Brewster on Certain Rare Birds in Texas. 79 



so finely spotted, as the broken shells found in the deserted nest exhibited 

 much heavier markings, and in that respect agreed closely with two eggs 

 in Mr. Ricksecker's cabinet, collected in Comal County, May 24, 187 7. 

 These last are unidentified, but Mr. Werner is confident that they can 

 belong to no other species than the one under consideration, as the person 

 by whom they were originally taken showed him the Aery fork in which 

 the nest had been found the previous season, and his own nests were sub- 

 sequently obtained in similar localities in the immediate neighborhood. 

 These facts, taken in connection with the close resemblance of the nest to 

 those already described, render the specimens well worth description as 

 probable examples of the eggs of D. chrysoparia. They measure, respec- 

 tively, .72x.53 and .76x.53. The latter dimensions, it will be observed, 

 nearly coincide with those of one of Mr. Werner's specimens. The 

 ground-color of the shell is a dead, dull white, thickly spotted everywhere 

 with fine dots of reddish-brown and shell markings of pale lavender. At 

 irregular intervals bold, conspicuous blotches of a darker shade of brown 

 occur. These markings become nearly confluent around the larger ends, 

 forming the wreath-pattern so common among spotted eggs. The nest 

 bears a very close resemblance to those already described, but is some- 

 what smaller, measuring as follows : External depth, 2.15 ; external 

 diameter, 2.00 ; internal depth, 1.50 ; internal diameter, 1.50. As with the 

 other tw r o, the outer walls are made up of strips of cedar bark, and the 

 lining differs only in being composed almost entirely of feathers. These are 

 used in such profusion as to form a dense, downy bed for the eggs, while 

 around the rim or mouth of the nest they arch over inward, prettily con- 

 cealing the greater part of the interior. The occurrence of such a nest in 

 semi-tropical Texas is of itself a most interesting fact, especially when 

 considered in connection with the theory that warm, feather-lined domiciles 

 are peculiar to northern-breeding birds. Although the parentage of this 

 last nest is undeniably involved in some obscurity, I have little doubt that 

 it is correctly referred to D. chryxoparia. I should perhaps have stated 

 before that the identification of ihe nest and eggs in Mr. Werner's collec- 

 tion is of the most positive character. The female was sitting on the nest, 

 and at the first alarm her mate appeared when both were secured. 



4. Ceryle americana var. cabanisi. Texas Kingfisher. — This beau- 

 tiful little Kingfisher was found by Mr. Werner in comparative abundance at 

 several points in Comal County, notably about some of the springs that empty 

 into the Guadaloupe River. A set of six eggs,* taken April 25, 1878, was 

 authenticated by the capture of both parent birds, the female being caught 



* The only previous description to which I can at present refer is that by Dr. 

 Brewer (birds of North America, Vol. II, p. 397), of some unidentified eggs 

 from Dr. Berlandier's Matamoras collection, which were supposed to belong to 

 tins species. They were apparently somewhat larger than the specimens above 

 described, the measurements being given as "1.06 x .61." 



