174 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 7-No. 22 



Wilson's Thpubh (Turdus fuseescens,) 

 except the Eobin, themost abundant thrush 

 of this locality. Although found plenti- 

 fully in nearly all situations, its favorite 

 haunts are low, swampy woods. The past 

 Summer a pair of these Thrushes Ijuilt 

 their nest and reared their young- within 

 fifty yards of my home. The site which 

 they selected for their nest was by the 

 roadside under an elm tree, among the 

 rank, growing male ferns. They seemed 

 to be an unusually social pair, and came 

 about the house searching for food, show- 

 ing no signs of fear. Teams were con- 

 stantly passing within eight feet of their 

 nest. Of twelve sets which I collected 

 this Summer, seven contained foiu-, four 

 three, and one two eggs each. The set 

 containing but two eggs was taken July 

 26th and would undoulitedly have con- 

 tained one or two more had I left the nest 

 undisturbed. The earliest set was taken 

 May 30th. Six sets measure as follows : 

 Set of four collected May 30th, 92x66, 

 90X65,88X65,88X65: set of four col- 

 lected June 5th, 88X65, 87X65.86X65. 

 85 X 65 ; set of four collected June 5th, 

 89x68, 88X67, 88x66, 92x65: set of 

 three collected June 13th, 85x68. 84x67, 

 85x68 : set of three collected June 20th, 

 84x70. 87x69, 84x69; set of three col- 

 lected June 28th, 80x60, 76x62, 80x60. 

 The set taken June 28th was, I think, the 

 third litter laid by that pair of birds, 

 which will account for the small size of 

 the eggs. The eggs are oval but vary 

 somewhat in shape : their color is bluish- 

 green, a little darker than those of the 

 Bluebird, and lighter than those of the 

 Catbird. The nest is placed on or near 

 the ground, but usvially in a low bush 

 within a few inches of the ground, and is 

 composed of leaves, diied grass and weeds, 

 lined with fine roots, strips of bark, and 

 often hair. There is but little variation in 

 the nests which I have examined in this 

 locality.— C. O. Tracy, raftsville. Vt. 

 Subscribe for Volume VIII. Onlv Si- 



Brief Newsy Notes. 



Eggs in a Set. — Harry F. Haines, Eliza^ 

 beth, N. J., who has taken a good many 

 Long-billed Marsh AVren's nests, writes 

 that six is the largest number found in a 

 nest, but five is found oftener than four or 

 six. Let us hear fi-om others. 



Hakmony. — Henrv' A. Berry of Iowa City, 

 Iowa, reports finding the following nests 

 in one tree. Orchard Oriole, five eggs : 

 Kingbird, three eggs, and WTiite-eyed 

 Vireo, four eggs. 



Cardinal Grosbeak. — Henn' A. Berry, 

 Iowa City, reports a specimen being taken 

 in a box trap at that place last February. 

 It is now in confinement. 



Savannah Sparrow. — John H. Sage re- 

 ports that he has never taken a set of these 

 eggs at Portland, Conn., although they 

 breed there. Chas. H. Neff was more for- 

 tunate and found a set this season. 



Common Crow,— April 21, 1882, I took 

 my largest set of seven eggs. Have taken 

 several sets of six. 



Humming Bieds. — C. J. Ma^^lard states 

 in his Birds of Eastern North America, 

 page 215, that the male R. T. Humming 

 Bird is especially watchful of the nest and 

 is vei-y pugnacious when any person ap 

 preaches it. I have taken several nests of 

 this species and have watched the birds 

 building their nest, and in no instance 

 have I seen the male bird near the nest, 

 even when it contained young, and the ex- 

 perience of othei-s who have taken them 

 here agrees with my own. 



Great-horned Owls' Eggs. — The aver- 

 age size was about 2.10x1-80. The set 

 of four was somewhat smaller than any of 

 the others, the measurements being 2.08 X 

 1.68, 208X1.76, 2.10xL78, 2.12x1.80. 

 The largest set measured 2.25x1-85, 2.28 

 Xl.88, 2.30x1-88. The jjores of these 

 eggs are very large. In blowing with one 

 of Rowland's blowers it was noticed that 

 the moisture came out of every pore and 

 stood in drops like sweat. — E. A. S. 



