10 TOE AU_DSusB@ Nee BOG ern 
to meet with little responsive agreement. I suppose it was a feeling 
of conscious guilt that made me so regard it when, a birdsnesting 
child, I discovered its home in the appletree. Though I cherished the 
discovery with the pride of one who, admitting the accident of it, 
nevertheless feels some merit in himself to direct and deserve it, I was 
curiously stirred by what I saw. Quite near the nest sat a bird with 
dove-like plumage and queer crest, silent yet startled, its feathers 
compressed, its eyes beady, its whole presence reptilian. There was 
about it a sinister detachment; about its stone-colored eggs, so 
strangely marked, an ineffable charm, not unmixed for me with a 
taint of fear. 
The silences and croakings, the secrecies and mysteries of bit- 
terns, crows and nighthawks, the call of the upland plover and the 
loon, cause us to be fascinated. In some way, perhaps analagous to 
the ideas of the aborigines, we ascribe to them a mystic character. 
But, probably to each of us the character differs according to some 
inner and indefinable perception. 
Newaygo, Mich. 
An open meeting of the Society was held at the Academy of Sci- 
ences on Friday evening, November 17. Dr. Victor Wolfgang von 
Hagen, who was introduced to the Society by President Eifrig, showed 
pictures taken by his party in Honduras and related his experiences 
in hunting and securing live specimens of the quetzal, a bird reported 
for many years to be extinct. The lecture was greatly enjoyed by 
those present. 
Preceding the lecture a short memorial meeting for the late Dr. 
Henry C. Cowles was held under the auspices of the Conservation 
Council. Dr. R. M. Strong presided and short eulogies were delivered 
by Miss Ella Kracke and Dr. Verne O. Graham. 
Can You Answer These? 
Why does the owl] turn its head to look at vou? 
Which of our native birds is said to most nearly resemble the 
English robin? 
Does the meadowlark walk or hop? 
What birds do we have smaller than the ruby crowned kinglet? 
By what habit or mannerism is the fox sparrow best known? 
When disturbed in the shrubbery does the song sparrow fly up 
or down? 
7. What is the difference in the way a nuthatch and a chickadee 
search for food on a tree? 
8. What is the distinguishing mark of the chimney swift in flight? 
9. What is peculiar about the foot of the kingfisher? 
10. How does the flicker capture ants? 
For answers see page 16. 
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