84 NEBRASKA ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION 



a prowling- oolog-ist happens along. The nest is almost indistinguish- 

 able from that of the Baltimore Oriole, though I think that as a general 

 rule it is more beautiful and more artistically constructed. The eggs 

 are smaller and partake more of the coloration of the Orchard Oriole. 

 The nest I secured was suspended about forty feet from the ground from 

 the lower portion of a pendant limb growing out of the middle of the 

 tree and contained four partly incubated eggs. This was the only pair 

 of birds seen near Pine Ridge but they were more plentiful farther 

 north, especially along Indian Creek. 



McCown's Longspur (Rhynchophmies mccoicnii). — On the 20th of June, 

 while on our return from Indian Creek, a large flock of these birds was 

 seen, scattered over the dry hills, just north of Antelope Creek. From 

 their actions, the birds w^ere evidently breeding, but there w^as no time 

 to look for their nests. Later, July 4, a second flock was found upon 

 the ridge southwest of Warbonnet Canon and near the Wyoming line. 

 After a few minutes' search, Mr. Cary located a nest containing half- 

 fledged young. The nest was built very much like that of the Horned 

 Lark, being sunken flush with the surface of the ground and made of 

 dried prairie grass blades and rootlets. The birds were close to, and on 

 both sides of a trail, while the nest found was but a few feet away from 

 the beaten track with no attempt whatever at concealment or pro- 

 tection by weed or tuft of grass. 



Western Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus con/ims) .^While return- 

 ing from our expedition to the cliff of the rock swifts, May 30, we 

 secured our first nest of this bird. A light rain was falling and we 

 were tramping silently along through the wet grass, when a little gray 

 bird darted up in front of us and dropped down into a "blowout" 

 beyond. We searched for several minutes without finding anything 

 and would have left had the bird not appeared so anxious about our 

 presence. Accordingly we withdrew a short distance and had hardly 

 settled ourselves to watch when the anxious little mother fliittered 

 back and alighted near the spot of her first appearance. While closely 

 watching her she seemed to suddenly melt into the grass and disappear. 

 We hastened to the spot, and when ^vithin not more than five feet of 

 the nest she flushed a second time and we were soon looking down 

 into the cleverly concealed little cup of woven grass which contained 

 the five eggs she guarded so jealously, and which was tucked down 

 into the lower part of a bunch of prairie grass and built entirely of 

 the dead grass blades. The eggs have a bluish background, speckled, 

 dotted, and streaked with blackish brown and light purplish shell 

 markings. We foiand another nest a few days later, containing five 

 eggs also. Mr. Cary and myself were dragging the grass for nests and 

 as I crossed the edge of a rocky "blowout," the female flushed from 

 almost under my feet. This nest was much less substantially built 

 and was scarcely concealed, being sunken, fiush with the surface, at 

 the base of a few stems of grass. Two other nests were found later 



