48 
OUNlTIlOUXnST 
[Vol. 6-N(). 6. 
mice, squirrels and other small game. 
There is but little known respecting the 
nesting habits of this bird. The only re¬ 
liable account I can find is given by ^Ir. 
liord, as (|Uoted al)ove. So far as I can learn, 
the eggs have been found three times, and 
are described as white, spherical and granu¬ 
lated. 
Length, (>.85-7.50 ; alar extent, 14.00- 
15.50 ; bill, cere and feet, greenish yellow ; 
eyes, yellow ; facial disk, imperfect ; no 
ear-tufts ; spot before the eye and extend¬ 
ing over it, white. Upper parts, browish 
with small circular spots of dull white,more 
numerous on the head ; a partially con¬ 
cealed collar of white on the back of the 
neck, succeeded by another of black ; throaty 
white ; breast, mottled brown ; under parts, 
white, with irregular longitudinal strij'es 
of dark brown ; wings and tail,dark brown, 
with a row of round white spots on each 
feather, largest on inner webs ; tarsi, thick¬ 
ly feathered ; toes, covered with hair ; claws, 
sharp and much curved. 
The Pigmy (Jwl. —M’e find tbe following 
interesting note upon this bird by C. A. 
Allen, in the Xuttull Ornithological Bulle¬ 
tin :— 
August 13, 1877, about dusk, I heard 
near the house a great fuss among a lot of 
Brewer’s Blackbirds, which had nested in a 
small clump of red-woods near by. On ai> 
proaching the place a bird flew out to which 
all the blackbirds gave chase. AVhen all 
had settled in a red-wood tree near by, I 
saw a Pigmy Owl sitting on a limb—the 
cause of all the noise. I had my gun 
brought to me and shot the Owl, which 
proved to be a female. Again on .July 8. 
1878, at nine o'clock, a. m., I heard a dis¬ 
turbance among the Blackbirds in the same 
clump of trees, and, suspecting the cause, 
took my gun and went to see what was the 
matter. On approaching the place, a lot 
of birds of different species flew out, and 
among them a Pigmy Owl, which after 
much trouble, I shot as it was Hying over 
some low buslies : this one was a male. 
There were fighting the Owl one [)air of 
Arkansas Flj'catchers, one pair of Bullock’s 
Orioles, one pair of Bewick’s Wrens, three 
Ground Tits ( Chamceafasciata)^ one pair of 
Pipilo oregonus, one pair of crisalis, 
and about twenty Brewer’s Blackbirds. 
The bravest birds of the troop were Be¬ 
wick’s Wren and Bullock’s Oriole, who kept 
darting at the Owl’s head as it sat on the 
ground devouring a young Blairkbird. I 
have seen a Pigmy Owl dart down and lift a 
chipping sciuirrel with ease and canw it off. 
Wm. Wood, :\I. D. 
Collectors. . 
John H. Sage, Portland, Conn., has spent 
a brief season at the Lakes, in the state of 
Maine, and he is now preparing notes for 
a future number of cur jounial. 
Capt. Chas. Bendire has collected the 
presept season about two hundred and 
sixty eggs of the Burrowing Owl, and has 
given to them an amount of care and 
thought, seldom devoted to one bird. The 
result is an exhaustive article on the life 
history of this Owl which will be found on 
the first page of our present issue. 
Wm.Fred T. .Jencksof Providence, R. I., 
has returned from his three mont'lis’collect¬ 
ing trip in Indiana, with some rare sets iff 
Warblers’ eggs, and over five hundred 
Wiublers’ skins. What Mr. J. does is well 
done^ and his data can always berdiid tn. 
Chas. F. Goodhue of Webster, N. H., has 
spent the season with Delos Hatch of Oak 
Centre, Wis., and their success was some¬ 
thing remarkable. It was not a ipiestiou 
of how many they could find, but of how 
many they could prepare, taking in one 
day three hundred and twenty eggs. 
Fred. Corey, Santa I’aula, Cal., writes 
that he collected ninety eggs of fifteen 
varieties in about six hours. What a con- 
tnist this is to some of our Eastern colhc- 
tors who work hard six hours and return 
with one or two sets, or perhaps as is of¬ 
ten the case none at all ? 
Fmnk E. Bray of lioston, is spemhng 
the seascu at Turner, Me. 
