THE OOLOGIST. 
51 
June 5. — Before breakfast I luid the good 
fortune to kill n mule AV'hip-poor-will, the 
bor^t pluinaged one it Avas ever my lot to ob- 
tain, • On dif!8eetin«i; it, 1 found in its stoni- 
aeb several common bhick flies, a few eel- 
llies and a large dni*ron-Iike insect tiiat I 
never shav before. One of the bovs pro])OH- 
ed to eat the Wbip-poor-wiU ! '*JuSt to 
.•see how it tastes," said he. 1 told liini he 
Avas at perfect liberty to do so, but finding 
that no one Avould join him in '■'•tryiing it" 
lie concluded to wait till jmotber time. 
It is a beautiful day, mx\ out, and not a 
eUmd in the sky. This is our first day here 
ami the noA-elty is quite cluirming. I shot 
two more Whip-poor-Avills after breakfast 
and skinned both, AYe are sittiated on the 
banks of the Upper Sarauac Lake, in a 
grove of maple trecB. 
June 7. — During the night, we were 
startled by a hoarse, croaking sound, that 
made the boys jump to their feet out of a 
sound slumber, frightening one or two of 
them badly. I might have been scared my- 
self had I not known what it was. It was 
nothing but a Bittern in the marshes a few 
rods from our tent. All Avas quiet again, 
and this morning I Avent out to gather some 
wood for the tire. About a hundred and 
fifty j^ards from the tent 1 discovered a nest 
with four eggs in, but not caring for them 
I Avalked on. Soon my impulse led me to 
the nest again, and somehoAv I kind of lik- 
ed the eggs ; it seemed as if I might make 
a collection of them the same as of skins, 
but come to think after all, it avouM not 
ply here, as T have nothing to put them in 
but a skin case, and T am loth to do thiit. 
They might get broken too ; so T left them. 
Ji///e 8. — Ed. Walker and I, both of iis 
ffist friends wnd brolher (u^llectors, met this 
morning wliile collecting tire-woo<i when h»- 
whispered to nu^ in mysterious tones : ^'Say 
old felloAv, I knoAV something Avorth kuoAV- 
iiig." T did not feel quite like asking liim 
what but 1 did, and he said : I've found 
stnne kind <d'a bird's nest out on the lake 
— right on toj) of the water — and it's got 
three eggs in, beauticvH too. The bird is a 
curious looking tlung. AVill you come Avith 
me and get it?" Uappcning to think of 
my bird's nest, and resolving to make a 
collection anyway, 1 assented very Avarm- 
ly and Ave Avere just abnut to go wlien it had 
to rain all tiie rest of the day, thus putting 
it otf until to-morr(fAv. 
JaiK' 9. — Sam. Blatehford and one or 
two of the boys wjinted me t{> go fishing to 
a creek they found yesterday, but J did not 
care about it and although they maintained 
that tliere were lots of trout in it, I remen\- 
bered Ed.'s f>flf*er to get the mysterifuis bird's 
nest. We took a boat and rowed out a 
mile or so, Avheu we came to a (tlump of 
weeds and long Avater grass, and suppos- 
ing that the nest must be placed in these, 
I bade Ed. roAv Avlnle I prepared to shoot 
the bird as she rose from her nest. The 
bird Ava.s on her nest, but would not fly ofl' 
until we got Avithin a fcAv feet of her, then 
I bangeil and Avounded licr. The liird Avas 
Avorth ten times as much as the eggs to me, 
and someAvhat against Ed.'s Avill, I per- 
snnded him to row out and capture the 
wounded bird before Ave secured tlie eggs. 
I kncAv not Avhat it Avas ; neither did my 
friend and we puzzled our heads a good 
deal over it. The egg^are a little larger 
than a dove's egg, light broAvnish, and spot- 
ted and sprinkled AA-ith black spots. Tlu^ 
nest i^ made of rushes. It was built almost 
right on the water betAveen a fcAV weeds.* 
We took our prize and Avent home, at least 
to otu" camp, and told the other felloAvs 
what Ave had obtained. Tlujy asked ns 
what it was and when we said lhat we 
couldn't say other than it Avas al»ird. they 
laughed and asked us what good a bird Avas 
without any name. I said that Avhen we 
returned home I'd find out quick euongli. 
(TO BE CONTlNrEU.) 
^* Lahur omnia mnrit!" Imprctvement. 
*We found out Avhen we retui-ne*l from onf- 
expedition that it Avas nothing more than a 
Coot, sonn'times called a Mud-lien." It A\as 
singular I did not recognize the bird before 
froiii book descriptions but the experience I 
i had then aaiis snniil, and J did not kaoAv half 
' of even the commoner si)ecies. 
