File:The Oölogist for the student of birds, their nests and eggs (1915) (14729233346).jpg

Identifier: ologistforstud321915latt (find matches)
Title: The Oölogist for the student of birds, their nests and eggs
Year: 1886 (1880s)
Authors: Lattin, Frank H
Subjects: Birds Birds
Publisher: Albion, N.Y. : Frank H. Lattin
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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One fel-low told me every egg he had takenrepresented eight hours work. Thereis quite a variation in the size andshape of eggs in the same set, alsosame sets the immaculations areheavy and others fine Mostly all arevery finely marked. Sometimes youwill find where they have built a newnest on top of an old one, making arather bulky nest for this species.Most of the nests are so frail that youhave to sew them together in order tocollect them. The birds flight is veryslow and unsteady like other rails, butif not knowing what they were youwould take them for young birds. Theyoung leave the nest about one dayafter being hatched, like little blackballs of cotton. The old birds in in-cubating sit very close, one reason formaking them so diffijcult to find. Andwhen they flush you dont know it.Between the ants, slough mice andshort-eared owls a great many of themare destroyed. The owls getting bothold and young ones, also the ants,while the mice destroy the eggs. E.E. Sechrist. 94 THE OOLOGIST
Text Appearing After Image:
THE OOLOGIST 95 The Wood Duck. On several occasions while stayingat my favorite camping grounds, alarge mill pond near Wilmington, Del.,I have had an opportunity to observethe Wood Ducks, said to be the mostbeautiful of American waterfowl andfast relegating to the rare list in manysections. There are always a fewpairs in this locality and they evident-ly breed here. I have made a searchon several occasions for their nestingsites but without success. I have seenseveral broods of little ones, however,during the latter part of July. One day a friend and I were out ona little camping and canoe trip and onrounding a sudden bend in the creekabove the pond, we came upon amother duck and about seven littleones. A sudden note from the mothercaused a prompt disappearance of theducklings into the depths below. Thecourageous mother, however, insteadof beating a hasty retreat, as onewould most naturally expect, cameflying toward the canoe and floppeddown just in front of us, beating thewater with

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