15i 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 15-No. 10 



jerking its tail and always keeping within a 

 short distance, retreating in a jiarrow circle 

 around the upturned roots of the fallen tree. 

 I did not know where to begin the search, so, 

 hallooing for my companion, together we 

 watched the peculiar actions of the bird, de- 

 ciding together that a nest, was not far dis- 

 tant. We had not searched long before chance 

 led me near the roots of the tree, and there, 

 snugly tucked away among the finer roots, 

 resting on a shelf of earth against this perpen- 

 dicular wall, was the nest. Althougli it con- 

 tained young birds nearly ready to leave the 

 nest we were satisfied, having learned some- 

 thing of its nesting habits. 



Further search revealed another nest about 

 two feet from the one which contained the 

 young, and from appearances it had been oc- 

 cupied by the Thrushes earlier the same year. 

 About two weeks later Mr. Durfee paid 

 another visit to the nest and found what we 

 had overlooked the day of its discovery, a 

 rotten egg, which he took, and now lias in his 

 collection. 



Keturning from college during a short spring 

 vacation the following year 1 m;i(K> my friends 

 a call, and at once we decided our time could 

 not be spent more profitably than to take to 

 the woods and look up those Thrushes, which 

 we accordingly did early the next morning, 

 starting out in a steady, light rain. To 

 give account of all our wandeiings during that 

 and the next day would tire both you and me, 

 reader, and as my article was headed Water 

 Thrush, however much I w(jidd like yon to 

 know about our delightful tiii», for the most 

 part I must confine myself, simply mentioning 

 tliat we found a Ruffed Grouse nest containing 

 two or three eggs which were taken later, ten 

 eggs being the full set. Also, we found a set 

 of Black-capped Chickadee's, several sets of 

 Hawk's (Red-shouldered), Crow's, Nuthatch"s, 

 etc. 



The funny part of the stoiy is that 1 had 

 the good fortune to find another nest of the 

 Tbiush, in similar locality, containing a single 

 egg. Mr. Durfee promised to come later and 

 collect the set for me. In about a week he went 

 several miles back to the nest to find that my 

 single egg was and always had been a Cowbird's 

 egg. lie was mad; not at me or at the (Jowbird's 

 egg, but at the several miles that lay between 

 him and his home. It appears it was an old 

 nest, and the Cowbird's egg had weathered 

 the storms of noljody knows how many 

 winters. Later in the season, howevei-, Mr. 

 Dvu'fee was successful in taking two fine sets 



of the Water Thrush of which the one before 

 me is one. They are very beautifully marked, 

 the groundwork of delicate cream having a 

 peculiar crystalline appearance, marked more 

 or less profusely over the entire surface with 

 varying shades of reddish-brown and lilac. 

 With us these birds are very rare, and when 

 found are difficidt of approach, save Avhen in 

 proximity to their nest. So far as I am able 

 to learn from my own and Mr. Durfee's obser- 

 vations the nest is invariably placed in the 

 roots of upturned trees, always in dark, damp, 

 swampy woods far from the habitations of 

 man, and that more than a single brood is 

 reared in a season. (F. C. Brownell, M.J). 

 So. Lyon, Mich., Sei)t. 12, 1890. 



Series 



of Eggs of 

 Thrasher. 



Palmer's 



The eggs of Palmer's Thrasher {Hdrpor- 

 hyiichn>i curclrostrlH palineri) cannot be distin- 

 guished from those of tlie Curve-billed 

 Thrasher {llarporhynchnx ciinHfostrls). Their 

 principal variation, as shown in the following 

 series of twenty-one sets now before me, is in 

 size. Their ground color is almost always of 

 a light bluish-green sliade, and this is thickly 

 covered with minute specks of cinnanion- 

 ruf(nis. Three eggs are the most common 

 number, but four are often laid. 



Set I. May 10, ISSf. Pima County, Aii- 

 zona. Collected by F. Stephens. Nest in a 

 cholla cactus, three feet_from the ground. 

 Foureggs, fresh: 1.10 X. TO; 1.14x.75; I.OOx.T:]; 

 1.00 X. 74. 



Set II. Febiuary t^8, 1880. Near Tucson, 

 Arizona. Collected by Heibert Brown. Nest 

 in the east side of a cholla cactus, about two 

 feet from the ground. (The cholla was two 

 feet high, and six feet in diameter.) Made of 

 coarse thorn twigs lined with dried wire gi'ass 

 and feathers. Interior diameter: top, four 

 inches; bottom, two inches. External depth, 

 nine inches; external diameter, sixteen inches. 

 This nest was noted by Mr. Brown as being 

 remarkable inasmutdi as it was the first one 

 belonging to this l)ird tiiat he had ever seen or 

 heard of, up to that date, that was lined with 

 feathers, but he subsecjuently found others so 

 lined. Three eggs: 1.24 x. 80; 1.10x.8O; 

 1.1.') X. 80. 



Set III. March 2.'), 1888. Tucson, Arizona. 

 Collected by Herbert Brown. Nest in cholla. 

 External diameter: top, six inches; depth, six 

 inches. Inside: top. four inches; depth, three 



