NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



five in number, oblong-oval in shape, much pointed at one end and meas- 

 ure .87 by .6^. The nest of this bird is built on the ground and placed 

 in a hollow. It is made of fine grasses interwoven into a circular form, 

 but without any lining. It is semetimes arched over. Missouri Skylark 

 is another name for this bird. Breeds in immense numbers in Dakota and 

 Montana. 



Hab. Plains of Yellowstone and Upper Missouri to Saskatchewan, and Red River Valley of the North to 

 Texas. 



74. Black-and-white Creeper — mniotilta varia. Creamy-white, spot- 

 ted and blotched with reddish, chiefly at the larger end ; four to six in 

 number and measure .65 by . 54. The nest is usually placed on the ground, 

 built of leaves, grasses and moss, lined with fine, soft vegetable substances, 

 such as fern-down and sometimes hair. Breeds throughout Eastern North 



America. Hab. Eastern North America, Mexico, Bogota, West Indies. 



75. Prothonotary Warbler — protonotaria citrea. Clear, lustrous 

 white; in some, spots and dottings of dull brown, with markings of pale 

 lavender over the entire surface; in others, bold blotches of reddish-brown, 

 thickly laid on, especially around the larger end; in some instances almost 

 obscured ; five to seven ; noticeably blunted at the smaller end and aver- 

 age .70 by .52. Mr. William Brewster, in the Bulletin of the Nuttall Or- 

 nithological Club, Oct., 1878, pp. 153-156, says, after examining forty of 

 their nests found near Mount Carmel, 111., "the typical nesting-site was 

 the deserted hole of the Down)^ Woodpecker or Carolina Chickadee. The 

 height varied from two to fifteen feet, though the usual elevation was about 

 four. If the cavity was old and broken out, or otherwise enlarged, it was 

 far more apt to be chosen than a neater and newer one close at hand. 

 The stump selected almost invariably stood in or projected over water." 

 The nest is composed of moss, dry leaves and cypress twigs. 



Hab. South Atlantic and Gulf States; north to Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. 



76. Swainson's Warbler — HELONiEA swainsoni. The nest and eggs of 

 this rare swamp Warbler were first recorded by William Brev/ster in the 

 "Forest and Stream" of July 9, 1885. They were collected by Mr, 

 Arthur T. Wayne, near Charleston, South Carolina, June 5 and 6, 1885. 

 Both nests were found in swamps built in canes, one four, the other six 

 feet above a pool of stagnant water. The nest is composed chiefly of 

 leaves of the red maple, water oak and sweet gum, bleached by the sun 

 or stained by swamp water. It is smoothly lined with needles of the short 

 leaved pine, and fine black roots which looked like horse hair. One of the 

 nests was lined almost entirely with " pine straw," some rootlets and a few- 

 horse hairs. The second nest, collected June 6, contained one young 

 bird and two addled eggs measuring respectively .75 by . 59 and . 74 by . 59. 



