July, 1882.] 
AND OOLOGI8T. 
143 
nests examined, four had three eggs each. 
This 5 'ear tliey began nesting two weeks 
earlier than last, the first nest being 
found Feb. 11th. with one egg. The local 
ity generally chosen is a low mesquite, 
on high ground, from which the Owl 
when on the nest can see in every direc¬ 
tion for some distance. They are very 
alert while setting, and will fly from the 
nest before one gets within fifty yards, 
though in some cases they sat closer. 
The mate was always to be found close by, 
in nearly every case, in the nearest tree. 
Most of the sets of fi'esh eggs are found 
in the last week of February. Deserted 
nests of the Great-horned Owl are often 
occupied by Hawks, instead of the Owls 
using the old Hawks’ nests, as in the North. 
—Edgar A. Small, Ilagerstovm, Md. 
P. S.—My collector reports a set of four fresh eggs, found 
March 9th. This nest was built of sticks, as usual, and 
lined with litter. It was in a mesquite, twelve feet high. 
The bird sat very close, did not leave the nest until my 
friend was nearly under it. 
Black-backed Woodpecker. 
I notice in the O. and O. for March, 
page 101, a note to the effect that there 
are but two instances known of the Black- 
backed M oodpecker {P. arcticus) being 
taken in Michigan. It may be of interest, 
therefore, for me to state that I procured a 
male specimen of this species on the south 
branch of the Pine River. Mich., in 1879 ; 
the exact date of capture I do not remem¬ 
ber, as the specimen has been disposed of 
in my exchanges to Mr. George Woolsey 
of New Haven, Conn., but it was some¬ 
where between the 17th and 22d of No¬ 
vember. I have every reason to believe 
that this bird is not a rare Winter resident 
of the “pineries” of that State. With us 
this M oodpecker is r.ire. I have, however, 
taken several specimens in different jiarts 
of the State and knoav of its being taken 
in the immediate vicinity of Bangor. On 
-June 1(5, 1881, I met with a pair on Alliga¬ 
tor Stream. Hancock County, which, judg¬ 
ing from their actions, had a nest near by : 
but. as we w^ere lost in the woods at the 
time, our camji was the only nesting place 
I had ail}' desire of finding.— AT. .1. Eddy. 
Baagor, Me. 
Climbers and Climbing. 
The Staddle. Before the advent of de¬ 
cent climbing-irons the “ staddle” was in 
common use in our woods in ascending 
big-bodied trees. This simjfle method was 
overlooked in Ingersoll’s recent treatise, so 
we make mention of it here. The only 
outfit required by the hawk-huiiter or 
squirrel-party using this primitive fashion 
is a small, short-handled axe. A leather 
sheath protects the head of the axe. and it 
can be carried handily in a game bag slung 
over the shoulders. Near the scene of ac¬ 
tion a tall, slender, young walnut or chest¬ 
nut of the jirojier length is selected and 
felled : the top and limbs are cut away, 
the stubs of many of the limbs leaving 
good foot-rests here and there. This nat¬ 
ural ladder is then carried and raised at a 
slight angle, so that the tip rests securely 
against the base of the lowest limbs of the 
big tree to be climbed. Many of these 
staddles I have heljied to cut and raise in 
imrsuit of the eggs of birds of prey, and 
have found many more snugly hidden away 
in underbrush and used by squirrel-hunt¬ 
ers one or two seasons. Now and then 
the trunk of an old hard ti'ee can be over¬ 
come by “ shinning” up some young and 
tall sapling near by and swaying the toj) 
stoutly till a big limV) of the tree can be 
grasped. Don’t forget however in this case 
to tie your arboreal trapeze to the limb so 
your retreat will not be cut off. To the 
use of the “ staddle” wull ahvays lie the ob¬ 
jection that no farmer likes to have any 
vigorous standing s])rout cut in his wood 
lot. But the rope, the staddle and kin¬ 
dred devices are now superceded here by 
climbing-irons, and an article in the next 
number of this journal will try to show 
the economy in time and labor effected l)y 
these handy inqilemeuts. — ./. M. W. 
