Prothonotary Warbler. 301 



bluebird? Or who, upon first acquaintance with our 

 stout, burgher robin, would think that he dwelt in a mud 

 hovel? The prothonotary warbler is a striking example 

 of beauty in uncouth surroundings. I own that I was dis- 

 appointed on first examining a nest of this warbler and 

 finding only a flimsy bed of dark and dried materials. 

 The handsomest part of the nest is the foundation, which 

 is ordinarily composed of small pieces of dark green moss. 

 On the mossy foundation is a layer of skeleton leaves, 

 fibrous roots, dried leaves, and weed stems, averaging less 

 than an inch in thickness. The nest is finished internally 

 with fine grass and a few horse hairs. In some instances 

 the moss is almost entirely lacking, and in others the 

 intermediate layer is very flimsy; but such is the typical 

 nest, with few variations to show individual taste. Very 

 few of the nests I have examined were three inches high. 



There is a great diversity both in the size and in the 

 coloration of tbe eggs of this warbler. In one type of 

 coloration the eggs appear to be miniatures of the eggs of 

 the towhee, having fine dots of light reddish brown evenly 

 and scantily distributed over the pinkish white ground. 

 Then there is the style of marking which makes the eggs 

 resemble those of the house wren on a larger scale, having 

 the specks of reddish brown so thickly and evenly dis- 

 tributed that the eggs have nearly that color. The hand- 

 somest eggs have a ground of china white, or like cream 

 that has just been poured over strawberries, with large 

 marks of cherry and walnut and lilac, some of the marks 

 being so confluent at the larger end that they form com- 

 paratively large areas. In about seventy-five nests which 

 I examined in two seasons, I found no complement of 

 more than six eggs, and I found complete sets of three, 

 four, five, as well as six. Sets of six appear to be more 

 common in my experience than any other number. 

 Some accurate observers report sets of seven occasionally, 

 and one or more instances of eight eggs in the comple- 

 ment. Only once did I find an egg of the cowbird, which 

 was in a set of six, lying in the back part of the nest, the 

 entrance measuring two inches high and one inch and a 

 half wide. 



While the master of the household is cheerfully guard- 



