Mar. 181)0.] 



AXD OOLOGIST. 



41 



Upon looking" into tlic nnst what was niy sur- 

 l)rise to ilnd it almost onipty. 1 tlioiinlit I 

 would take out the liiiini;' for examination; 

 and, proceeding? to do so was a^nin surprised 

 to liear egg shells breaking. 1 then made 

 a close examination and found three eggs and 

 the remnants of two others. 'J'Ik; eggs were 

 completely buried in tlie nest, there being a 

 layer composed of strips of bark as much as a 

 quarter of an inch thicsk over the eggs. 



The second i)roductive nest was found nearly 

 comph'ted the ;!d of May, and in a situa- 

 tion similar to the first. On the lOth I 

 noticed the birds lining the nest. On the 

 afternoon of the 18th, not having seen the 

 birds since tlie 1 1th, and fearing that they had 

 deserted the nest, 1 climbed a tree close by 

 and cut open the nest. I found two fresh 

 eggs, and just as 1 was about to take them 

 the femile bird appeared. I decided to leave 

 the eggs to see if the birds would not return 

 and complete the set. The next morning I 

 was inucii pleased to lind the Ijird back on 

 the nest — I could easily see her from the 

 ground since cutting into the cavity. The 

 biid was setting on the Kith, so tlie moiaiing 

 (if the ITth found me on hand witli the neces- 

 sary appliances for getting the nest. Upon 

 climbing up I found that it contained only 

 three eggs, but it was a complete set as incuba- 

 tion had commenced. 



The trunks in both cases were so thoroughly 

 decayed that they furnished no support, so 

 the nests were secured by fastening ropes 

 alxiut tlie trunk just above the nest, attaching 

 them to a neighboring tree. This tree was 

 then ascended, the cavity rilled with cottcm to 

 prevent damage to the eggs, anil then a section 

 containing the nest was sawed off and lowered 

 to the ground. 



The principal points of interest in regard 

 to the nests and eggs are as follows: 



The entrance to the tirst nest was some 

 twenty-five or thirty feet from the'ground, and 

 within three feet of the top of the trunk. 

 The diameter of the entrance is one and 

 three-eighths inches; horizontal depth, three 

 inches; vertical depth, six inches. After the 

 entraiu'e was conii)letcd the inside was made 

 niucli larger, like the nests of other birds 

 which build in similar situations, the diameter 

 of the interior of the nest being two and three 

 quarters inches. The lining, which consists 

 alnnist I'ntircly of line strips of bark, is about 

 an inch in depth. It also extends' upward 

 around the walls of the nest for another inch, 

 making a very neat and warm abode. 



Tlie three eggs saved are of a roseate-white 

 color, and covered (piite thickly with reddish- 

 brown spots, vai-ying in size from those almost 

 imperceptible to those larger than a i)in 

 head. These spots are thickest at the larger 

 end of the eii;<>;. They measure: ..")(')x.47, 

 .5.') X .47, .50 X .47. 



Xest No. 2 was situated about thirty-live 

 feet from the ground. Its dimensions corres- 

 pond very nearly to tho.se of the former. 



The complete set of three eggs shows great 

 variation in markings. The ground color and 

 the color of the spots are the same as in the first 

 set, but the spots in this set are very fine, and 

 in eggs No. 1 and No. 2 are very abundant, 

 almost ruinung together at the larger end, 

 forming a dense ring. Egg No. :!, which was 

 laid after the nest was torn oj^en, when at a 

 distance of two feet from the observer, seems 

 to l)e pure white; but upon closer examina- 

 tion it is found to be sprinkled with exceed- 

 ingly line and pale spots. The larger end is 

 quite thoroughly covered. These eggs show 

 a little more variation in dimensions than 

 those of the first set, being respectively: 

 .<)0x.4(), ..59x.4(), .()2x.47. E. H. Fi'ninUl. 



Oroni). M;iiiie. 



A Series of Eggs of the Black-poll 

 Warbler. 



The eggs of the Black-poll Warbler (Drn- 

 droica strhitn) present as much variation in 

 size, shape and coloration as those of any of 

 the Warblers. They vary in shape from ovate 

 to elongate ovate, while the ground color runs 

 from white to creamy and jjinkish-white, with 

 a rare j^hase whicli shows a light greenish- 

 white. The series now before me, consisting 

 of seventeen sets, and described below, shows 

 in detail the curious types of their markings 

 and coloration. 



The nest is a beautiful structure. Those 

 that I have (over fifteen in number) show but 

 little variation in their construction, except 

 that sojne are much more copiously lined with 

 feathers than others. Perhaps the similarity 

 of these nests is due to the fact that they all 

 came from one locality, and that the birds 

 naturallj"^ used the same materials. 



A typical nest (so far as can be selected 

 from those before me) may be described as 

 follows: Outside depth, 1.7-'); inside depth, 

 1.10; outside diameter, 8.75; inside diameter, 

 2.00. Composed of grasses, roots, a little 

 lichen, anU a few small twigs of sjiruce fir. 



