THE OOLOGIST 



389 



ought to be laid. So I went again, tak- 

 ing a hammer, saw, chisel, scoop net 

 and climbing irons; an 18-foot ladder 

 was also taken to reduce the height of 

 the climb, as I thought it probable that 

 I might have to go up the stub several 

 times. On reaching the stub I placed 

 the ladder against it, strapped on my 

 irons and soon reached the nest. I 

 looked into the hole, but could only 

 see the edge of the bottom on the op- 

 posite side. It was about two feet 

 deep. I used the saw to make two 

 cuts about four inches apart opposite 

 the bottom of the inside cavity. I split 

 out the piece of wood between the cuts 

 and with the chisel dug into the nest. 

 I found that only one egg had been 

 laid, so after lifting it with the scoop 

 net near enough for a good look, I re- 

 placed it, fitted a piece of wood into 

 the hole I had made and replaced the 

 piece split off from the outside, fasten- 

 ing it with nails. 



I made another visit on May 7th, 

 and found that there were four eggs. 

 What a sight to please the eyes of an 

 oologist who had w'aited so many 

 years to see his first set! How pret- 

 ty they looked, like four gems in their 

 setting of wood chips, the yolks show- 

 ing through the translucent shells, giv- 

 ing them a pink tint, which is never 

 seen in the eggs after they are blown. 

 This tint gradually changes to a dark- 

 er hue as the eggs advance in incuba- 

 tion. 



Thinking that the set was not com- 

 plete I left the eggs undisturbed. On 

 May ninth I visited the nest again and 

 found the female sitting on the four 

 eggs. I removed the eggs and put in 

 two Flicker's eggs which are some- 

 what smaller. The female sat on 

 these about a week but deserted the 

 nest when I took out one of them. 



The male bird was not seen at any 

 time when the nest was visited. The 

 following measurements of the stub 



and nesting place may be of interest: 

 Diameter of the stub at the ground, 19 

 inches; diameter of the stub at the 

 nest 12 1^ inches. Diameter of the 

 hole ZYz inches. This was almost ex- 

 actly circular and on the western side 

 of the stub. The horizontal depth of 

 the cavity, the ruler being placed on 

 the lower edge of the entrance, was 

 10 inches. The hole went in horizon- 

 tally for IV2 inches before it was work- 

 ed downward. The vertical depth 

 from top of entrance to the bottom, 24 

 inches. The diameter of the cavity 

 at the entrance was nine inches. The 

 diameter of the cavity at the bottom 

 was ~V2 inches. The distance from 

 nest hole to ground, 30^/4 feet. The 

 entrance and walls were smoothly 

 chiseled except at the top, where it 

 was somewhat rough. The full height 

 of the stub was estimated at 55 feet; 

 there were no limbs on it and the bark 

 only adhered to the lower part, the rest 

 being bare. A glance at the measure- 

 ments show that the cavity was widest 

 at the top, tapering gradually toward 

 the bottom. The four eggs are of 

 nearly the same size and measure: 

 1.32x1; 1.34x1.02; 1.34x1.02, and 

 1.34 X 1 inches. They are very smooth 

 and glossy white. 



In his "Life Histories," Bendire says 

 of the nest of this species: '"The en- 

 trance measures from 3 to ZV2 inches 

 in diameter, and it often goes five 

 inches straight into the trunk before 

 it is worked downward. The cavity 

 varies from 7 to 30 inches in depth 

 and is gradually enlarged towards the 

 bottom where it is about six inches 

 wide." 



This description fits my nest very 

 well, except it is the reverse in shape. 

 This bird is so widely distributed that 

 it may change its nesting habits some- 

 what so that Major Bendire was prob- 

 ably right, his description being taken 

 from nests found in the West. 



