a | THE INDIGO BUNTING. 
emphatic that the inquisitor believes himself ‘‘hot’” when he may be a dozen 
yards away. Asa result the nest is rather hard to find; and the number found 
in a season’s nesting will be 
out of all proportion to the 
abundance of the birds. 
The nests, while usually 
bulky, are models of neatness 
and strength. Dead leaves 
and grasses make up _ its 
mass, and there is a copious 
lining of fine grasses with 
an admixture of horse-hair. 
Often two, and sometimes 
three, broods are raised in a 
season. 
The eggs are of a beauti- 
ful pale blue, warmed, while 
fresh, by the color of the 
contents. Of their occasion- 
al variation Dr. Coues says: 
“The egg is variously de- 
scribed as pure white, plain 
blue, or bluish speckled with 
reddish. The fact appears to 
be, not that these statements 
are conflicting or any of 
Taken near Oberlin. Photo by Lynds Jones. nat 
NEST AND EGGS OF THE INDIGO-BIRD. them erroneous, but that dif- 
ferent eggs vary accord- 
ingly. It seems to be the general rule with normally bluish eggs that they range 
in shade from quite blue to white, and are occasionally speckled.” 
