6 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Dr. Karl Riiss, of Berlin, Germany, in his interesting article on this species 

 in his work on "Die FremdUindischen Stubenvogel, Die Papageien" (Vol. Ill, 

 1879, pp. 221-236), mentions several instances of the Carolina Paroquets breed- 

 ing in captivity in Germany, where the eggs were deposited in June and July, 

 two being the number laid; but in his "Handbuch fiir Vogelliel)haber," he gives 

 the number from three to five, and he describes these as pure white, fine grained, 

 very round, and quite glossy, like Woodpeckers' eggs, measuring 38 by 36 

 millimetres, or aboiit 1.50 by 1.42 inches. 



Mr. Robert Ridgway's l)irds would not use the nesting boxes pro\nded for 

 them, and both femnles deposited their eggs on the floor of the cage; they v/ere 

 laid in July, August, and September, respectively. None of these eggs can be 

 called round ; they vary from ovate to short ovate, and are rather pointed. They 

 are white, with the faintest yellowish tint, ivory-like and quite glossy; the shell 

 is rather thick, close grained, and deeply pitted, not unlike the eggs of the 

 African Ostrich (SfrutJiio camelus), but of course not as noticeable. Holding the 

 egg in a strong light, the inside ajipears to be pale yellow. 



These eggs measure 36.32 by 26.92, 34.54 by 27.18, and 33.27 by 26.92 

 millimetres, or 1.43 by 1.06, 1.36 by 1.07, and 1.31 by 1.06 inches. 



The deep pitting is noticeable in every specimen, and there can be no 

 possible doubt about the identity of these eggs. The other eggs in the collection 

 about whose proper identification I am not so certain, and whose measurements 

 I therefore do not give, have a nmch thinner shell, and do not show the peculiar 

 pitting already referred to. There is no difficulty whatever in distinguishing 

 these eggs from those of the Burrowing Owl or the Kingfisher, both of which 

 are occasionally substituted for them. 



The type specimen. No. 20784 (PI. 1, Fig. 1), was laid in confinement on 

 July 19, 1878, and is the smallest of the three eggs whose measurements are 

 o-iven above. 



ft 



Family CUCULID^E. The Cuckoos, Anis, etc. 

 2. Crotophaga ani Linn^us. 



THE ANI. 



Crotophaga ani LiNN^US, Systema Naturre, ed. 10, 1, 1758, 105. Type G. ani Linnreus. 



(B 06.07, C 288, R 389, C 425, U (38,3).) 



Geographical UANffE: West India Islands and northern South America, east of 

 the Andes; south to nortUern Argentina; casually north to the southern ITnited States, 

 Florida and Louisiana. 



The Ani, also called Black Ani, Black Witch, Blackbird, Savanna Blackbird, 

 and Tickbird, can only be considered as a straggler within the Ijorders of the 

 southern United States. It is a common resident species in the West India 

 Islands and in northern South America east of the Andes Mountains, and 

 X'eaches the southern limits of its range in northern Argentina. There are two 



