ORXITHOI.OCilCAI, nrSCON'Kin KS 2.'}0 



deep cup about (I fin. in (lianictcr hy ."> c-in. (lc(.|). Tlit' 

 material used was sui'])risin<^ly uniform in eharaeter, and 

 all the Hnelies in one locality seemed to utilize only the one 

 kind. It consisted ol* fine weed stems rathei- loosely woven 

 together so that li<4ht could be seen through the crevices. 

 Xo other interior lining was used. 



The number of eggs varied from two to three, one num- 

 ber being as common as the other. Theii- gi'ound color was 

 pale l)luish green, thickly covered with lilac and l)r()wn 

 blotches, inters})ersed here and there with s{)()ts and streaks 

 of black. The shell was very thin and the eggs varied greatly 

 in size and shape, some being long and others almost round. 

 The average dimensions were 17.5 x 18.5 mm. 



'J'he little chestnut-bellied seedeater [S porophihi cas- 

 tancivcntris) , built a larger nest and was not so particular 

 abont the material used. It invariably selected a low^ bush 

 so that the sitting bird was never more than eighteen inches 

 from the gronnd. The nest was perhaps a little better built, 

 for the walls were thicker and there was a slight lining of 

 finer grass on the inside. Sometiiiies they decorated the 

 nest. The top of one found in Georgetown in February was 

 covered with white downy cotton obtained from the pods 

 of a weed growing nearby. It gave the nest the appearance 

 of a white cotton ring hanging in the bush. 



They laid from two to three whitish eggs, thickly s])ot- 

 ted with brown and lilac, and more or less covered with fine, 

 irregular lines of black. 



A third and rarer finch, and one whose nest and eggs 

 has not been described, is the black-headed seedeater, {S pa- 

 raph ila hauvranidcs) . They were more rare at Kalacoon than 

 the others, but scarcely a day passed that we did not see one 

 in the clearing about the house. Finally, about the middle 

 of .Time, a pair built a nest on the frond of a young royal 

 palm, a few yards from the house and about six feet from 

 the ground. It was similar to that of (). hrcvirastris, slightly 

 larger and not so deep. Two eggs were laid. 



