24 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 15-No. 2 



tliose usually laid by the Nashville Warbler. 

 They measure: .r,6x.4r,; .5()X.4G; .5()X.46; 

 .r)7x.4(); .r37x.47. (This set, as well as Sets 

 I aud II, is described by me in Davie's Nests 

 (11,(1 Kijgs, 1889, p. :Ki2.) 



Set IV. June 8, 1888. Farminfjton, IMaine. 

 Xest on ground, at foot of small maple. Made 

 of line grass lined with white horse-hair. Four 

 . eggs, fresh. White, speckled with hazel. The 

 markings are larger and closer together near 

 the larger ends : .()4 x . 51 ; .(i4 x .52 ; .(j:^ x .51 ; 

 .()0x.4S. Tills set also contains a C^owbinTs 



egg. 



Set Y. June 4, 1887. Farmington, Maine. 

 Nest made of grass and moss, line<l with tine 

 roots, and placed at the foot of a little bank, 

 beneath dead and thickly overhanging brakes. 

 Four eggs, fresh. Light creamy-white, speck- 

 led with hazel and a few minute dots of lilac, 

 gray. In three of the eggs the markings are 

 principally conlined to the larger ends, but tlie 

 fourth has larger spots and they are more 

 scattered all over the surface: .(12x.49; 

 .C.l x.41»: .()2 X.50: .(il x .49. 



Set VI. June 5, 1888. Farmington. Maine. 

 Xest concealed in side of small knoll, l)eneath 

 dead brakes and small spruce. Made of grass 

 anil moss, and lined witii liair. Four eggs, 

 fresh. White, heavily spotted, especially at 

 the larger ends, with cinnamon rufous. The 

 markings on tiiis set are hirger and heaviei- 

 tlian on any other eggs of tiiis s])ecies that I 

 liave ever seen, and they i)roduce a very bril- 

 liant and handsome effect: .()4x.47: .<>4x.47: 

 .(•.(ix.47; .(■.:! X.47. -f- P- V. 



New Species of Bower-bird and Bird 

 of Paradise. 



'IMh' latest ornithological discoveries at hand 

 come from the pen of .Mr. A. V. (ioodwin. 

 wlio accompanied Sir William Macgregor as 

 naturalist, on an exploring expedition to Mount 

 Owen Stanley, in the interior of Xew Guinea. 

 Of tlu- I'.irds of I'aradise, of which more than 

 thirty different kinds are known to oriiitliolo- 

 gists, on(> new si)ecimen was added. 'I'his one 

 was similar to the (iolden Hird of Paradise 

 {A'dKflioiiichts ((iii-cii.'^) and was named by Mr. 

 (ioodwin, Xanthonu'lus Macgregorii, in honor 

 of the leader of the expedition. 



Tins bird was discovered at an altitiule of 

 over i(),0()() feet, is of rare occurrence and like 

 all tiic l)irds of its class ditlicTdt to ai)i)roacli. 

 Tiie bird has golden wings, heail and back; 

 the breast and abdomen are black. This liird 



remains in the Governor's collection and will 

 be more fully described at some future time. 



Another bird of interest discovered was a 

 Bowerbird of tiie genus AiiiI)l!/onus, which was 

 named Ambleornis Musgraveii; this bird is 

 somewhat larger than Aiiiblyornis snbalarls, 

 described by Mr. II. B. Shaipe of the British 

 Museum. The wings and back are of a dull 

 darkish-green, the throat, breast and abdomen 

 of a uniform brown, under the wings yellowisli- 

 brown. The crest is of a deep gcdden-orange, 

 slightly tipped with brown and somewhat 

 larger tlian in Aixhli/oniis sitlxilarls: thislnvd is 

 found at an altitude of 4,000 feet, wiiile the 

 former inhabits the mountains up to 10,000 

 feet. The most interesting feature in connec- 

 tion with these two species of Aiiibli/orxls is 

 their bowers or play grounds, which are so 

 wonderfully constructed, that to describe the 

 same would sound like a fairy tale. The bower 

 of a Siih((l((ris is dome-like and covered so that 

 only half of the course can be seen. Tiie floor 

 forms a circle around a baid< in the centre, 

 which is ornamented with flowers and seeds. 

 In the centre stands a small tree, the lower 

 Inanches of wliich are interwoven with small 

 sticks; these the binls throw down and leplace 

 at pleasure. The structure is composed of 

 rough sticks, the thickest of which are about 

 one-half inch in diameter. The bower of Am- 

 blyornis Musgraveii, tin- latest addition to that 

 family, is constructed of moss and resembles 

 in shape a marble fountain; it is built up from 

 the ground about two feet; tlie outei' rim is 

 about three inches higher than the inside 

 where the l>irds ])lay, running round a small 

 tree in the centre, interwoven with small sticks; 

 these when seen in the morning while the dew 

 is on them resend)h' a si)ray of water. It 

 sliould be borne in mind that these bower 

 birds play in a ring or circle, while its Aus- 

 tralian brothers inn through their bower and 

 return; the l»owcrs aie also far inferior in con- 

 struction to those seen in New (Guinea. 



[Mr. Goodwin is now travelling in this coun- 

 try, and has prepared a series of lectures, illus- 

 trated l>y nunuTous stereopticon views of tlie 

 natives, biids and inteiesting localities. — Ed.] 



A Series of Eggs of the European 

 Tree Sparrow. 



Seebohm states that tlu' eggs of the Furo- 

 l)ean Tree Spari'ow { Passer iii(n(f((niis) are simi- 

 lar to those of the Kuropean House Sparrow 

 {P((!<s(-r (loiiicsficiis) but that they average 



