The JYatiiraUsts’ Compcifdon. 
1113 ^ indignation, I decided to have that 
nest for my collection; I accordingly 
ascended the tree and found that the 
nest contained two eggs, which I left, 
desiring the set. Two da}'S later, I 
went there, bnt, alas! the eggs were 
gone, which was evidence that the Cat¬ 
bird had got the best of the Kingbirds. 
About the first of June, the King¬ 
birds may be seen fl.ying about with 
nest-building materials in their beaks, 
coming even to the door-yard to pick 
u}) pieces of thread, string or rags, and 
by following them, you will find that 
the}" almost alwa\^s bring up in an ap¬ 
ple tree, on the end of a slender, hori¬ 
zontal limb, on which the}" build a 
strong and compact nest of hay, straw, 
wool, string, shreds of cloth, and feath¬ 
ers, and in which they lay their beau¬ 
tiful eggs, white, spotted with dark 
brown and lilac, generally forming a 
wreath around the larger end. 
One peculiarity of the season that I 
noticed in this and other species, is 
the small number of eggs they lay. 
All the books on the subject that I have 
ever seen gave four or five as the num¬ 
ber of eggs laid by the Kingbird, while 
this year 1 have found one set of four 
and three sets of three each. 
Among our most common birds may 
be mentioned the Kobin, the Catbird, 
and the Chipping and Song Sparrows. 
The list of our Fringillidm also in¬ 
cludes the Field Sparrow, the Crass 
Finch and the Che wink. 
I have written this with the hope 
that some other collector on the Island 
will have something to say about his 
experience. What we need, also, is a 
reliable work on the birds of Long Is¬ 
land. Who will write it ? 
Exterminate the English Sparrow! 
§1 
Nesting of the White Eye or 
Florida Towhee. 
(Pipilo erythropthalmus^ var. alleni,') 
There is a very great contrast be¬ 
tween theRed e} e andWhite eyeTowhee 
in their nesting, to almost take them 
to be two different species of birds, in¬ 
stead of only a variety of the same 
species. The Red-eye I have never 
found except on the ground in a bunch 
of briers, grass, or bushes, with the 
nest covered over on top, while the 
White-eye chiefly builds on } oung pine 
trees from three to ten feet high, with 
nest uncovered. The nest cannot be 
recognized from that of the Yellow¬ 
breasted Chat, unless the bird is seen 
leaving the nest. The eggs of the 
White-eye are also smaller than those 
of the Red-eye, also much lighter in 
color, and the markings not so distinct. 
On May I 8 th, 1885, I found a nest 
containing three fresh eggs, in a pine 
tree, three feet trom the ground; found 
several with incubation too far advanc¬ 
ed to take; also several with young in 
different stages. Both the Red-eye 
and White-eye Towhee breed here; they 
both breed twice each season. —Ceo. 
Nobles, Savannah,Ga., in ^S*. S. Oologist. 
Naturalists, both old and }"oung,will 
want some entertaining and instruct¬ 
ive magazine with which to pass away 
the long winter evenings now approach¬ 
ing. Why not take the Companion ?■ 
It is certainly the cheapest, and, as 
one of our friends puts it, ‘’contains 
more good reading to the scpiare inch 
than is to be found on a whole page in 
the majority of papers.” We leave 
the reader to judge as to the truthful¬ 
ness of this statement. 
