Vo, 'm9 XVI ] MacCaughey, The Hawaiian Elepaio. 35* 



nests in horizontal forks at the extreme ends of horizontal branches. 

 The nest is a neat, compact, and beautiful structure. It is usually 

 made of grasses, fine roots, moss, or leaves, firmly woven into a 

 deep cup. The strong skeletonized frames of the leaves of vari- 

 ous forest trees are commonly used as nest material. There is 

 much variation in size, some nests being 2-3 times as high and 

 wide as others. Typical dimensions are, 1.5 inches deep, 2 

 inches diameter, walls .75 inch in thickness. Nests 3.25 inches 

 deep and 2.50 inches in diameter are not rare. The exterior is 

 abundantly and artistically decorated with bits of fern-frond or 

 lichen, held in place by silk from spiders' webs. The lining is 

 of fine moss and vegetable fibers. The fine fibers of the pili 

 grass are commonly used for the lining. Wilson found a nest which 

 was made almost exclusively of the bleached calyces of the poha 

 (Physalis peruviana), and that was of unusual delicacy and beauty. 

 As a rule two eggs only are laid, although sometimes there are 

 three. The intervals between deposition are not known, but proba- 

 bly do not exceed a day or so, as the young emerge at about the 

 same time and do not manifest marked differences in age. The egg 

 is 1.25 inches long by 1.11 inches in diameter; the deviations 

 from this average are very slight. The shape is ovate. The 

 ground-color is pure grayish-white or very pale yellowish, with no 

 indication of bluish or greenish tints. The egg is more or less 

 heavily marked with small spots, speckles, and blotches of brown 

 or reddish-brown; the under spots are pale lilac. The spots are 

 usually most numerous around the larger end of the egg. Both 

 sexes take part in the construction of the nest, incubation of the 

 eggs, and in the feeding of the young. Practically nothing is 

 known concering the rearing and development of the young. 

 There are no native predatory land-mammals or serpents in the 

 Hawaiian islands; the only animal enemies of the Elepaio during 

 the nesting season are the introduced rats, mongoose, and wild 

 house-cats. The kona or southerly storms, which are of frequent 

 occurrence during the nesting season, undoubtedly often prove 

 fatal to the life of the nest. 



