61 
October, 1881.] AND OOLOGIST. 
Burrowing Owl—Continued. 
Speotyto cunicularia hypogcea [Jiiilgw.) 
The New Check List. 
is exhausted, and the orders now being re¬ 
ceived are booked in rotation and will be 
promptly mailed as soon as the new edition, 
now in the hands of the printers, is received 
Large Sets of Eggs. —W. Otto Emer¬ 
son reports taking sets of California Quails’ 
eggs this season of seventeen, and last 
season of twenty-four. 
Chewink.— July 19th, I found a nest of 
Pipilo eryihrop/ialmus cont^mng three tresh 
eggs, built at least three feet from the 
ground in a spice bush. Such is not com¬ 
mon I believe. — B. IV. Everman, Blooniing- 
to 7 i, Indiaiia. 
Corrections. —In the September num¬ 
ber, page 54, second column, seventeenth 
line from the bottom, punctually should 
read practically. Page 51, second column. 
Pine Grosbeaks should read Pine Goldfinch 
[Chrysomitris pinus ) 
Albino’s. —While in the store of Chas. 
P. Goodale, Boston, we learned th.it Mr. 
John Morrow, of Newburyport, Mass., shot 
a Carolina Rail, the wings of which were 
pure white. Mr. C. H. Chandler, Cam¬ 
bridge, Mass, shot a little Blue Her m, 
pure white except the tips of the wings. 
This is the young of the little Blue Heron 
in its first plumage. As it was shot at Pine 
Point, Maine, and had been seen in the 
spring and summer, it would be interesting 
to know where the bird was bred. 
An Egg Within an Egg. —We have 
received an egg from Mr. Fred. Cory, ^an- 
ta Paula, Cal., which contained another 
perfect egg inside about the size of an or¬ 
dinary hen’s egg. The outer shell was 
very large. Both shells were perfect, but 
unfortunately the contents had not been re¬ 
moved, and they were broken badly in the 
mails and could not be measured. If they 
had been properly prepared they would 
have been a valuable addition to our col¬ 
lection. 
I had entirely forgotten to mention the 
locations of the burrows, how deep they 
were, &c. It was an oversight. The lo¬ 
cation of course varied according to the 
nature of the country. At Fort Lapwai I 
generally found them occupying burrows 
on the hillsides with a southerly exposure. 
The burrows usually ran straight into the 
hill for three or four feet, and then curved 
to the right or left, more or less, from one to 
four feet to the chamber that contained the 
eggs. Some burrows were in the shape of 
a horseshoe, and the eggs were laid within 
a foot and a half of the entrance of the 
hole, but I had to dig probably ten feet to 
find this out. The chamber in which the 
eggs were laid is generally a little higher 
than the entrance hole, if in a side hill. 
Here at Walla Walla they generally breed 
in holes in the level ground. These bur¬ 
rows descend about two feet and then turn 
off in various directions The end of the 
hole being also a little higher than the bur¬ 
row after its direction is changed horizon¬ 
tally. I presume they sometimes get del¬ 
uged during heavy rains, but this does not 
often hapjicn, as we have but little rain and 
j seldom very heavy in April or May in this 
j country when they are breeding. They are 
j not gregarious but I have found two nests 
within one hundred yards of each other.— 
Capi. Chas. E. Bendire, U. S. A, 
An Encounter. 
While my sister was looking out of the 
window, she witnessed quite an encounter 
between a Blue Jay and a snake. The 
snake was about three feet long. The bird 
would pick at the snake’s eyes and then 
I flutter away to return again and repeat the 
process—the snake retreating all the while. 
A running fight was kept up until the snake, 
finally, was glad to get away. My sister 
did not know what variety the snake was. 
— Gus. C. Spaeth, Mt. Caniiel, Ills, 
