
NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 47 
Te q If ne ; 3 + + 
souri. T y g I Fort Harker, away among the 

1 q hill 

Riv 
Although n if a sci ientific section of = Unk were now to be made, it might Senses about 
ur-score annual circles, yet I am happ: ‘ar to do 
their duty, and the sap vessels to transmit hele. Sonim _And I confidently enor : that on no 


J 
I am, gentlemen, with th test 
5 + 3 

JACOB BIGELOW. 

ZOOLOGY. 
HE BreEENnING Hapits oF Brrps.—I notice in the November num- 
ber of the NATURALIST an article from Mr. Fowler, in which are given 
some interesting facts in relation to the breeding habits of several of 
our birds, but which are, as Mr. Fowler says, so uttefly at variance 
with the accounts given of these bird’s habits in my recent book, that 
I Ie tréspass on your limits for an explanation, and reiteration 
of some of my remarks. In the work referred to, I describe the King- 
fisher’s gates as being placed in holes excavated in sand-banks, to the 
depth of three, four, sometimes six or eight feet. 
The holes found by Mr. Fowler were less than three feet in length, 
and none of them contained any nest materials whatever. Here Mr 
Fowler’s experience is entirely different from my ow ong of numbers 
of these holes that I have dug out, many of them were beyond four feet 
their loose nests composed of straws, sticks, and a few feathers, and I 
should be surprised me meet with the eggs laid on the cold damp earth, 
such as would be at the bottom of such deep excavations. I find, on re- 
oe to the various korn ote that nearly all had similar experiences with 
pares says, ‘‘The hole is dug to the depth of four, five, or some- 
times six feet; at the farther end, on a few sticks and feathers, the 
eggs are deposited.” 
ilson says, ‘‘The hole is dug, sometimes to the extent of aa or five 
feet. the nest is constructed of loose grass and a few feat 
Nuttall says, ‘‘The bank is horizontally perforated, to the PER of five 
or six feet. Here, on a few twigs, grass, and feathers, the eggs are de- 
A. ” 
Dr. Thompson, in “Birds of Vermont,” says, ‘‘ The perforations some- 
times extend five or six feet into the bank. The nest consists of twigs, 
grass, and feathers.” 
In describing the breeding place of the Red or Mottled Owl, in my 
work, I use the following language: “The Mottled Owl selects for a 
nesting-place a hollow tree, often in the orchard. The nest is made at 
the bottom of = hollow, and is constructed of grass, leaves, moss, and 
sometimes a few feathers. It is not eluborately made, being nothing 
more than a heap of soft materials.” 
