i88s-] Scott on the Breeding Habits of Arizona Birds. 2 2C 



small twigs, on which it rests, that pass diagonally downward, 

 so that it is not even a semi-pensilestructure. The thorns of the 

 bush, which are from an inch and a half to two inches long and 

 very sharp, protect the nest in every direction, for the whole 

 is entirely surrounded by twigs and small branches. Its contents 

 are four eggs, rather rounded in general shape, though one end 

 is somewhat sharper than the other. The ground-color is rosy 

 when fresh, becoming a dead white when blown, rather sparsely 

 spotted with irregularly shaped dark umber brown dots, chiefly 

 at the larger end. One of the eggs is unfortunately too badly 

 broken to measure, but is not apparently very different from the 

 other three, which measure, respectively, .77 X .59, .78 X .58, 

 and .75 X .57 inches. This nest was obtained on the side of 

 a hill near the bottom of a rather broad canon, at an altitude of 

 3500 feet. The structure is, as a whole, very symmetrical, but 

 is widely different from that of other Vireos which breed in the 

 neighborhood. 



The nest of June 2, which contained three young, was built in 

 a mesquite, growing on a little mesa in flat country, the altitude 

 being about 3500 feet. It was not quite six feet from the ground, 

 and is composed externally much like the last, with the addition 

 of some thin broad shreds of mesquite bark to the material al- 

 ready described. It is not at all symmetrical, however, and pre- 

 sents a rather careless appearance as a whole. It is built near 

 the centre of the tree, in a upright V, formed by two upright 

 limbs, the larger being an inch and the smaller five-eighths of an 

 inch in diameter. But the rim is attached for almost half an inch 

 of its circumference to a small twig, which, reaching out from 

 another branch at considerable distance, crosses the two upright 

 limbs forming the V at right angles. The attachment to this 

 small twig, it will be noticed, is very slight, and on the other 

 side of the nest the rim is attached for an inch to a twig which 

 makes out from the larger of the two upright limbs. The bottom 

 of the nest outside does not quite rest in the angle of the V, 

 but the sides rest firmly against the limbs forming it, and the 

 result is a Vireo's nest resting in a crotch, and in no degree pen- 

 sile. The largest external diameter is three and the smallest two 

 and a half inches ; the walls are exceedingly thin except at the 

 rim and bottom, and loosely constructed. The largest interior 

 diameter is two and five-eisrhths and the smallest two and one- 



