12 NESTS AND EGGS OF N. A. BIRDS. 



lO. OREOSCOPTES MONTANUS. *■ 



SAGE THRUSH, 



"The nests of this bird, so far as I have seen them, are all flat) 

 shallow structures, with very slight depression, and loosely and 

 rudely constructed of an intermingling of strips of bark with root- 

 lets and the finer stems of herbaceous plants. 



Their eggs, usually four in number, do not vary essentially in 

 size, shape, or marking. They measure l inch in length, and from 

 .73 to .75 in breadth. Their ground color is a bright greenish- 

 blue, marked with deep, olive-brown spots, intermingled with 

 blotches of a light lilac. There are slight variations in the propor- 

 tion of green in the shade of the ground color, and also in the 

 number and size of the spots, but these variations are unimport- 

 ant." — Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's N. A. Birds, vol. i, p, 23- 



II. MIMUS POLYGLOTTUS. 



MOCKING BIRD. 



"In Texas and Florida the Mocking Bird nests early in March, 

 young birds appearing early in April. In Georgia and the Caro- 

 linas they are two weeks later. In Pennsylvania they nest about 

 the loth of May, and in New York and New England not until 

 the second week of June. They select various situations for the 

 nest; solitary thorn-bushes, an almost impenetrable thicket of 

 brambles, an orange-tree, or a holly-bush, appear to be favorite lo- 

 calities. They often build near the farm-houses, and the nest is 

 rarely more than seven feet from the ground. The base of the 

 nest is usually a rudely constructed platform of coarse sticks, often 

 armed with formidable thorns surrounding the nest with a barri- 

 cade. The height is usually 5 inches, with a diameter of 8, The 

 cavity is 3 inches deep and 5 wide. Within the external barricade 

 is an inner nest constructed of soft fine roots. 



The eggs, from four to six in number, vary in length from .94 to 

 1. 06 inches, with a mean length of .99. Their breadth varies from 

 .81 to .69 of an inch, mean breadth .75. They also exhibit great 

 variations in the combinations of markings and tints. The ground 

 color is usually light greenish-blue, varying in the depth of its^hade 

 from a very light tint to a distinct blue, with a slight greenish tinge. 

 The markings consist of a yellowish-brown and purple, chocolate- 



