August, 1889.] 



AWD OOLOGIST. 



117 



of food. The ranch men have to herd them 

 from one ground to another, and on the way 

 many of them perisli as the weather is so dry, 

 and the sun burns the grass to tlie roots. Well, 

 one day in June, I started on an expedition for 

 some bii'ds. It was a fine morning, the sun 

 just rising above the horizon. I rode along 

 taking in the country that surrounded me on all 

 sides, when my attention was attracted to some 

 dark objects hovering about in the sky. I 

 knew in a minute they were Buzzards, so 

 thinking to get a shot at them I started 

 towards the spot, and luck was running my 

 way, for they did not want to leave and I 

 tried several successful shots at about five 

 hundred yards. When I came up I saw what 

 they were after. There in the hollow lay 

 several dead animals; the stench would turn 

 you inside out. I rode up to survey tlie bodies 

 when my attention was attracted to some 

 small brownish objects on the body. I looked 

 a little closer, and sure enough there were 

 thi-ee bunting eggs. I was tempted very much 

 to lay claim to them, but through curiosity 

 I left thera, to return in a few days to find 

 tliem the same as before. What surprised me 

 was that the Buzzards did not take the meat 

 where the eggs lay. Well, I stopped around for 

 several hours but no parent birds appeared. 

 On the way back I flushed several of them 

 that were feeding with some Titlarks. I re- 

 turned to my treasure in a few more days to find 

 two of them turned into small yellow balls, 

 this time I stopped around all tlie morning but 

 still no parent birds appeared. I did not know 

 what to make of it, I could not see what fed 

 and brought them out. I left and returned in 

 two more days, but still tlie other egg was 

 void. I continued to visit the nest freciuently 

 but did not find my parent birds within sight. 

 At last one day I decided to stop all day, and 

 to my surprise I saw a Titlark come running 

 along with something in her mouth. I thought 

 she was going to feed them but she passed the 

 spot and went to her own nest just below. 

 Presently I spied a Bunting coming along 

 with a bug in its bill, it flew to tlie top and 

 dropped its burden to her young, who devoured 

 it as if tliey had not seen food for some time. 

 I visited the place a week or so later and 

 the body was very nearly all devoured and no 

 signs of the young birds to be seen. I suppose 

 some hungry hawk or some other ravenous 

 beast had made way with them, at any rate I 

 never found out what became of them, 



IVni. CunningJiam. 

 La .Junta, Mexico. 



Nesting of the Cerulean Warbler. 



On May I'J, 1889, while going through the 

 woods in search of nests, I happened to see a 

 small nest situated in a tree about forty-five 

 feet high. Thinking fi-om its appearance it 

 must be the nest of some warbler I strapped 

 on my climbing irons and went up the tree, 

 and upon reaching the nest I found it to be all 

 completed but contained no eggs, so I left it 

 with the determination of visiting it again. 



On the morning of the 25tli my fatlier and 1 

 went over there, and upon climbing tlie tree I 

 found a Cerulean Warbler {Dendroica cceriilea) 

 sitting on the nest. When she left the nest I 

 found it contained five fresh eggs, which I 

 safely packed and sent down on a string which 

 I had for the purpose. I then sawed off the 

 limb and sent down the nest. 



While getting tlie eggs and nest both the 

 $ and 9 of the birds were close around, some- 

 times coming within five or six feet of me. 

 The nest was situated in a beecli tree forty- 

 six feet high and twelve feet from the body of 

 the tree. It is saddled on the limb and is 

 composed of fine strips of the inner bark of 

 trees with a few strips of grape-vine bark, and 

 having a few pieces of a kind of fungus fastened 

 to the outside and is lined with a fine veget- 

 able substance very much resembling red hair. 



The eggs are of a greenish-white profusely 

 spotted with small blotches and dots of light 

 reddish-brown and lilac, forming a ring around 

 the larger end, and with blotches of light red- 

 dish brown distributed over the entire surface. 

 They measure .67x..51, .65x.50, .66 v. 49, 

 .65x.51, and .6.5 x ..50. E. W. Durfee. 



Wayne County, Mich. 



[Since writing the above Mr. Durfee took 

 another nest of this species, containing four 

 fresh eggs. He found them on June 16, 1889, 

 in Wayne County, Michigan, and shot the 9 

 parent bird, so there can be no question as to 

 the identification. The nest, eggs, and 9 

 skin are now befoi-e me and may be thus de- 

 scribed : 



Nest in maple tree, fifty feet from the 

 ground, and ten feet from the trunk of the 

 tree. Saddled on limb of fork. Cup-sliaped, 

 and composed of plant fibres and strips of fine 

 bark; lined with grape-vine bark. Outside 

 depth, 1.30; outside diameter, 2.45; inside 

 depth, 1.20; inside diameter, 1.70. 9 shot 

 and skin with nest and eggs. Four eggs, fresh. 

 Gieenisli-white, spotted with russet and burnt 

 umber, chiefly near the larger ends: .65x51; 

 .66X.52; .64x.51; .66x.51.— ,/. P. N.] 



