8 THE CONDOR Vol. XVII Finally, becoming tired of tl?e wait, and cringing from the blasting heat of the summer sun, we scoured the neighboring grassy jungles in an effort to rout out the owner of the nest, but not a "hide nor hair" did we see. The characteristic birds of the two-acre marsh were raising a considerable disturbance. A pair of Kingbirds had a nest in a small locust tree by the side of the railroad track on the edge of the marsh, and were quite solicitous about the two young which it contained, flying and twittering about our heads. A few nests of the Florida R?d-wing still contained eggs, probably second set- tings. One held four eggs, rather unusual for the bird in the vicinity of Hous- ton. Now and then a Florida Nighthawk would float lightly by. And the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Southern Meadowlarks, Orchard Orioles, Western Lark Sparrows, Western Grasshopper Sparrows, and Diekeissels were twitter- ing, singing and buzzing, and probably all were nesting near at hand. A hundred yards north of the nest of the Louisiana Clapper Rail, and just outside the limits of the marsh, we did indeed flush a Southern Meadowlark from her arched or domed nest containing four nearly fresh eggs. It was cunningly concealed under a tussock of grass, slightly sunk in the ground and well lined with dry grasses. The rails evidently deserted the nest after our careless handling of the eggs; for, though several trips followed that of June 11, not a-bird was seen in the marsh. The nest gradually acquired a deserted air, soon appearing weather-beaten and rough. The eggs, by the way, are still in the nest, aban- doned to the mercy of the elements. Let us trust that next season the rails will have less hardships and nest under more favorable conditions. Houston, Texas, August 19, 1914. ' THE NESTING OF THE BLACK SWIFT A Vindication By WILLIAM LEON DAWSON WITH FOUR PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR LL THE TRADITIONS and expectations of ornithologists were set at naught when A. G. Vrooman, of Santa Cruz, announced (Vide Auk, Oct., 1901, p. 394)that he had taken the single egg of the Black Swift (Cypseloides niger borealis) fron? the bare damp earth of a sea-cliff. It seemed incredible, and the writer was among those who indulged in cheap witticisms at the expense of this newest aspirant to o61ogieal honors. Not even with the announcement of a second discovery, July 9, 1904 (reported in the CosDos, Nov., 1905, p. 176), was our unfaith shaken, although that astute connoisseur, Col. John E. Thayer, of Boston, made haste to secure the eggs and was so de- lighted that he wanted more. We thought we knew our Swifts and we did not know Mr. Vrooman. Moreover, we had been disappointed once before (see last volume of CONDOR, p. 95), and did not propose to be hoaxed again. Vroo- man's announcements fell coldly, therefore, upon the public ear; and their author, a sensitive and conscientious man, relapsed into pained silence. For this unpublished naturalist, be it understood, was no upstart. At the
