THE PROrilONOTART WARBLER. 105 



was built in a sort of pocket-shaped cavity in the side of a large cj'press 

 stump. The hole descended vertically in the inside of the sliell-like 

 wall, the central heart of which had crumbled awaj-. Another, found 

 by Mr. Ridgway. was built in an extremely rotten snag which stood on 

 the edge of a road ; the eggs or sitting parent could easily be seen by 

 any one riding by. This nest was several hundred yards away from 

 water. 



In the construction of the nest the female labors somewhat desulto- 

 rily. Fresh green moss enters largely into its composition, and al- 

 though this substance is readily obtained, a week is sometimes consumed 

 in building the simple little affair. Most of the materials are gathered 

 in the immediate vicinity from half-submerged logs or the nearest dry 

 ground. The male almost always accompanies his partner on her trips 

 to and from the nest, making a great show of hunting up choice bits 

 of material, but apparently never succeeding in finding any to his 

 mind. He usually precedes her on her return, enters the hole to inves- 

 tigate the condition of affairs, pops out his golden head to assure her 

 with a soft chirp that all is well within, and then gives way to allow her 

 to enter, clinging against the bark outside to cheer her labors with his 

 song and await her reappearance. Sometimes, however, both birds 

 remain inside together, although how much assistance the male renders 

 in house furnishing I cannot say. Probably his pi'esence is only toler- 

 ated, and he is perhaps often accused of being a nuisance. 



The shape and size of the nest vary with that of the cavity in which it 

 is placed. When the hole is deep, it is usually filled up to within four 

 or five inches of the entrance. Thus the nest when removed presents 

 the appeai-ance of a compact mass of moss five or six inches in height 

 by three or four in diameter. When the cavity is shallow, it is often 

 only scantily lined with moss and a few fine roots. The deeper nests 

 are of course the more elaborate ones. One of the finest specimens 

 before me is composed of moss, dry leaves, and cypress-twigs. The 

 cavity for the eggs is a neatly rounded, cup-shaped hollow, two inches 

 in diameter by one and a half in depth, smoothly lined with fine roots 

 and a few wing-feathers of some small bird. 



The number of eggs constituting a full set varies to an unusual de- 

 gree ; two nests were found, each of which contained seven eggs, while 

 in another instance a nest, which from its position could not possibly 

 have been molested, had o\\\y one, nearly ready to be hatched. Out of 

 fifteen sets of eggs taken, two included seven eggs; three, six; three, 

 five; four, four; two, three; and one, one egg. The average number 

 is probably five or six. Seventeen specimens before me agree pretty 

 well in size and general shape, nearly all being noticeably blunted at 

 the smaller end. Two selected as extreme examples measure respec- 

 tively .73 X -59 and .67 X -SS. The ground-color is clear, lustrous 



