General Notes. 
241 
Nest and Eggs of the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax 
Jlaviventris). — The breeding habits of this bird seem now so well estab- 
lished, that a description of a nest taken by myself this year can hardly be 
necessary to add strength to the five instances already mentioned in this 
Bulletin ; however, it may otherwise be of interest. 
The nest was taken June 13, 1880, on Little Deer Island, Penobscot 
Bay, Maine. The parent bird was flushed from the nest, and flew on to a 
twig near by. Observing the bird to be a Flycatcher, a search was at 
once begun in the small trees about, and I was somewhat surprised, when 
this proved fruitless, to find at my feet the nest with its four eggs. The 
bird was allowed to return to the nest, and on being flushed a second time 
was secured. It was the female. The locality was in a small clearing on 
a heavily wooded ridge. The nest was situated on a large root, forming 
as it were a shelf, in under a low stump, being admirably concealed from 
sight. It is a mass of dead leaves, pieces of decayed wood, evergreens, 
ferns, birch-bark, and mosses, arranged much in form and appearance like 
that of the Pewee ( S.fuscus ). The nest proper, which measures two and 
one eighth inches in diameter, and one inch in depth, is lined first with 
fine black roots, then with a few withered grasses. The eggs are similar 
to those already described in the Bulletin, the ground color being white, 
with numerous reddish spots over the whole surface forming a ring about 
the greater end. Two, however, are very sparingly spotted when com- 
pared with the others. Their size is a little less than that given by Mr. 
Batchelder, (Yol. IV, pp. 241, 242,) as the following dimensions show : 
.65 X *51, .65 X -50, .65 x .50, .64 X .51. — N. A. Eddy, Bangor, Me. 
Notes on Nesting-sites of the Golden-winged Woodpecker. 
— About May 1 of this year I noticed some Golden-wings ( Colaptes aura- 
tus ) very busy around the shed of an old brick-kiln, although- there were 
no trees near. On visiting it I found they had enlarged two auger-holes 
in a large, decayed spruce post, and were trying to nest there ; but so many 
people cross the yard every day, they will probably be driven away. I 
have frequently noticed what a correspondent mentions in a late number of 
the Bulletin (Yol. V, p. 56) regarding Golden-wings enlarging natural 
cavities. I have seen them dig two inches through the hard shell of a 
seasoned ash stub to get to a hollow which showed through a crack, the 
existence of which they must have perceived; they apparently bored 
through to it to save the labor of making the whole excavation in solid 
wood. — Manly Hardy, Brewer , Me. 
Capture of the Ayocet in New Brunswick. — When in St. John, 
N. B., a short time since, I saw in a bird-stuffer’s shop a good specimen of 
the Avocet ( Recurvirostra americana ) sent to him to set up. It was shot 
by Mr. William Ellis, at Quaco, where he has shot three this season (1880), 
and where he says “ they come along every few years.” I have been able 
to get but two. As they occur so rarely in New England, it is a little 
YOL. v. 16 
