Oct. 1887.] 



AJSTD OOLO(%IST. 



163 



Observations on Eggs Collected in 

 Lee County, Texas, etc. 



BY J. A. SINGLEY, GIDDIN(5S, TEXAS. 



The allusion to "fortunate collectors" in the 

 O. AND O. reminds me that I partially promised 

 to say sometliing about the number of eggs 

 found in a set during the season of 1887. 



I have been fortunate also in taking other 

 rare species. Amongst the good things may 

 be mentioned eight sets of Swallow-tailed Kite, 

 {Elanoides forflcatus) ; four sets of Mississippi 

 Kite, (Ictinia subccerulea) ; two sets of Caracara 

 Eagle, (Polyborus cheriioay) \ one set Black- 

 capped Vireo, ( Vireo atricapillus) ; twenty- 

 seven sets of Carolina Chickadee, {Pnrus caro- 

 Unensis) ; eleven of Tufted Titmouse, (Loj>ho- 

 phanes bicolor) ; thirteen of Florida Barred Owl, 

 {Strix nebulosa alleni) ; five of Texan Screech 

 Owl, (Scops asio maccalU) ; three Great-horned 

 Owl, (Bubo virginianus), and thirty-nine full 

 sets of Red-bellied Hawk, (Buteo lineatus ele- 

 yans), not saying anything about the numerous 

 sets of Turkey Buzzard, (Cathartes aura) and 

 Black Vultures, (Catlmrista atrata) and others. 



I must say, however, that all of these sets 

 were not taken in Lee County, as I have collec- 

 tors in all of the adjoining counties looking out 

 for rarities. Three of the sets of El a no ides farfi- 

 cutus were taken in Lee, two in Bastrop (along 

 the Colorado River), two in Washington, and 

 one in Williamson counties. Measurements 

 and descriptions of this species of eggs have 

 been given so often that I omit them, merely 

 stating that the eggs presented the usual varia- 

 tions in size and markings. One of the sets 

 contained three eggs, and this, with a nest 

 found in former years containing three young, 

 makes two nests out of a total of twenty-one 

 examined that contained more than two eggs or 

 young. 



I was in at the taking of only one set of the 

 eggs — taking the nest and one of the parent 

 birds — the male, which was incubating. The 

 female came while my climber was securing 

 the nest. 



I have noticed a curious fact about this Kite. 

 When one is flushed from the nest there may 

 not be another Kite in sight, but in fifteen or 

 twenty minutes there will be anywhere from 

 four to a dozen of the birds performing their 

 graceful evolutions overhead. This is almost 

 invariably the case. 



The Mississippi Kite's (Ictinia subcairulea) 

 sets were all taken in this (Lee) County. 



Three of the sets contained two eggs each, 

 the fourth contained three eggs, and another 

 nest contained three young. The sets found 

 by Col. Goss, I believe, contained only two 

 eggs. All of the nests contained green leaves 

 of some kind in the lining of the nests, and all 

 the eggs were of the typical bluish tint un- 

 marked. There was no great variation in their 

 size. 



This species is getting to be more common 

 here, as previous to 1886 I had not noticed it, 

 but this season I saw many of them. 



My set of Black-capped Vireo, ( Vireo atri- 

 caiyillus) was found by accident. I had been to 

 Bastrop County to get a set of Swallow-tailed 

 Kite's eggs collected there for me, and when 

 on my way back I stopped on top of the bluffs 

 that border the Colorado River, at a place 

 known as Slum Creek, in order to rest ray 

 pony and dispose of a lunch, it being noon. 

 The elevated country there is known as the 

 "pine barrens,'' being covered with a growth 

 of scrubby pines. Whilst resting I concluded 

 to do a little collecting in land shells, and had 

 not gone far before I noticed in a small pine 

 what I took to be a nest of the AVhite-eyed 

 Vireo. I thought it late for this species to be 

 nesting, it being the 17th of May, but took a 

 look at the nest, and at once saw that it was 

 not the species I had taken it to be, as the eggs 

 were unmarked. I unfortunately had no shot- 

 gun with me, but going to where my horse was 

 tied I took my Winchester repeater out of the 

 scabbard, and taking a position close to the 

 nest awaited my bird, and before long saw it 

 flying towards the nest. Instead of alighting, 

 it passed over, and then turning approached the 

 nest by short flights. It alighted at last on a 

 limb near the nest, and commenced dressing 

 its feathers. Taking a careful aim I had the 

 satisfaction of seeing it fall when I fired, but I 

 am sorry to say that the 38 calibre bullet left 

 me a ver)' poor specimen to skin. The bird 

 was badly mutilated, and I had no idea even 

 then of what I had found, but taking as much 

 of the skin as the bullet had left, I put it iu my 

 collecting box for identification when I got 

 home. 



Instead of saving the nest as I should have 

 done, I pulled it to pieces to learn its composi- 

 tion. It was composed throughout of pine 

 needles with here and there bits of moss, and 

 pieces of rotten wood worked in. The whole 

 was fastened together, and to the small forks 

 of the limb, with cobwebs. The only lining 

 was a piece of green moss in the bottom of the 

 nest — the sides not being lined. 



