124 
The Naturalists’ Co 3 ip anion. 
and to have three sets taken and hatch 
the fourth. On the 15th of May, 1884, 
a set of seven eggs, nearly hatched, was 
taken by me,and the loth of May, 1885, 
in the same nest was found seven eggs 
more, incubation advanced, which I 
now have. Fresh eggs may be found 
in this latitude from the 15th of April 
to the ist of July. The ground color of 
the eggs is a yellowish-white or very 
light cream, and is almost entirely cov¬ 
ered by spots and blotches, varying in 
color from light slate to a dark drab or 
grayish-brown. These are generally 
more numerous about the larger end, 
and but rarely form a confluenting 
about the smaller end. The eggs meas¬ 
ure about .95 by .72, and vary some¬ 
what in shape. The young are soon 
able to fly but must be looked after by 
the parents for several weeks. Having 
once raised a brood in a favorable lo¬ 
cality, the birds seldom fail to return 
the following spring, and very often, if 
undisturbed, will use the same nest for 
several years. Each pair of birds seem 
to mate for several years, and although 
many young birds are raised every year, 
I have never noticed any perceptible in¬ 
crease in their numbers. They leave 
for the extreme South late in the fall, 
after a few month’s revelling in the 
death and destruction of many of our 
smaller birds to allay the hunger of 
their young. As far as killing small 
birds is concerned, I believe it to be 
far worse than the Sparrow Hawk (tim- 
iNcuLussPAVERious.) The White-rump- 
ed Shrike can hardly be distinguished 
from its relations, the Loggerhead •Shrike 
(lanius LUDOViciANUs), of South Caro¬ 
lina and the other more southerly 
states, and the Great Northern 
Shrike (lanius rorealis), of Canada 
and the far North. The only difference 
between them when seen at a distance; 
seems to be the size. South he has gone, 
and there he will remain until the sun 
again crosses the line and spring returns. j 
Geo. H. Selover, 
Lake City, Minn. 
A CURIOUS FREAK OF A 
SPARROW. 
I'he most curious freak of the English 1 
Sparrow that has ever come under our I 
notice is this : In the fall of 1880 ye ed - 1 
itor and a friend were passing along the^ 
outskirts of a piece of timber when we* ;i 
came upon a number of Sparrows feed-^ , 
ing upon the seeds of the golden-rod.‘ 
Our friend picked up a small stone and 
hurled it at the birds, knocking one of ' 
them over. We hurried to the, spot ^ 
where the Sparrow had fallen, and tak- . 
ing him up we wet his head and poured i 
a little water down his throat, which | 
soon revived him. He now seemed : 
very lively, and as we had no desiie , 
to keep the little pest, we tossed it up in j 
the air, whereupon it darted about four i 
rods away, when it suddenly wheeled i 
around and flew swiftly back to us, we | 
catching it with both hands as one would 
a ball. We unclasped our hands but ' 
he seemed to have no inclination to go, 
we therefore put him in our pocket and 
c aiied him home, where he lived in 
peace and plenty for about three months, 
when he finally fell a victim to the cai- , 
nivorous appetite of a pet cat. 
C. R. Orcutt, San Diego, Cal., has our;;' 
thanks for a number of copies of the -; 
West American Scientist. . ■ 
Geologists in quest of good fossils '- 
should not fail to take notice of Mr. •: 
Thompson’s advertisement. 
