June 1887.] 



AISTD OOLOGIST. 



91 



diameter, three inches ; inside, one and three- 

 quarter inches; outside deptli, four and a half 

 inciies; inside, one and a half inelies. Tlie sin- 

 gle egg proved to be dried up ; undoubtedly 

 infertile, and abnormal, in that the shell was 

 thick and rough in places and very thin in oth- 

 ers — in fact in one little spot there was no 

 shell at all, though of course this did not show 

 until the egg was blown. Jt was a very pietti- 

 ly shaped egg, perfectly symmetrical, rather 

 blunt at the larger end, and tapering to a point 

 at the smaller end. It was pinkish white, and 

 spotted and blotched with darker shades of 

 pink and brownish pink; especially at the 

 larger end, where the spots became confluent, 

 making a perfect wreath. It measured .74 x 

 .56 inches. 



After researching the knoll without success, 

 we crossed a large field to a similar piece of 

 woods. It soon commenced to rain, and we 

 were turning our faces towards home, when in 

 crossing a rather open little space on the side 

 of a hill where the ground was dry and grown 

 up with just such brush as the other knoll, I 

 discovered a bird on her nest. She was so 

 tame as to allow me to put my face within 

 three feet of hei', and what was my surpi'ise 

 and pleasure to see that she was a female 

 Black-throated Blue Warbler. With a shout 

 which frightened the bird from the nest, I 

 called my companion to me. When he came, 

 however, he expressed some doubt as to the 

 identity of the eggs. Although the nest agreed 

 with the others, the eggs were so ditterent that 

 he could hardly believe that I had not mistaken 

 the bird. So to satisfy liim, and to «!orroborate 

 my eyes, we sat down to wait. In a very few 

 minutes both birds appeared, flitting about in 

 evident distress, and within Ave minutes the 

 female was on the nest again, and Dr. Kalph 

 was satisfied, especially when he had put his 

 face where I had put mine before, and, as I 

 might say, counted each feather. 



The nest was composed of exactly the same 

 materials as the others, put together in the 

 same loose manner, placed a foot from the 

 ground in the upright foik of a little maple, 

 and measured, outside diameter, three and one- 

 half inches ; inside, two and a quarter ; outside 

 depth, five inches; inside, one and one-half 

 inches. The eggs which were rather more 

 than half incubated, were four in number, and 

 at first gave the impression of being like those 

 of the Nuthatches more than anything else, 

 being pinkish (markedly so before blowing), 

 quite heavily marked and blotched with dark 

 brownish pink, especially at the larger end, and 



a few fine marks and sci'atches of a darker col- 

 or. They were rather blunt at the smaller end, 

 and seemed large for the bird. They measured 

 .75 X .54 ; .72 x .55 ; .76 x .54, and .72 x .52 inches. 

 These measurements, however, are no larger 

 than that of the single egg found in the foi-nier 

 nest, but the eftect was that of lai'ger eggs on 

 account of the shape; and the contents wouM 

 undoubtedly be somewhat more on that ac- 

 count. 



Icteridae Found Nesting Near Des 

 Moines, Iowa. 



BY JAMES B. GREEN, DES MOINES, IOWA. 



The following species of Icterkkt' are found in 

 the vicinity of Des Moines, Iowa. 



Bobolink {Dolkhonyx uryzivorm). Migrant, 

 not connnon, I have never seen or heard of it 

 breeding in this county, although it undoubtedly 

 does, as I have found it breeding in the next 

 county west. 



Cow bird (Molothrus (iter). Abundant sum- 

 mer resident. The birds whose nests are used 

 the most for a receptacle by the cow bird for 

 its eggs, are the Wood Thrush, Summer War- 

 bler and various Vireos. Ov^r one-half of the 

 nests found of the first have one or more eggs. 

 and I have found as high as six with two of the 

 Thrush's. 



Yellow-headed Blackbird ( Xanthoccphalus 

 icterocephalus) . Abundant summer resident. 

 Nesting in large colonies in large marshes, 

 often in company with the Ked-winged Black- 

 bird, but usually by itself. In a day's collect- 

 ing in a large marsh covering fully fifty acres, 

 I did not see a single Red-wing, while the 

 Yellow-heads were nesting by the hundreds. 



The nest is a light, but large and substantial 

 structure, placed in a clump of grass or reeds, 

 and supported by the sterns passing through 

 its sides; about six inches in diameter, the 

 same in hight, and from six to twenty-four 

 above the water. It is composed of dried 

 grasses aud sedges interwoven and lined with 

 finer pieces; often the rim is finished with the 

 tassels of the reeds giving it a very beautiful 

 appearance. 



The eggs number four, rarely five, and in 

 over three hundred sets examined I have only 

 found four of five. Pale greenish-white cov- 

 ered with spots and blotches of purplish aud 

 light brown, often so nmch so as to completely 

 conceal the ground color at the larger end. 



