AND OOLOGIST. 
125 
May 15, 1882.] 
adverse conditions of temperature. In 
one of these swamps I was shown my 
first Blue Yellow-back’s nest, by an en¬ 
thusiastic worker hereabouts, who had the 
kindness to guide me through the Swamp- 
tangled labyrinths for the space of an 
hour or more to my great profit and 
delight. The beautiful Calla palustres 
and the pitcher plant {S. purpurea) were 
in blossom under the shade of the trees, 
and the spagnum imder foot, several feet 
in thickness, was as soft as a bed of down. 
Botanically considered, the spot was a per¬ 
fect treasure house. I visited the place 
again during the Winter of 1880, when 
the ice assisted me greatly in getting about. 
— G. R. C., Norwich^ Conn. 
Great Horned Owls’ Nests and Eggs. 
W. W. Coe, of Portland, Conn., secured 
still another set in his long series of Great 
Horned Owls, Feb. 27th, his earliest record 
being Feb. 22d. 
March 12th, I startled a Rubo from an 
old nest under which I had been twice in 
February and seen no sign. Fragments 
of shells and a wad of wet feathers were 
on the ground, and the nest held one Owl 
but a few hours from the shell. There 
was no quarry or food in the nest and the 
parent, which flew swiftly out of range, 
was a bird of the small dark male type. 
Now, if the period of incubation of /?. vir- 
ginianus is as given by writers (“all guess 
work” says Dr. Wood), or if it approaches 
in duration the long incubation of the 
Buteos., of which I have some data, then 
the egg which produced this chick must 
have been laid at an earlier date than any 
present record of the breeding of this 
species in Conn.— J. M. W., Norwich, Ct. 
I have been serenaded all winter by the 
harmonious sub-bass of a pair of Great 
Horned Owls from Cedar Swamp, some 
three-fourths of a mile away, and as I list¬ 
ened I whispered to myself, “ just you 
wait till next February and then see.” 
They waited till about the middle of Feb¬ 
ruary, when the serenading suddenly 
ceased, and I listened for it in vain night 
after night. And right here let me ask the 
question of those acquainted with this 
bird’s habits, if they do not cease “ hoot¬ 
ing” for a time after they commence to 
breed"? I have observed this same omi¬ 
nous silence throxigh the latter part of 
February before. After listening in vain 
night after night till into March, I gave 
them up, remarking to a friend that my 
great expectations had turned to disap¬ 
pointment, when the siiggestive question 
above was put to me, and sure enough one 
evening my ear was saluted again by the 
old serenade all the evening long, and the 
next morning it was continued until 8 
o’clock. When night came again, the ser¬ 
enade again commenced, and I started off 
in the twilight to trace them out. Reach¬ 
ing the limit of my intended trip, I heard 
the Owl, apparently about a mile further 
on. I listened as it repeated its note and 
at each repetition it seemed nearer, till 
presently it resounded from a grove quite 
near me and I heard a strange noise, a 
rajiidly repeated ha-ha-ha-hey-e-e coming 
back, and my inference was that the male 
was treating his mate to a supper. It was 
only a little grove, but I well knew' of an 
old Cooper’s Haw'k’s nest built two years 
ago in it, and there, when I paid a visit by 
daylight, were the erect horns and a par¬ 
tial glimpse of the great eyes staring dow'n 
at me. A smart rap on the tree started 
her off and I arranged for a climb. It 
was not a difficult tree—a maple forty- 
seven feet from the ground to the nest— 
and I soon had the much prized set in my 
hands—two j^ure w'hite eggs very nearly 
round. Incubation had proceeded prob¬ 
ably about a w'eek or ten days. I do n ot 
think the Owds had added any building 
materials to the nest, but the setting bird 
must have nearly denuded her breast of 
feathers for lining, as the inside was well 
matted with them. This w'as on March 
13th, and incubation w'as unusually late 
