182 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 15-No. 12 



Iowa. Nest in hole of willow stump, eight 

 feet above the water. Seven eggs, fresh. 

 GHossy white, heavily spotted with chestnut 

 and olive-gray. The markings are evenly 

 distributed all over the surface: .()7.x.5(); 

 .()") X . ")6 ; .68 X .57 : .(17 x .55 ; .()8 x .56 ; AMt x .56 ; 

 .67X.56. 



Set LXVIII. June 8, 1888. Burlington, 

 Iowa. Nest in hole in maple stump, standing 

 in the water. Six eggs, incubation advanced. 

 Creamy white, glossy. Heavily spotted with 

 cinnamon-rufous and a few traces of olive- 

 gray. On two of the eggs the markings are 

 much heavier iit the larger ends: .72x.58; 

 .74X.58; .7;!x.58; .70x.57; .7~x..59; .(i7 x .55. 

 A Cowbird's egg was found with this set- 

 Set LXIX. June 6, 1888. Burlington, Iowa. 

 Nest in hole of elm, on water's edge. Six eggs, 

 fresh. Glossy white, heavily speckled and 

 spotted, especially at the larger ends, with cin- 

 namon-rufous and olive-gray : 66 x .57 ; .64 x .55 ; 

 .6(') X .56 ; .m X .55 ; .()5 x .56 ; .68 x .55. 



Set LXX. June 1(1, 1887. St. Louis, Mo. 

 Nest of moss, grass, etc., in hole of willow, 

 standing in a lake. Oreamy white, not very 

 glossy. Profusely sjjcckled and spotted with 

 burnt sienna, and a few traces of olive-gray. 

 At the larger ends the markings are so heav}' 

 that they obscure the ground color: .65x.50; 

 .(>X X .50; JU\ X .52; .(i7 x .50. 



In very few of tlic sets are the gray mark- 

 ings noticeable unless looked for, because the 

 brilliant red obscures them, and at a short dis- 

 tance the markings all appear red. 



In shape most of the eggs are rounded 

 ovate, with the smaller ends very blunt, but 

 they vary very mucli in tins respect. 



J. P. v. 



Eggs of the Tufted Tit. 



In reading Mr. .1. !'. N.'s description of a 

 series of eggs of the 'i'ufted Tit {LophophaiieH 

 hirolor) I came across some sitts described 

 from Wake Co., N. ('., collected by us. In 

 this connection 1 wish to call attention to the 

 descriptions of set XXII, collected June 8, 

 1888, and .set XVII <!ollected May 2, 188!). In 

 each case it will be seen that the eggs were 

 very iieavily s])otted with burnt sienna, so as 

 to almost obscure the gnuuid color at the 

 larger ends, and in each case one egg was 

 much less marked than the others. Now 

 these two sets were each taken from hollows 

 in old ai)i>le trees in the same orchard not 



many yards apart, and I presume were prob- 

 ably laid by the same pair of birds, though in 

 different years. ('. S. BrUnley. 



Raleifih, X. C. 



[I have always maintained that the same 

 bird always reproduces any peculiarity in the 

 markings of its eggs in subsequent sets, and I 

 am a firm believer in this theory. I may add 

 that the well-known oologist "J. M. W." 

 (Mr. C. L. Rawson) fully agrees with me as to 

 this. J. P JV.] 



Nesting of the Whip-poor-will. 



Just a month before the Whip-poor-will's 

 cry is heard in Virginia, the Chuck-will'.s- 

 widow utters its first note in South, Florida. 



AVIiile stopping over night at Bordentown off 

 the Manatee River, on March 26, 1890, I heard 

 the cry of the Chuck-will'. s-widow for the first 

 time. The bird was quite a distance oft", and 

 the notes came to my ear faintly; but though 

 I had never heard the bird before I recognized 

 the cry easily, and enjoyed listening to it f(U' 

 a long time. 



A resident told me the l>irds had begun to 

 call but a few days previously. 



The next evening I was at my destination on 

 the sluue of Little Sarasota Bay. Here four 

 or five birds could be heard calling at a time. 



This species is not found among the pines, 

 but prefers the wooded "hammocks'" and 

 "sl()ughs." Tlie "hammocks" are low, damp, 

 sometimes marshy, tracts, usually near a body 

 of water, and generally covered with a growth 

 of deciduous trees and bushes. The 

 "sloughs" are the drains of the country in 

 the wet season, from a, few yards to a iiundred 

 yards wide, and sometimes extend for miles 

 to a river or the "(iulf." Their depression is 

 hardly noticeable, and often they are covered or 

 fringed with deciduous trees. 



As I listened to the birds evening after even- 

 ing, I longed more and more for a pair of their 

 eggs, but felt how little was my chance of get- 

 ting them out of the dense jungle, where I was 

 almost afraid to put my foot for fear of water 

 moccasins and the deadly diamond rattler. 

 However, fortune favored me. 



The season had been unusually dry and all 

 vegetation was like tinder; my host, fearing 

 that if fire was started inland and be driven 

 towards the coast it would destroy his house, 

 chose a favorable day, and set fire to the 

 woods, believing it would burn towards the 



