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THE WILSON BULLETIN— June, 1922 
i!i Des Moines, Iowa. The shaft had been abandoned and the top was on 
a level with the surface of the ground. A wire fence was rudely set 
up around the opening to keep stray cattle from falling in. The phoebes 
had chosen this site for their nest, which was fastened onto the side of 
the perpendicular walls seven feet below the surface of the ground. At 
the time of discovery, which was on May 12, 1914, the nest contained 
five eggs. I proceeded to collect these for my collection by using a long 
stick with a piece of copper wire attached to one end and bent into a 
hop for scooping up the eggs. Leaning over a cavity probably a couple 
hundred feet deep and about five feet square it was impossible to main- 
tain sufficient equilibrium to bring all of the eggs up to the surface. 
The question, however, which came to my mind was this: If the 
yc-ung birds should have hatched could they possibly have escaped from 
a birthplace so dangerously situated. Aside from the nest no projection 
offered itself as a stepping stone to the outside world. It would seem to 
be an impossible feat for young birds never before out of the nest to 
fly upwards for seven feet, especially to a species that under ordinary 
circumstances has the opportunity of a more easy downward flight at 
the time of their initial attempt. It seems quite doubtful also as to 
whether the young birds could cover the seven feet by climbing straight 
upwards clinging to the planks, twelve inches wide, which were snugly 
filled together. Some birds might be provided by nature to escape from 
a similar opening, such possibly as the chimney swift, but I feel doubtful 
if the young phoebes would have been capable of the task. 
At least I felt that the parents would be increasing their number 
more rapidly by immediately starting a new home in a more choice lo- 
cation than by spending the next few weeks in hatching out and raising 
the young to fall into the dark depths of the mine. 
Emerson A. Stoner. 
A BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER’S NEST 
On April 23, 1921, near Ballard Normal School, Macon, Ga., an uncom- 
pleted Blue-gray Gnatcatcher’s nest was discovered in a young elm tree. 
The nest was twelve feet or a little over from the ground, on one of the 
two main forks of the tree, and partly supported by a twig. It was deep, 
the outside covered with lichens, and to a casual glance appeared to be 
merely a large tuft of lichens. The tree grew beside a fence that ran 
along a lane, through which some hundred and fifty children passed to 
and from school each day, in addition to the numerous adults who also 
used the lane. Back from the fence a rather open, wooded area of pine 
mingled with several species of deciduous trees and a sparse under- 
growth, largely species of Crataegus, sloped down to a small stream. A 
line of pines ran along the opposite side of the lane, and beyond this an 
open rocky field. 
During the following week the nest was completed. By May 16, pos- 
sibly earlier, the four young birds were hatched. Both parents assisted 
feeding. Neither approached the nest directly, but always alighted 
first in some other part of the tree. The birds did not appear disturbed 
by the presence of several observers near the tree, so long as they were 
comparatively quiet. 
