46 
THEbOLOGIST. 
A SIMULAR AFrEOTIOJf. 
An iusUmce of'extniordiuarv affection, if 
it niiiy HO be t<?rnied, was wituessed a short 
lime since, near tlic precincts of this citv. 
;ind one that is of sufficient iniportauce to 
»'Xcite the iiuiuiry of our scicntiHc collectors. 
The facts of the ineitUfnt are as follows ; 
A female Golden-winged A\'oodpecker, 
was observed flyin;^ to and from the foot of 
an apple-tree on the premises of a yoim^r 
man very often, an act which at once a*^ 
roused his curiosity. On visitin«r the place 
lie discovered a dead bird, by the side of 
which were two white e*rtrs. in all probabil- ' 
ily deposited by tiie mate to the dead oni-. 1 
This did not appear very strange at first, 
but. upon handiini^ the en;gs, it Was found 
that they were still warm, having but Just 
l»'eu laid. The following day, he visited 
the tree a second time, this time stealthily 
appnmcliing, so as, if possible, to (tbtain 
a view of the bird, whom lie found sitting 
beside the now^ putrefied remains of the dead 
woodpecker. Avben, on tlusliing la-r anoth- 
er egg was found. From the locality ap- 
pellation. ^'Yellow-hammer," we conceived 
that it might be the Golden-winged Wood- 
pecker, which it turned out to be. 
This account is vouchsafed for by the 
best authority — who are acquainted with 
the details — as perfectly correct, and, if so, 
the case is one of an extremely interesting 
character, and which serves to" illustrate the 
peculiar affection that exists among our 
feathered friends. ^ 
nest is lined with coVv-hair, borae-bair, down, 
grasses, pig-bristles, &c., chiefly however, 
pig's bristles and hijrse-bair. 
It takes about fifteen <lays to ronstnicl 
the nest. Tlu-y sometimes build in tliesanii- 
tree whicli they occupied the year before, 
and T have known it to lay in the same 
■nest. It is not particular what kiiul of a 
tree it builds in nor at what height. I have 
found thenj in hickory, pear, apple, chest- 
nut, buttonwood and willow tr(M\s, and 
from 2(» to 4t) feet high. It lays 4 or i> 
eggs, the ground color being pure white, 
.spotted and streaked with markings of brown 
I and black. The average size is M-2 by .70 
lot an inch. I have known the same pair 
to build tliree dilK-rent times near the sani'^ 
plare. the nest having been taken »Nich time. 
Tile nests are ililficult to obtain, lu-ing plac- 
ed at the ends of the liudis. and the limb 
has generally to be cut *tfl' to obtain it or 
the eggs. If you should chance to cut it ort' 
bel'ore the bird has laid, if there is another 
limb near by, you may tie the nest tt> it, 
and tlie bird will not leave it. Its food is 
chiefly caterpillars and insects, whicli they 
destroy in great numbers. Early in the fall 
they migrate to the south. C. M. F. 
ITEMS, 
THE BALTIMOEE ORIOLE. 
Tins specii's is abmnla-il in most of the 
Mi(hll(' States. It arrives from the south 
ah. ut the Krst we» k i<i May' and in the lat- 
ter part of that month (Munnnnices Uuihliug 
ilM uesl, "by rasti^tiiug securely, conloranv 
artilicial threads to (he extremilit's of the 
limbs which it cho<ises lor biulding its la-st. 
It then interweaves the sam.- materia! into 
.1 basket-like nest, from 4 to 7. inches i)i 
h-iigth. So ingeinnsly is this doni' that it 
can with dillh-nlty Im- pnlliMl apart. TI..^ 
Ax evidently new species or variety of 
Buteo, was shot in the northern part of this 
state, and is now possessed by one of our 
friends. A.s soiju as immed, a description 
of it will appear in these columns. 
Piuu' i ssOK PEi KiiS, the astronomer, 
who went to New /enland with several 
brother scientists, br night home with him 
some quite inten-siiiig Idrds. among which 
ar*. an Apleryx, two <; rent Penguins, a 
Horned <;rebe, two small Ti-rns. ami a 
number of othei's we oimiot iiow recall. 
I Ih'v are in ing moiiiile l in this city. 
A wiini: Sw allow was shot near thi"^ 
citv recrnlly. It is jjrobably an aibiii" 
Clitf Swallow, as its form and' other char- 
acteristics WiHild iiVipV it. The person by 
