400 NOUTII AMERICAN BI; :)S. 



cuntaiiK'tl livo Cii'^y^. Ft is of ivinarkaMo sizu in |)r(i])<nti()n to that of it^ 

 builder, ineasurinLj oi^lit inclies in diaiiu'tur. It is tlatteiieil in sliaj)e, and 

 its cavity, tliougli large, is not deep. Tlie lieiirlit of the nest is tliree and a 

 quarter inches, and the depth of the hasc is fully two and a half inches. The 

 cavity is less than an inch dee}), and is four inches in diameter. The base 

 and outer perijijiery of this nest are of a coarse interlacin*^ of the small ends 

 of l)ran<hes of fir and spruce trees. Within this is built a ch)se, coni})act 

 inner nest, chietly composed of a liclien i>eculiar to Arctic retiions, called 

 tree-hair, which lian-'s aliundantlv from the branches of trees in northern 

 forests. It resembles a mass of delicate Idack rootlets. These are not un- 

 common ingredients in the nests of northern birds, esi»ecially of European. 

 In America, Arctic nests of the A. varulim nsls are occasionally l»uilt of simi- 

 lar materials. With these liciiens are also mingled fragments of dry leaves 

 and soft dark-colored mosses. The rim of the nest is strongly made, almost 

 exclusively of these tine dark-colored li.hens. This kind of lichen is not 

 always black, but is often brown, and even whitish. In some of these 

 nests silvery tibres of gr.iss-leaves are mingled with the lichens, and in one 

 or two there is a slight lining of feathers. 



The Li])land nests were built on the branch of a tree, at a distance from 

 the trunk, and stood uj) from it unsup])orted by the surrounding twigs, and 

 at the heiuht of from six to twelve feet I'rom the ground. They were gener- 

 ally much exposed, and were, for the most i>art, built in the more open por- 

 tions of tlie forests. The general ntunber of the eggs was five, in one 

 instance it was six. 



The nest from the Yukon, obtained ]>y Mr. Kennicott (S. Coll., 6,326), is 

 smaller, and bears but little resemblance to the European. It is but five 

 inclies in diameter, of irregular sha}>e. In height ami cavity it nearly cor- 

 r8S[)onds. In place of the lichens of the European, this nest is made of fine 

 gra^s-stems, strips of bark, and a few feathers. 



Tlie eggs of this bird, the gift of Mr. Wolley, measure an inch in length, 

 and from .70 to .67 of an inch in breadth. Their ground-color varies from a 

 light slate to a yellowish stone-color. They are marked, blotched, and dotted 

 with spots of various hues and size. These are chietly of a dark jmrple, at 

 tunes approaclnng black. Mingled with these are markings of a yellowish- 

 brown. Nearly all these spots are surrounded by a peculiar penund>ra, or 

 shading, such as forms so marked a feature in the eggs of the common 

 Cedar-Bird. 



The eug obtained by Kennicott on the Yukon is smaller than the Euro- 

 pean specimen, measuring .90 by .65 of an inch. Its ground is more of a 

 greenish-slate or stone-n dor, and the spots are of a dark brown, with a deep 



violet shading. 



