OOLOQIST. 



my friend began to climb the tree, 

 and when about half way up, a large 

 yellowish-brown bird flew sluggishly 

 off the nest, and I could see it was an 

 owl, but what kind I was uncertain . 

 When he reached the nest and shouted 

 down there were 5 eggs in it, I was 

 so excited that I went up and helped 

 him down with them, although there 

 was no need of it. They were of a 

 clear white, and almost globular in 

 form, and measured about 1.60 x 1.40 

 inches. We imagined them to be all 

 kinds of owls, and were very anxious 

 to find out what they were . 



We hunted around now until noon 

 and then sat down by a spring and 

 ate our dinner, which we had brought 

 with us. After a little "lounge" in 

 the sun after our meal, we started out 

 again, and by 3 o'clock p. m., 

 had found nothing but last year's 

 nests. About 3:30 we came to an- 

 other tammerac swamp, and in the 

 center there was an old marsh hawk's 

 nest I was acquainted with, and we 

 made for it, thinking there might be 

 an owl's nest in it, and you m^iy im- 

 agine m}'^ delight at seeing the same 

 kind of horns sticking up in the cen- 

 ter. This nest was only about 7 feet 

 from the ground, and as soon as I 

 kicked the tree the owl flew off and 

 lit on a limb close b}^, and I identified 

 her as being a long eared owl. I re- 

 gretted that I did not have my gun 

 with me, or I would have had her 

 this day all mounted. I climbed the 

 tree, and in the nest found four more 

 eggs just like those in the first nest, 

 and now our minds were lightened. 



As it was getting time to be going 

 home, we started, and on arriving, 

 blew our eggs and found them to be 

 fresh ; and one of the sets now glow 

 in the collection of the editor of this 

 paper. 



I have found several sets besides 

 this, and know of others being found 

 around here, and they invariably oc- 

 cupy other birds' nests. 



Geo. G. Cantwell, 

 Minneapolis, Minn. 



The Road-runner ; Chaparral 



Cock. 



(geococcyx californtanus). 



For the Sunny South Oologist : 



This species (which may be de- 

 scribed as a rather long tail with a 

 small bird on the "for'ard" end of it) 

 occurs rarely in this locality. Orni- 

 thologists generally give the number 

 of eggs in a set as "6 to 9." I had 

 previously taken several sets, contain- 

 ing from two to four eggs; and finding 

 a nest with two eggs on May 8th, 1885, 

 I concluded to give the bird a chance 

 to fill out the set. The nest was 

 placed in the bushy top of a small 

 black-jack oak, about twelve feet from 

 the ground. It was a bulky structure 

 16 inches in diameter, 5 inches in 

 depth, and nearly flat on the top — not 

 more than an inch deep, built of large 

 sticks, twigs, and weeds in the lining. 

 I visited the nest on the 9th and 10th, 

 and although the bird was "tu hum" 

 every time, the set had not incrensed 

 an}^ in number. Durng the 11th, 

 12th and ]3th, three more eggs were 

 added to the set, making five in all. 

 I waited until the 19th, when, as no 

 more eggs were laid, I took the nest, 

 shooting thefemnle. On dissection I 

 found that within the next two or 

 three days two more eggs would have 

 been added to the set. Incubation 

 was about one-half advanced in two 

 of the eggs. The question is, can I 

 call this a full set ? The female when 

 flushed from tlie nest would fly to the 

 ground, and all to be seen of her after- 

 wards was a streak. They are famous 

 runners, and it takes a fast "pony" to 

 overtake them. 



J. A. Sing LEY, 



Giddings, Texas. 



• ♦ • 



The Chinese pheasants turned 

 loose in Oregon some time since have 

 interbred with the native grouse, and 

 a new game bird with the head of a 

 pheasant and wing and tail featheis 

 of a grouse is the result. 



