50 



THE OOLOGIST 



the large end, leaving the whole of the rest 

 of the surface as a rule, entirely free from 

 blemish. Usually the spots* and blotche'S 

 are brown, but, where profuse, lilac tints 

 and black also appear. The jrround color 

 iilso varies somewhat ; occasionally a blue 

 tinge appears, but more frequently a buff 

 tint is added to the white. Tiie eggs i^iore 

 nearly resemble those of the Texas Orchard 

 Oriole (/. spurius, var. affinis) more than 

 anythiug else ; in fact, the light colored, 

 slender specimens of the Orchard Oriole, 

 would not be tlistinguished from the round- 

 er blue-tinted eggs of the Hooded. Tliey 

 are comparable rather to the eggs of tlie 

 Quiscali than to those of most of the Icteri. 

 Their shape varies considerably, but the 

 majority of specimens are marked by a pe- 

 culiar pointedness at both ends. In size 

 they run from .90 to .78 of an inch in 

 length and from .Go to .55 in breadth, a 

 large number of specimens having been 

 referred to. '•'•Some sets," says Dr. Mer- 

 rill, "• are precisely like larjie Vireos' eggs." 

 Eggs for the first brood are laid about the 

 middle of May. 



Nest and Eggs of the Clay-col- 

 ored Bunting. 



fpiIE Clay-colored Sparrows nest abund- 

 antly in Dakota, and especially along 

 the Red River, in the open, low underbrush 

 by the river-side, and among the innumer- 

 able scrub-willow copses of the valley. They 

 pair here the latter part of May, when the 

 males come into full song. The pairing 

 season, during which the males may be seen 

 continually chasing the females about in the 

 bushes, is of short duration ; and, prelim- 

 inaries adjusted, both birds set to work in 

 earnest at their nest, with such success that 

 it is completed and the eggs laid in a week 

 or two. Most of my nests were taken dur- 

 ing the first two weeks in June. In one 

 case, in which I visited a nest daily, I found 

 that an egg was laid each day, till the com- 

 plement of four was filled. I have not 

 found more than four eggs in a nest, and 



sometimes only three. They are of a light 

 green color, rather scantily and sharply 

 speckled with sienna and other rich shades 

 of brown — sometimes very dai'k brown. 

 (Tenerally the dotting is chiefly confined to 

 the larger end, with only a speck here and 

 there over the general siu'face ; the dots 

 are sometimes in an area at tlie butt, some- 

 times partially confluent and wreathed a- 

 round it. Tiie eggs measure about 0.62 

 by 0.50. The nest is always placed low ; 

 1 never found one so high as a yard from 

 the ground, and genei'ally took nests with- 

 in a few inches, in the crotch of a willow 

 or other shrub, or in a tuft of weeds. The 

 nest is inartistically built of fine di-ied grass- 

 stems and tiie slenderer weed-stalks, with 

 perhaps a few rootlets ; it is sometimes lin- 

 ed quite thickly with horse-hair, sometimes 

 not, then having instead some very fine 

 grass-tops. It varies a good deal in size 

 and shape, according to its situation, but 

 may average about three inches across by 

 two deep, with a cavity two inches wide by 

 otie and a half deep. In those cases where 

 I approached the setting bird, she left the 

 nest when I was a few steps away, and 

 fluttered directly into concealment, without 

 attempting any artifice or venturing to pro- 

 test against the spoliation of her'home. It 

 is most probable that two broods may be 

 reared, even in this high latitude, but I 

 cannot so assert, as I i'ound no nests nor 

 heard the nuptial songs alter June. 



Dr. Coues in Birds of the Noiihwest. 



ExTENSivii series of House Sparrows' 

 eggs show a range of variations quite in- 

 teresting. Here is a set of five, very light 

 colored, with exceedingly fine points of lav- 

 ender ; another of four, with light ground 

 color and several largish spots upon their 

 surfaces ; here a set containing two heavi- 

 ly and two lightly flecked eggs ; while an 

 unpretentious complement of six are near- 

 ly slate-colored with the numerous points 

 upon their deep-tinted surface ; one egg is 

 nearly spherical, and has the spots in a 

 bunch on the lar";e end. 



