TREE SPARROW 1145 



she goes for another feather or straw, then back to his perch when she 

 returns, or sometimes down to the nest to mate with her. The source 

 of the material is never far distant, for grasses and moss are the stuff 

 of the tundra itself, and ptarmigan feathers are scattered everywhere 

 as these birds shed their winter dress. Building is a leisurely process, 

 and after three or four trips for material, the pair usually flits off to 

 feed about the marshy edges of a pool, and the observer might sit and 

 shiver for 2 hours or the rest of the day before they return. 



The construction of a nest observed almost from its beginning was 

 briefly as follows: 



June 5 and 6 — Pair seen feeding together; no indications of building 

 though territory defined, as indicated bj^ feeding range and attacks on 

 others of this species. 



June 11, 8:30 a.m. — Nest found, barely started, a small depression 

 in the damp ground with moss padded partly across the back, bits of 

 straw thinly woven across the front, and two or three soggy bits of 

 dead grass on the floor. Female came to nest three times in 2 hours. 

 3:00 p.m. — Floor sparsely laid with soggy straws from the front to 

 one-third of way back. 



June 12, 7:30 a.m. — Nest much more rounded and built up in front. 

 Yesterday's flooring covered with bits of moss and peaty sod. 7:30 

 p.m. — Rim built up an inch above yesterday's mark and broader, now 

 % inch thick in back as well as front of nest. Floor well padded with 

 moss and sod. Length of time for building outer sheU approximately 

 3 days. 



June 13, 3:00 p.m. — Nest has a beautifully woven inner coat of fine 

 dead grass, stems, and one ptarmigan feather. Inner coat practically 

 completed in Yi day. 



June 14, 6:15 p.m. — Three feathers in nest. 



June 15, 7 p.m. — Ten more feathers and finer grasses added to inner 

 shell, burying one feather. 



June IG, 10:30 a.m. — One new feather. 



June 17, 18, and 19 — No change, nest looks complete. Lining com- 

 pleted in 3 days, foflowed by a rest of 5 days. When I examined this 

 nest at the end of the season there were 43 feathers in it. 



June 21, 12:30 p.m. — One egg. 



Eggs. — The tree sparrow usually lays from three to five eggs, occa- 

 sionally SL\. They are ovate with some tending toward short ovate, 

 and they are slightly glossy. The ground is pale bluish or pale 

 greenish-white, profusely spotted and speclded ^v^th "wood brown," 

 "cinnamon brown," or "auburn." These marldngs are generously 

 scattered over the entire surface, often entirely obscuring the greenish- 

 white ground and gi\ang it a light brown appearance. In addition to 

 the heavy speckling there are frequently a few long thin black scrawls. 



