18 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 15-JS^o. 2 



fresh. No. 1 : Bluish-white, entirely unmarked 

 save for one small spot of burnt umber near 

 the larger end : ;^. 19x2.26. No. 2: Bluish- 

 white, heavily splashed, principally at the 

 larirer end, with cinnamon-rufous. There are 

 also a few under markings of lilac-gray: 3.04 

 X2.28. It is the handsomest egg of this 

 species that I have ever seen. The nest which 

 contained these eggs was found on P'ebruary 

 28, 1888, and on the collector ascending to it 

 he found only one egg — the white one, No. 1. 

 On returning on March 1st, the second egg, 

 No. 2, was found. While up tlie tree the col- 

 lector was surprised to find the parent bird was 

 not two feet distant from him, but on striking 

 at it with his hat it flew away. 



Set VI. February 23, 1889. San Benito 

 County, California. Xest in a live oak about 

 seventy feet above the ground, on a "side-hill." 

 It was built of large o?ik sticks, with some 

 mustard stalks, and pieces of grain sacks. 

 The lining was of moss, oak leaves, feathers, 

 and a part of a grain sack. The nest was very 

 large, being four feet by three feet six inches. 

 The eggs were taken after dark, and the eagle 

 remained on the nest luitil it was reached by 

 the climber, and she did not fiy off until he 

 grasped her tail — but stood up and showed 

 fight, with all her feathers ruffled up. He 

 struck her with his hat, when she fiew off, 

 much to his relief. Both birds fiew screaming 

 about the tree until the descent was accom- 

 plished. Two eggs, fresh. No. 1 : White, 

 heavily spotted and blotched with cinnamon- 

 rufous, the markings being heavier near the 

 larger end: 2.99x2.42. Xo. 2: AVhite, heavi- 

 ly blotched and spotted with cinnamon-rufous 

 and russet. The markings are heaviest near 

 the smaller end, but are nevertheless found all 

 over the surface: 2.91 x 2.41. 



Set VII. March 9, 1889. San Benito County, 

 (California. Nest in a live oak tree, twenty- 

 nine feet from the ground. It was new, and 

 of the usual size. It was built of sticks, with 

 an abundance of green live oak twigs and 

 leaves, with a few bmu-hes of Buckeye twigs 

 and leaves. The lining was of green leaves 

 and straw. Hiid seen on the nest. Three 

 eggs, fresh. Two of them had the larger ends 

 one way. and the thirtl was placed with the 

 smaller end between them. \o. 1 : White, 

 spotted and sjieckled all over the surface with 

 chestnut: :'..l 1 x 2.2"). No. 2: Dull white, 

 with a tinge of yellow, speckled and s])otted 

 with vinaceous-cinnamon and a few larger 

 spots of hazel. The markings are heavier at 

 the smaller end. where thev become conlluent 



on one of the sides of the egg: 3.00x2.24. 

 No. 3: White, heavily spotted and splashed 

 with cinnamon-rufous and chestnut. The 

 markings become confiuent at the larger end, 

 but the whole surface is spotted: 3.01x2.21. 

 The shells of all the eggs are thick, and in 

 some of them granulated. 



The stories that are current in the books 

 about this bird building its nest at a great 

 height, on inaccessible clifts, would appear to 

 be merely fables, in most instances. 



J. P. N. 



Nesting of the Ruby-throated Hum- 

 ming Bird at Raleigh, N. C. 



The Kuby-throated Hummer (Trocliihii^ (■olu- 

 Jirin) is quite a common bird here^ but to any 

 one not used to looking for nests, it might 

 almost ns well be extinct for all the nests he 

 will find. The birds begin building about the 

 first week in May, and from that time to 

 the end of June (May 11 to .Tune 24 are my 

 dates) nests and eggs may be found in various 

 stages. If one knows a tree the birds have 

 formerly nested in, it is as well to look in tiie 

 neighborhood, as the Hummer builds year 

 after year in the same old spot, often only 

 varying the exact position a few yards from 

 last year's nest. The nest is placed fiom 

 seven to forty feet high, near the end of an oak 

 limb, and is almost always saddled on the 

 limb and not in a fork; when built in a pine 

 the nest is placed on a dead twig or twigs, but 

 on any other tree on a live limb — oaks are the 

 trees most used, and pines next — thus out of 

 twenty-five nests which I have recorded the 

 tree they were in, fourteen were in oaks, 

 seven in pines, and one each in jxiplar, mai)le, 

 apple and hickory. After the eggs have been 

 taken it doesn't seern any good tt) look for the 

 bird rebuilding near by, as I have tried to do 

 this plenty of tinu's, but never yet found a 

 nest that I could suppose was the second at- 

 tempt of a i)air whose nest had been previ- 

 ously taken. 



The nest can be found by watching the Hum- 

 mers building but 1 find most nests by noticing 

 whenever a Hummer seems alnrmed at my 

 presence, and then carefully searching for the 

 nest, which I have almost invariably found 

 close by, but when it came to getting a set of 

 eggs from the nest, I have often been found 

 wanting. (\ S. Briiuley. 



