2 48 



THE MUSEUM. 



when the second tenant came in. 



I have known this wren to build in 

 several strange places, viz: in an old 

 accordian case, and also, in an old 

 carpet sack, both thrown on a picket 

 fence, also in a small model of an in- 

 dian house, the interior of which about 

 a foot square was nearly filled with 

 twigs, etc. and in the branches of an 

 old ivy plant, the nest in this case 

 being built of twigs fas is usual) six or 

 seven inches long with interior of finer 

 material. 



On several occasions I have found 

 the nests of blue grouse with eggs of 

 the California partridge or quail, also 

 those of the English pheasant. 



The last one I found was not dis- 

 turbed and when the hen left with her 

 family I found that she had hatched 

 all her eggs, five, and also two pheas- 

 ants, showing that they take about the 

 same time to incubate. I am certain 

 the grouse did the sitting as I often 

 saw her on the nest and never off it. 



Some years ago I saw an article in 

 the Oologist stating that our western 

 robin built only in apple and young 

 fir trees. Such is not the case on this 

 island, as they build in forest and or- 

 chard trees of all sizes and ages. I 

 have even found it nesting on a beam 

 in an open shed in a farm yard where 

 people were passing to and fro all day. 

 On one occasion I found it on a large 

 fir and the bird had made use of two 

 or three yards of string and part of a 

 local daily paper. There is a pecul- 

 iarity, about their eggs also. Some- 

 times we find them of a dark blue 

 green and never more than three in a 

 nest, average size 1.37X, 31, and at 

 other times three, four or five eggs of 

 pale green not so pointed at one end, 

 average size 1.25X. 37. I believe the 

 egg of the eastern bird is smaller. 



I have never noticed much variation 

 in robin's eggs in size when of one 

 shade or the other. The darker 01 es 

 are alwa\s the larger and never in my 

 experience has a nest contamed eggs 

 of both sorts. Do eastern eggs vary 

 in size and coloring in this way.' I 

 would be much obliged if some one 

 through the Museum would answer my 

 questions. J. W. T., 



British Columbia. 



A Few Hints Upon the Marking of 



Eggs. 



It has long been to me a surprising 

 fact why all wide-awake oologists do 

 not "catch on" and use fur the mark- 

 ing, or rather the rr- marking of their 

 specimens, instead of the pencil, India 

 ink. It IS the desire of every live 

 oologist, or at leajt, it should be, to 

 mark his specimens in an intelligible 

 manner; so that he can readily per- 

 ceive at a glance, the number, set 

 mark and date; so that after the wear 

 of years, he can open his cabinet 

 drawer, examine his "sets" or "sin- 

 gles," and yet find the markings there- 

 on nearly as clear, distinct and per- 

 ceptible as when first applied. This 

 is a feat, substantiated b}' experience 

 — the best of all teachers — that cannot 

 be accomplished with a pencil, that is 

 if ihe eggs are constantly handled, and 

 such is invariably the case with the 

 studious oologist. 



The markings of the pencil, when 

 subjected to handling will bhir, more- 

 over they will graduall) fade under the 

 influence of time While taking meas- 

 urements of eggs, very often the mark- 

 ings are touched, and if ot the pencil, 

 will be very likely to be obsured un- 

 consciously, thus oltentimes account- 

 ing for the disagreeable confusion of 

 sets. There is but one alternative: 

 mark your eggs with Indiaink. Up- 



