41) 
()RNlTn()l.()(UST 
[Vol. G-No. G. 
kept very close to the nest, and making no 
demonstrations except to hop from one 
twig to another, uttering a low, plaintive 
cry. • 
Z. carolinensis ,]^.^—June 11, while cross¬ 
ing a wheat field about 30 rods across, and 
bounded on two sides by timber, in near¬ 
ly the centre of the field, I Hushed a fe¬ 
male from its nest, which was flat on the 
ground, and composed of a few small 
sticks thrown together. The nest con¬ 
tained one fresh egg. 
Black billed Magpie {1*. rustica hud- 
sonicas ).—April 30th, found a nest contain¬ 
ing three young birds eight or ten days old, 
and five eggs. In four of which the young 
birds had cracked the shells.—D. D. 
Stone. 
Notes from Shelter Island. 
"We were disappointed in your not com¬ 
ing to the Island this spring, as myself 
and Grifling have done a good season’s col¬ 
lecting. We have made trips to Gardiner’s, 
Plum, Gull and Faulkner’s Islands. We 
went to the latter after Roseate Terns ; got 
about forty sets, and came away pretty well 
satisfied. We had good luck with the Fish 
Hawks on Gardiner’s and Plum Islands. 
Were a little too early for the Night 
Herons, as few of the sets were completed, 
although I got a fine set of six. 
PuAiKiE Wakbleks.— I found my first 
nest, this year on May ‘27th, containing one 
egg. The nest was placed in a low huckle¬ 
berry bush, fifteen inches from the ground, 
in a low growth of woods, on hilly land. 
The next day the nest and egg was de¬ 
stroyed, probably by some animal. On 
June .'ith, I found another nest, placed in 
a birch sai)ling, nine feet from the ground 
an unusual jiosition. The nest was com' 
posed of vegetable fibres, one piece of 
string and a few fine grasses, lined with 
horse hairs, and a few feathers of the 
brown thrush, deeply cup-shajied and built 
in a little around the toj). I was collect 
ing a Field Sparrow’s nest and four eggs, 
and chiii)ing to draw the birds around me, 
as I often do when in the woods, when I 
noticed a Prairie Warbler fly towards me, 
and that he (for it was the male) came di¬ 
rectly from a small bunch of oak and birch 
saplings. He lingered around me a few 
minutes, and then disappeared. I secured 
the Field Sparrow’s eggs, and then on 
chiii)ing again, I saw the Prairie Warbler 
come out of the same bunch of saplings, 
and I at once concluded that his nest 
was there, but after a careful search of 
the whole clump of low bushes among 
the saplings, as these are the places they 
generally build in, I was about to give up 
in despair, when on looking directly up 
over my head, I saw the long sought for 
nest, on which the female was sitting, with 
her bright round eye upon me. I had to 
shake the sapling before she would fly off, 
and on climbing up, I was delighted to 
see five pearly, speckled eggs, slightly in 
cubated. On June 12th, I found another 
nest, placed in a maple sapling about six 
feet from the ground. This was composed 
of about the same materials, and con 
tained three fresh eggs, and one of the 
Cow Buntings. The Prairie Warblers ar¬ 
rive here about the first week in May, and 
I see by my record that I shot one on the 
8 th of September, and I think the above 
is about the usual dates of their arrival 
and departure. 
Spotted Sandpiper and DIussel.-J une fith. 
As I was going along the shore of West 
Neck Creek this diy, I heard a fluttering 
noise, and on looking around saw a female, 
Spotted Sandpiper, that in running along 
the iieach, had stepped on a mussel, which 
had closed its shells together on one of 
her toes with the grip of a vice. She was 
unable to escape, so I went up and gave 
the leg a slight juill to liberate her, but 
the toe came oft’ above the second joint, 
and I (piickly set the captive free, which 
as ipiickly disaiipeared around a jioint of 
land, escajiing by the loss of a toe, what 
would undoubtedly have been deuth, as 
the rising ti<lc must have drowned her. 
W. W. Worthington. 
