NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 13 



inches in depth. It was so awkwardly situated that much of the base of 

 the nest had evidently been filled in to firmly support the structure. 



Hab. Gila River; Fort Yuma; Fort Mojave. 



17. Rufus- Vented Thrasher — harporhynchus crissalis. Uniform 

 blue, unspotted and both in size and color closely resemble eggs of the 

 Robin. They are usually three in number, sometimes four and five, of an 

 oblong-oval shape, one end being a little less obtuse than the other. In 

 length they vary from 1. 15 to 1. 12. and in breadth from .84 to .82. The 

 Rufus-Vented Thrasher is found throughout the entire valley of the 

 Colorado and Gila, associated in the same localities with H. lecontei. This 

 bird, known as the "Crissal Thrasher," is found in copses in valleys, along 

 streams, and it is especially fond of well-shaded undergrowth where the 

 nest is generally placed. It is a flat structure, containing only a very slight 

 depression, very rudely constructed externally of coarse sticks quite loosely 

 put together; the inner nest is made of finer materials of the same. 



Hab. Region of the Gila River to Rocky Mts., Southern Utah. 



19. American Water Ouzel — cinclus mexicanus. This interesting 

 bird which has the aquatic habits of a duck and the tilting move- 

 ments of a sandpiper, inhabits exclusively the mountainous portions 

 of North America west of the Mississippi from Alaska to Guatemala. 

 It is never found near still water, frequenting only wild mountain 

 streams, cascades, eddies and swift currents. The nest is variously 

 situated but always in a nook or crevice near water, on shelving 

 rocks or roots of trees. It is a beautiful ball of soft green moss about as 

 large as a man's head, dome-shaped, with a small round hole in one side for 

 an entrance; within it is strongly .arched over and supported by twigs, 

 Plate I., frontispiece, gives a faithful representation of one placed on a 

 ledge of rock. The eggs are usually three in number, dull white, unspot- 

 ted, and measure 1.04 by .70. 



22. Bluebird — sialia sialis. Uniform pale blue, unspotted, and it is 

 not uncommon to find pure white eggs in the nest of this bird. They are 

 four, five and sometimes six in number, and measure about .81 by ,62, 

 The site chosen for its nest is usually a hollow in the decayed trunk of a 

 tree, a deserted woodpecker's excavation, or a box prepared for its use. 

 The nest is composed of fine twigs, grasses, roots, feathers, leaves and 

 hair, carelessly woven together, but leaving quite a depression. Breeds 

 throughout its range. 



Hab. Eastern United States, Canada, Nova Scotia, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Ber- 

 mudas, Cuba, Guatemala. 



23. Californian Bluebird — sialia mexicana. Uniform pale blue, of a 

 slightly deeper shade than that of the preceding species, usually four in 



