AVERY BIRD COLLECTION 93 



No. 290. Male. Greensboro. Dec. 2, 1889. W. C. Avery. 



No. 1001. Female. Baldwin Co. Oct. 1, 1892. W. C. Avery. 



No. 1090. Male. Greensboro. Oct. 25, 1893. W. C. Avery. 



145. CARDINALIS CARDINALIS CARDINALIS (Linn^us). 



Cardinal. 

 "Redbhxl." 



Considering how common and easily accessible are the 

 nests of the redbird about the thickets and brier-patches 

 in spring, it is not surprising that Dr. Avery should col- 

 lect a set of eggs before taking the bird itself. The fol- 

 lowing is taken from his early "Oological Register." : 



"No. 2. Nest of Cardinal Grosbeak (Red-bird) — Car- 

 dinalis virginianus — 27th May, 1876. I discovered, by 

 the twitterings of the parent birds, this nest in a black- 

 berry vine. I he cardinal builds its nest on trees or 

 shrubs near the ground. This nest contained three eggs, 

 the whole 'clutch.' I waited several days after I found 

 it; expecting the old bird to lay another Qgg',', but finding 

 her constantly on the nest, I became aware that she was 

 sitting." 



The small number of eggs laid by the cardinal seems 

 to have interested the Doctor, for in 1890 he published 

 the following under the title ''Number of Eggs in a Set 

 of. the Cardinal." : 



"In Hale county, Alabama, three eggs constitute a com- 

 plete set of the cardinal. More than three have never 

 been found by me, nor by any one else whom I know in 

 this locality. Dr. J. M. Pickett of Cedarville, Alabama, 

 has had the same experience as myself ; he has never col- 

 lected a set of more than three of the cardinal, although 

 he has taken many sets. 



"The cardinal is one of our commonest birds, nesting 

 from early in April till September, and therefore produc- 

 ing more than one set. This bird may lay fewer eggs 

 to the set than in localities farther north, where the 

 nesting period is short, and where one set may be the 

 usual number. 



"Davie in Nests and Eggs of North American Birds 

 says that the red-eyed vireo lays three or four eggs; in 

 this latitude it lays only three. Having, like the cardinal, 



