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Mr. Bryant then tells us of an old nest of 
Bullock's Oriole, ( Icterus bullocki) which he 
found, which had been relined, and which con- 
tained four eggs of the Western Kingbird. 
( Tyrannus verticalis'). The same species also 
attempted to construct a nest “ upon the outer 
end of a windmill fan. A horizontal blade had 
probably been first selected, but an occasional 
breath of air had slightly turned the mill, 
bringing into place another and another, upon 
each of which had been deposited the first ma- 
terial for a nest until several nests were in 
different stages of construction, varying with 
the time that the windmill had remained quiet, 
while upon the roof below was strewn a quan- 
tity of debris that had fallen as the wheel re- 
volved. Of course nothing but failure could 
be expected from their repeated attempts.” 
O.&G. XII. Sept. 1887 p.144 
Birds of Grant and Traverse Cos. 
Minn. June. 2876 Roberts & Bennar 
35. Tyrannus verticalis, Say. A n Kansas Flycatcher. — The first 
notice of this bird was near a small post-office called Pleasant Hill, on the 
borders of Lake Traverse. It was sitting on a fence near a group of oak- 
trees in a gully running down to the lake. It was shot, and proved to be a 
female. Ho more were seen until we searched the strip of woods along 
the Minnesota River at the Valley, where we discovered two pairs nest- 
ing in company with many of the preceding species. The nests were in 
elm-trees, and were placed on the top of the limb, but not so much exposed 
as the Kingbird’s. They are somewhat larger than those of the latter bird, 
but the eggs are so similar that identification was only possible by seeing 
the female sitting upon the nest, which was no easy matter, for after they 
were once disturbed they would hover over the tree for a while, uttering a 
short note, and then one of the pair would disappear for some time, and 
only return when its mate had escorted it back, and then both would sit 
upon an adjacent limb for twenty minutes or more before the female 
would approach the nest. At this date (June 17) one of the nests con- 
tained four eggs perfectly fresh, and the other was not quite finished. 
The first was composed of stems of plants and dried grasses, and lined 
with finer grasses and a few bits of wool. The second was about the 
same, except the lining, which was composed entirely of feathers. 
Bull, N, O.O. 5, Jan.. 1880, p, 15 
