86 NEBRASKA ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION 



perhaiJS ten feet from the ground. This nest was without question 

 built by the present inhabitant, as the condition, material, and con- 

 struction fully testified. On July 5, while searching a clump of bushes 

 near the mouth of the canon for a suspected nest of the Lazuli Bunt- 

 ing, I flushed a female towhee from fairly under my nose and parting 

 the little rose bush I was about to walk over, looked down into a nest 

 of the bird just flushed. It was built as a typical towhee's should be, 

 with perhaps a little more foundation, and contained four fresh eggs. 



The eg"gs of the Arctic Towhee vary as much in size and coloration 

 as do those of the eastern form. Out of three sets which I secured, 

 in one the background is almost perfectly white, in the second a decided 

 reddish tinge, while in the third as blue as any Grosbeak's egg which 

 I have ever seen. The largest egg measures 25x17 mm., the smallest 

 21x16 mm. The markings consist of fine specks, g-enerally heavier 

 around the larger end, running through shades of chestnut, cinnamon, 

 rufous, and lilac. 



La-Zuli Bunting {Cyanospiza amocna). — This bird was found to be 

 quite abundant along the creeks, after leaving the canons, where the 

 thickets and shrubbery afforded excellent feeding ground and nesting 

 sites. Although the birds were frequently met with, but two nests 

 were found, on account of the cleverness whh which they were con- 

 cealed. The first was on July 1, and found after a half hour's systematic 

 search of a thicket not far from the mouth of Warbonnet Canon, where 

 it was deftly tucked away in the leaf-draped fork of a choke-cherry 

 shrub, about four feet from the ground. The nest was made of grass, 

 weeds, stems, and rootlets, lined with fine grass. The four fresh eggs 

 were a beautiful pale blue, indistinguishable from those of the Indigo 

 Bunting. The second nest, July 10, with four fresh eggs, was taken 

 at the mouth of Jim Creek Caiion, and from a situation very similar 

 to that of the first, the nest material, construction, and position being 

 practically the same also. 



During the heat of the day the birds are not often observed, keeping 

 down in the thickets, but in early morning the male is always to be 

 seen, perched near its nest, on the highest twig available, pouring out 

 its song, loud, yet not harsh, and full of trills and tender cadences, 

 while the female flits about close by. 



Louisiana Tanager (Piraiiga ludoviciana) . — This beautiful bird, with 

 its golden body, blackish wings and tail, and crimson head, seems to 

 realize that its brilliant colors are intensified by dark green foliage 

 and consequently is rarely seen in any other tree than a pine, where 

 it feeds, builds its nest, and rears its young. The birds were fairly 

 abundant along the canon sloi^es, but on account of the splendid 

 cover they had for concealing their nests, but one was found. On July 

 27, I was slowly toiling up .an almost jjerpendicular pine-clad slope, 

 with a camera and tripod, when the actions of a female tanager caused 

 me to stop and watch her. After a moment's observation, it was very 



