Some Holiday Trips. 
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(Continued.) 
Our next find of any importance was a 
nest of the Hairy Woodpecker, also contain- 
ing young — four in number ; two were males 
and two females, the former showing the red 
on the head very plainly, even at this early 
j age. The nest was only 2 y 2 feet from the 
| ground, in a hole in a living oak. The 
growth in the immediate vicinity was very 
much stunted, the land being mainly pine 
barrens, sand lots and scrub oak tracts, and 
this may account for the fact pf the nesting 
site being at such a low altitude, although it 
doesn’t explain why the birds chose such a 
locality. 
/ 
78 
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In closing I may remark that there are three commo 
are always rare about Fort Hamilton, viz. : The Hi 
pecker (Pecus vi/losus ), the Downy Woodpecker (, 
sccns), and the Purple Martin ( Progne purpurea 
expect that some readers of this article will concli 
author is either afflicted with blindness, or else is a \ 
observer. I beg leave to say that neither conclusior 
The statement regarding the scarcity of the species 
is the result of four years’ careful observation of the 
locality. Mr. Geo. H. Coues has, indeed, given bot 
and Downy Woodpeckers as common about the Nav 
Brooklyn (this Bull., Vol. IV., p. 31). The Hospitj 
a dozen miles from Fort Hamilton, nevertheless I 1 
my statement, and am willing to take my oath upc 
Dr. Coues’s “Key to North American Birds,” as tc 
In this vicinity I have met with the Downy Wow 
two or three times, and with the Hairy Woodpecke) 
It is true that the woods have been pretty nearly cleared away 
from this part of the island, still a sufficient amount of woodland 
remains, and certainly the orchards should furnish ample accom- 
modations. The case of the Purple Martin is equally curious. 
This bird is common enough at the eastern end of the island, 
yet here I have only seen a few individuals. 
Bull, N, O.O, <3,J&U, , 1881, p, /J. 
obtained the set of four, fresh, crystal, clear 
and white. This nest was about twenty 
feet up. Four would appear to be the 
usual number laid, as each of these sets 
contained just that number when com- 
pleted. 
As this set appears to be a fair average 
for size, I have measured them with this 
result respectively in 32nds of an inch : 
31 X 22, 30 X 22, 30 X 22, 30 x 20. In all the 
nests I observed a good degree of uni- 
formity in form of entrance, size and 
depth; the entrance curving upward at 
first, then gracefully turning downward 
with plenty of room below to the depth of 
13|- inches in this one which I measured. 
The diameter of the entrance was 1 ^ inches 
very nearly round, so that I could find no 
perceptible difference either way measured. 
I know of no bird more deserving of en- 
couragement than this, though I cannot 
claim that they got much encouragement 
this spring from me. They are the only 
Woodpeckers that I ever saw dig out the 
Apple tree borer from his intrenchment in 
the green trunk. It seemed fitted with a 
very powerful beak and knows how to use 
it and where. — J. N. Clarlc , Saybrook. 
o.& <x mu, Oc t. 1883 . p 7 
f^EKious Nesting Place. I found a Blue 
Jay’s nest this Spring among the roots of 
a large tree that had been prostrated by 
the wind, turning up a large mass of roots 
with the adhering soil. Near the top of 
this mass, some eight feet high, under the 
border of the turf, which had curved over 
making a screen for the nest, which with its 
five eggs was hid from view. — J. JV. Clark. 
Blue Jays Tame. Last Spring I took a 
brood of young Blue Jays and have two 
of them matured and perfectly tame and 
interesting pets. They have their freedom, 
going in and out at vyill, spending a good 
deal of time hunting through the orchard. 
They have greatly increased my respect 
for the species, , which I considered my duty 
to kill at sight, for their weakness of rob- 
bing oth^r birds. — J. IV. Clark , Saybrook. 
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