General Notes. - 183 



from descriptions, of L. atricristahis. Four of the most heavily marked 

 eo^as Mr. Bryant has ever seen are now before me. They are of a rather 

 elongated oval, and measure respectively .77 x .56, .70 x .51, .70 x .52, and 

 .64 X .52. Another set of three, sent to the Smithsonian by Mr. Samuel 

 Hubbard of San Francisco, are neai'ly of the same shape. The markings 

 are in the form of clear reddish-brown dots, which are almost entirely 

 confined to the larp;er ends. On one they take the shape of a perfect 

 circle. Altogether they are extremely pretty eggs, and are much the most 

 delicately marked of any of the family I have ever seen. — H. W. Hen- 

 SHAW, Washington, D. C. 



Nesting of Certhia familiaris. — Having read with interest 

 Dr. Brewer's article on the Brown Creeper in the last number of the 

 Bulletin, I desire to add one more instance in confirmation of his opinion 

 as to the usual situation of its nest. T have in my collection two eggs of 

 this bird, which were obtained July 28, 1875, by a friend of mine who is 

 something of an ornithologist. The nest was situated in the heavy 

 forest, half a mile north of Moose Pine, Hamilton County, N. Y., con- 

 cealed behind a piece of bark which had been partly torn loose from the 

 side of a spruce-tree, about six feet from the ground. The bird was well 

 seen and identified by my friend (who is familiar with the species), but 

 was not shot. In describing the nest to me he used these words : " The 

 nest was made of soft downy materials, including feathers and such soft 

 materials as you Avill find in a squirrel's nest. The whole bulk was not 

 larger than your fist." It contained three young birds with down only in 

 tufts upon them, and two addled eggs, Avhite, thinly marked with fine 

 reddish spots or dots, and measuring .60x.47 and .59 x ,47. — Egbert 

 Bagg, Jr., Ulica, N. Y. 



The Carolina Wren (Thrt/nthont.t Iwlovicianuit) breeding in 

 New York. — Through the kindness of Mr. D. H. Kellogg. I am enabled 

 to record for the first time the breeding of Thryothorus ludovicianus in 

 New York State, who, on the evening of May 2 last, showed me the 

 nest of the species at his residence at Spuyten-Duyvil. The nest was 

 built on a shelf in the closed room of an out-house, which was entered by 

 the bird through a latticed window. Desiring to establish its identity beyond 

 question, several attempts were made to capture the parent upon her nest, 

 but unsuccessfully, until the sixth or seventh trial, she having persistently 

 returned immediately after our departure on every unsuccessful attempt. 

 The nest, containing five eggs, was merely a miscellaneous aggregation of 

 rubbish, extending for fully sixteen inches along a small shelf already 

 occupied by several articles, now partially imbedded in the materials of its 

 structure. The whole was overhung by a mass of dried bean-vines pendent 

 from the wall above, which partially concealed the mossy fringed side- 

 entrance to the feather-lined cavity within. The eggs were five in num- 

 ber, and on the point of hatching. 



