1 
THE OOLOGIST. 
83 
The spots, as n (general tliin^., nro colU'ctcd 
about tin* hir^cr cimI ; the c;^^ is pyrifonu 
i;i sliape, tlu)n;i;li not so uuicli so as tliose. 
of the Santlpipor taiuily. Si/.e 2 by l.io. 
f}iiQ. Hn^ftoniau Curleiv. 
'Vhvrv. lias ln'oii so littlci wrltloii <*oiiconi- 
iii}^ tliis \nv(\ lliat a convct (K'scriptjoii of 
its i^ir^rs is inipossibV, but tlie}' uro so siiu- 
Ilav in inni'kinjrs to the last, that thoy oau- 
iMit bi* (lisliu;rnishotl, except in size, these 
hoin<r Iriim 1.(10 inehes in breadth to i?.12 
and I'.^JO in hni.irt!i. Bird is very rare. 
r>iy. LniHj-hiflcd Curlew, 
This is the most etminum of* the faniiiy, 
beinir lonnd in most parls ot' the United 
States. It breeds on the jmiiries of ^Jliu- 
nt\sota and Dakota, sontli nearly to Mexi- 
eo, extendin^if thnarj^h tlieintervciiinjrStatoH. 
K»rgs are of a eUiy eohjr, more or h'SH o!iv- 
ace<nis in some instances, in otiiers deeided- 
ly «if' a bnir shade. This is covered witii 
ypots of small sizi', tliough ia some eases 
tliev attain t!ie diirnity of blotches. They 
Rre >vell distributed, but ai'e often tliiekest 
about the lar;re cud. 
Markin;j;s an? of routmsted shades of um- 
ber, chocolate, cituianion and the tints. 
Eji:;rs measure from 1.90 by 2.80, to 1 .85 
by '2Ai) im-hes, which shows the liability 
to variiition in dift'crcnt specimens. 
487. (rrvnt Blue Heron. i 
This bird is widely distributed over the ^ 
(greater part of the United States. It lays 
tiireo or five eggs, of a dtdl greenish blue 
eolor, rough shell ami without any mark- 
ings whatever. They measure, as a gen- 
era! thing, about 1 .50 inches in breadth by 
2.50 inches in length. Nest is generally 
placed in trees ; ol'ten on the ground r.mid 
rushes. Breed in uumerous localities, and 
At seasons corresponding to iVie latitude of 
the location \^For furfher deftcripfion, see ' 
Jan. No. paga 78.]. 
The eggs of the other Herons arc similar ; 
to those of this bird, aud as a usual thing 
the nests are the same, the only variance ; 
in the eggs bcitig \n size au<l perhaps shape, 
and in the case of 493 (Greou Heron) the 
egg is more of a hlimh gi-em than a green" 
Lsh blue. 
TO BE CONTINUED, 
THE SEASON OF 75. 
J. M. W. 
TxS south*;rn Connecticut the <:o!lecting 
; season of '75 was an (ixccptionally good 
; one. Many birds, resident iu Mass. and 
liiorlhwanl, waiting for the hard winter to 
j break away. paire{l and bred some hundred 
miles south of their usual haunts. For ia- 
! stance, it is unusual all summer long to see 
I more than two or three Cuckoos luire, hut 
I last seasfm, in one day's tramp near Nor- 
wich, New London County, I found eight 
pairs of Black-billed Cuckoos breeding. 
Again, many of the binls of prey, wood- 
peckers and early-building thi'ushes and 
sparrows, afraid of the lingering snow and 
frosts, delayed nesting until the arrival i>f 
th.c warblers, swallows and other summer 
birds, when, as if by common consent, they 
all lu'ed harmoniously together. 
Apropos of this, a few miles from here, 
there is a swamj) of not nu)re than two a- 
cres. Almost circular iu shape, it lies like 
a bcautiiul green oasis, on a long range of 
upland i)astures. The centre is a compar- 
atively open glad(^ girdled by a thick belt 
of alders, white birch and high blueberry 
bushes. Here, on the thirtl of .huie, were 
breeding eighteen varieties of birds, and of 
some species many rcpreseutiitives. On 
either side of the patch were u jmir of Bl'k 
billed Cuckoos, with respectively two and 
three eggs. In the rusl^'s a Marsh Hawk 
sat upon five eggs. Not half a stone's thmw 
to the right <»f tin; Ilan-ier, were numerous 
nests of the three (^ouuuoner sorts of Thnufh; 
Robins, Catbirds and Thrashers, with a sol- 
itary Song Thrush, and only just across the 
marsh were nestin^x a connnunity of some 
fortypairs of Red-winged Starlings. VV' hen- 
ever the Marsh Hawk woidd leave its nest 
three or ft)ur sentinel Ucd-wiugs would 
pounce upon it and chase it around. 
CONCLUDED IK OUU NEXT, 
