ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. iS-No. I 



the upper nest had been cleaned out by a 

 snake, although the lower set was safe. 



The Long-bill, on the contrary, is very 

 easily offended. June 5 this year I found 

 a nest containing three eggs and left them, 

 wishing to take the full set a few days 

 later. The nest was in the middle of the 

 meadow and could not be reached with- 

 out a boat, so I was not able to go to it 

 again until June 17, when I found it de- 

 serted (the three eggs being cold and wet) , 

 although I had handled it only as long as 

 it was absolutely necessary to ascertain 

 the number of eggs. Although the nest 

 was deserted, the birds were close by and 

 as noisy as ever, and after a short search 

 I found the second nest in a hummock 

 hardly five feet from the one in which the 

 first was built. This contained five eggs 

 slightly incubated, probably the balance 

 of the set that would have been laid in the 

 first nest. I think the second nest was a 

 new one and not a decoy, as otherwise I 

 should have noticed it the first day. 



Neither species, so far as I have seen, 

 is at all particular about the points of the 

 compass, as far as the nest entrances are 

 concerned, for the openings are just as 

 often on any other side as they are on the 

 south side. There does not seem to be 

 any rule for this, unless, possibly, that 

 when the nest is not in the centre of the 

 hummock the entrance is usually in the 

 part nearest the outer edge. When on 

 the edge of a river or brook, it faces as 

 often away from as towards the water. 

 The entrance is usually in the side ; but 

 in one Long-bills' nest that was built in a 

 bunch of " cat-o'nine-tail" leaves, the nest 

 was longer and more narrow than usual 

 and the entrance near the top. This is an 

 unusual case, but there did not seem to be 

 space enough for a hole between the leaves. 



The second set of the Short-bill is usu- 

 ally laid by the second week of July, but 

 sometimes a week or ten days earlier. 

 There are from five to seven eggs in this. 



just as in the earlier sets. The Long-bills 

 lay again about the first of August, but a 

 set of four is the largest I have seen at 

 that date. The largest set I have taken 

 at any time contained six eggs, but that 

 does not appear to be considered a large 

 set. 



The horizontal diameter of the Short- 

 bills' nest is usually four inches, and the 

 vertical four and one half; while the 

 Long-bills', although occasionally as small 

 as that, are more often very bulky, meas- 

 uring four and one half by six inches. 

 The entrance of the nests of both species 

 is about three-fourths of an inch. 



The eggs of both are about the same 

 size, averaging .67 x .47. This is a larger 

 measurement than is usually given for 

 Short-bill's eggs, but I have measured 

 quite a number and they do not vary much 

 from it. Their shape is somewhat variable, 

 some being almost exactly like a minia- 

 ture Guillemot's egg, but the majority are 

 about the shape of the average Warbler's 

 egg, the width being equal to a little over 

 two-thirds of the length. Some of the 

 Long-bills' are nearly spherical, but none 

 of the other species are of this shape. 



The eggs are nearly as highly polished 

 as those of the Woodpeckers, the Short- 

 bill's being pure white while those of the 

 Long-bill are light brown, usually evenly 

 spotted over the entire surface with slightly 

 darker dots, sometimes, however, they are 

 very heavily marked with large blotches 

 of dark brown, with two or three small 

 black dots near the large end, but I have 

 only found one set marked in this way. 



The season of incubation lasts about ten 

 days and in the second set I believe is 

 somewhat assisted by the heat of the sun, 

 as I have never found the bird on the nest 

 in July, while in May and June it is not 

 very difficult to see the grass moving 

 slightly as they leave the nest and then to 

 flush them a little way off. 



The songs of the two birds, although 



