SENNETT ON BIKDS OF THE RIO GRANDE OF TEXAS. 7 



was uot recognized at the time. The next day I went to the nest, found 

 cue egg in it, and saw both parents. While the female was darting in 

 and out of the thicket, evidently alarmed at my close proximity to her 

 treasure, the male was flitting from tree to tree, on the topmost branches, 

 singing as hard as he could. I watched them both for at least half an 

 hour, when they disappeared. 



Allowing five days to complete their complement of eggs, I again 

 visited the nest. I cautiously approached and shook the bush, but no 

 bird flew out of the nest. Thereupon I inserted my finger in the small 

 opening on the side of the nest, and I could feel three eggs, and what I 

 thought were some loose feathers. Imagine my surprise and fright upon 

 withdrawing my finger at something flying out of the nest, directly into 

 my face. It was the female. A few cries of alarm, and responses from 

 her mate, and they were out of sight before I could reach my gun. 

 Again carefully examining the nest, I very plainly felt four eggs. I 

 wanted the birds as well as the eggs, and decided to leave them until 

 another day, when I would secure all. Fatal mistake! for when it was 

 next visited the female flew out of the nest before we reached it, was 

 fired at, and missed. I, however, shot the male, and then went for the 

 nest, but, lo! it was empty — not the least vestige of an egg! Nothing, 

 in my opinion, could have removed the eggs but the bird itself. It was 

 owing, in all probability, to the disturbance and fright of the previous 

 visit. But why was she back in the nest? About this time three eggs 

 were discovered in another nest, and when visited the day after they 

 were also gone. We were very careful in examining lest we should dis- 

 turb the eggs. Can it be possible that with the least touch the parent 

 bird abandons her eggs? Two nests that we found had been torn open 

 from above, evidently by some Jay or other robber. Out of the six new 

 nests found between April 28 and May 10 we were only able to obtain 

 one egg, and that was probably an infertile one, as the balance of the 

 clutch had hatched and taken their departure. One nest was brought 

 me on May 1 with three young about ready to leave. Their nests are 

 simply wonderful, far excelling, to my mind, all other bird architecture 

 of our fauna. Think of the size, varying from four to ten inches in 

 diameter 5 then think of the size of the bird, but little larger than a 

 Hummingbird ! The shape is like a bottle, or, better still, a retort, with 

 the mouth at one side and inclining downward. I found the nests built 

 on and around one (in one instance two) horizontal branch. The body 

 is composed of thorny twigs interwoven with wood-moss, grass, and bark. 

 The lining is of the softest down and feathers, not loosely thrown in, 

 but woven into a sort of matting, covering not only the whole of the In- 

 terior body of the retort, or nest proper, but also the neck to the very 

 mouth. The distance from the mouth to the eggs is sometimes six 

 inches. The place selected is usually the extremity of a branch of an 

 exposed bush, and easily approached. The highest nest was six feet, 

 the lowest less than three feet from the ground. There they swing, free 



