120 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
Bmall spruce tree about fourteen feet liigli. 
Tlie Robin's nest was about seven feet from 
the ground and the Warblers about twelve 
feet. Both nests contained eggs. 
IMr. Banks also reports finding a Robin’s 
nest built on a rock partially sheltered by 
shrubbery. 
A few days ago I was shown by Mr. J. 
M. Monison the nest, or nests rather of a 
pair of Robins, Merula mlyrdtorinx, (new 
version,) built on a window cap under the 
peak of the roof of a house. l\Ir. Morrison 
says that on May 28tli the first brood of 
young were hatched and the jjarents at 
once l)egan to build a new nest immedi¬ 
ately above the first. A second comple¬ 
ment of eggs were deposited and hatched 
out, and for the third time the birds pro¬ 
ceeded to build, selecting for the site of 
their new home an adjacent tree. The 
nest was completed here, but the old birds 
were so bothered by their youngsters that 
they finally abandoned this nest in the tree 
and returned to their old stand under the 
peak and put their fourtli nest on the top 
of the two already there, and from this 
tliird story they brought out their brood. 
— J\IoHtague iJhamherhtin, Saint Johns, 
X. n. 
Lost to Science. 
M hat a vast amount of assistance comes 
to the aid of science sometimes from a 
humble and unexpected source, and the 
collector who is the recipient thereof how 
fortunate to become the medium of commu¬ 
nication for such important revelations. 
The scientific world jirob.ably never heard 
of “ Chet. Brooks" but everybody in ^lid- 
dlesex County has, ajid most jieople that 
have been much in the street here have 
])robablv met him with barehe,ad and b.are- 
feet, a snapping turtle in one hand and a 
gun in the other. He has shot a great 
many muskrats, and once killed twentv-four 
atone shot. “You don’t Ixdieve it" said 
he. “Oh. certainly,” said I. “ Well,” he 
said, lie “ would swear to the fiu-t and would 
[Vol. 7-No. 15. 
explain to me how.” They were on a long 
log wliich was drifting down the river. He 
got them in range and killed them all at a 
shot. Going bareheaded in the hot sim 
had tanned his comjilexion baiUy and made 
the gi-eat mat of hair on his head decided¬ 
ly kinky, though he boasted a descent from 
King Philip. He heard that I was fond of 
collecting rare and curious birds and eggs, 
and he had found a nest and eggs of one 
of the rarest birds in the United States. 
It was called a “ Pincalo. ’ He had never 
seen but two or three of them in his life, 
and he had travelled a great deal. It was 
a beautiful bird, the top of its head was 
red, its neck and back were beautifully 
marked with blue and black, its wings and 
tail the same, only tipped with white, and 
its breast was white beautifully spotted 
with black. He had also found its nest 
and the eggs were the handsomest he ever 
saw, and the nest, the most singular of all, 
consisted of a large heap of seaweed and 
debris from the shore, and the eggs were 
laid in the heap as it was piled up. trusting 
to the fennentation to hatch them. He 
had saved a whole set of the eggs at his 
house, eight in number, what would I give 
him for them ? Five dollars, and very 
much w.aut the bird also, and would con 
sider myself exceedingly fortunate in 
bringing such an important discovery to 
the attention of the scientific world. Well, 
he would get the bird, which he could easi¬ 
ly do and bring them all up to-morrow. 
And would I be willing to p.ay him now T 
M ell. no. hardlv, for fear he mi'j’ht forget 
to bring them up to-morrow. ()h. he would 
never forget nor fail, but he was going to 
the store and would like a little if it were 
only ten cents. He would surely bring 
them to-morrow, eggs and birds, and he 
would swear to that. And I. Oh, I lost 
that chance, and the scientific world may 
never have another, to introduce into the 
fauna of New England as a Summer resi 
dent and breeding that remarkable anil 
beautiful bird, the Pincalo. — J. X. tVark. 
