August, 1881.] 
AND OOLOGIST 
45- 
Northwestern Screech Owl. 
In onr May number appeared a short 
article, bj' Capt. Charles Bendire, on iScops 
asio Kennicotti. It ajopears that with fur¬ 
ther exijerience with the birds in question, 
the Captain is not at all certain that his 
first conclusions wei’e correct. In a letter 
dated June 18, 1881, he states: “I am by 
no means certain now that the specimens 
I took here are the true Kennicotti. I 
took another specimen three weeks ago, 
while in the Willimette Valley, that I now 
think is the true Kennicotti, and I notice 
that the specimens taken at Walla Walla 
are much lighter colored, and it would not 
surprise me if the form found here did 
not constitute another good and valid va¬ 
riety, unless it should prove to be J/aa-- 
mellm which I have iiever seen.” As the 
series of skins have been sent on to Mr. 
William Brewster, Cambridge, Mass., the 
matter will soon be settled and Mr. B’s 
c.-nclusion will no doubt appear in the 
October number of the Nuttall Bulletin. 
A Needed Work. 
In our position as Editor, we often re¬ 
ceive letters asking for an “Egg Book” for 
boys, one that would be a guide and as¬ 
sist in identification. Wdiile Europe can 
boast of diyzens of such works, we have 
not one. Minot’s is the best we have, but 
it is not just waat i.s w.inted, although it 
is good, and we recommend it until the 
right work is prepared. We are pleased 
to learn that S. E. Cassino, the Bos on 
publisher of scientific works, also sees the 
necessity of such a work and proposes to 
puWish one for tlie season of 1882, to be 
sold at from two to three dollars. Such a 
work is much needed, and will no doubt 
have a largo sale. 
Rare Works. 
Those of our readers who are in want 
of r .re works on Ornithology, should send 
f n- tlie “Leisure Hour,” j^ublished by Prof. 
A. E. Foote, West Phila., which con- 
t:iins lists of books, 2 ?a 2 :)ers, etc., on Orni¬ 
thology raid Natural Science generally, 
not found in any other series of catalogues 
published in this country. We cannot en¬ 
dorse the Dr.’s ojiinion of authors and 
books always, but he certainly has the 
faculty of keeping well stocked with the 
rarest works on Natural Science, and at 
moderate jirices. 
Whip-poor-will. 
Dates of arrival of the Whiji-poor-will 
{Antrostonius vociferus), in Locke, Michi¬ 
gan, for 26 years. This species is a com¬ 
mon summer resident, and was first ob¬ 
served by me in the spring of 1842. When 
this jiart of the state was an unbroken 
wilderness, this bird was much more abiui- 
dant than at this date. Its nest and 
young are not often seen. 
Apr 27, 1856 May 1, 1865 May 9, 1874 
Aiir oO, 1857 Apr 22, 1866 May 8, 1875 
Apr 14, 1858 May 1, 1867 May 4, 1876 
May 2, 1859 May 3, 1868 Apr 23, 1877 
Apr 28, 1860 Apr 25, 1869 Apr 14, 1878 
Apr 23, 1861 May 1, 1870 Apr 30, 1879 
Apr 24, 1862 Apr 30, 1871 Apr 27, 1880 
Apr 23, 1863 Apr 24, 1872 Apr 22, 1881 
May 5, 1864 May 5, 1873 
—Dr. H. a. Atkins. 
Notes from Denver, Colorado. 
Bl.\ck-he.\ded Grosbeak — {Zamelodia 
ludoviciana). This bird arrived here 
this year May 16th. They are seen but 
very little in the openings during the few 
days sjient before beginning to nest. They 
seem to prefer the dense, leafy thickets 
and surrounding shrubbery, the females 
esjiecially so. The nests are generally 
placed on a horozontal limb of a small tree, 
or in forks of small sajilings, and are nev¬ 
er, to my knowledge, over ten feet from 
the ground ; the nest is composed of fine 
twigs and stalks of weeds, lined with very 
small, hair-like roots. The average meas¬ 
urement is, inside diameter 3 inches, depth 
14 , outside 5^ by One set of four, 
taken June 4th, average measurement 
.92 by .75, slightly incubated, ground color 
light green tinged with blue, with small 
sjiecks of faded lilac and larger dashes of 
umber. Another set of four, taken at the 
same time, average measurement .88 by.74. 
When the nests were disturbed, the birds 
I 
