THE OOLOGIST. 



107 



'Other oases the intermediate'.layer was 

 very scanty, but such was the typical 

 nest, with few valuations to show in- 

 dividual taste. Very few of the nests 

 in position stood three inches high. 



A single rap on the stub containing 

 the nest will cause the bird, if she is 

 within, to dart from the entrance and 

 drop almost to the ground, where she 

 flutters along with outspread tail, 

 stopping now and then on a handy 

 weedstalk or dead branch, softly twit- 

 tering, with tail spread in fan-like fash- 

 ion and slightly quivering wings. This 

 is when she appeal's to best advantage, 

 showing a white band near the tip of 

 her steel-blue tail, and displaying the 

 dark blue of her wings as she slightly 

 lifts them while she softly twitters her 

 protests at the spoliation of her home. 

 Scarcely has she alighted, however, be- 

 fore another form darts along beside 

 her, and both hop among the foliage 

 and branches about our sides and 

 labove, both earnestly chirping and 

 scolding at the intrusion we make so 

 Tudely upon their affairs. If we have 

 despoiled the home, it is interesting (to 

 us) to observe the actions of the pair at 

 the ruin we have left behind us. The 

 iemale will flit to the site of the nest 

 and cling to the side of the ruin, gazing 

 •into the cavity for a time without word 

 or comment, as though at a loss to 

 know what has happened to her home. 

 Then she will creep into the now en- 

 larged cavity, make a tour of inspec- 

 tion, and after emerging, fly out to 

 where the male is still chirping or 

 perhaps now making the air vibrant 

 with his notes. Perhaps another visit 

 ■to the spot will be made, followed by 

 the same curious looking into the cav- 

 ity with the same appearance of won- 

 derment, for I cannot call it sorrow, 

 though doubtless there is sorrow in the 

 breast of the outraged Wai'bler. 



The eggs of this Warbler have been 

 •described too often for me to enter in- 

 \to details concerning them. As most 



students of bird life well know, there 

 is a great variation in both size and 

 coloration, though there is a certain 

 amount of resemblance in the eggs of 

 any set which generally reveals their 

 relationship. However, the eggs of 

 any particular set frequently show 

 wonderful degrees of difference, and 

 different styles of markings will often 

 be found in one complement, though 

 as I have said, there is ordinarily only 

 one style of markings running through 

 the same complement. In one style of 

 coloi'ation the eggs appear to be minia- 

 tures of the eggs of the Towhee, hav- 

 ing finer dots of light reddish brown 

 rather evenly and scantily distributed, 

 barely becoming more numerous at the 

 larger end. Then there is the style of 

 markings which causes the eggs to re- 

 semble the eggs of the House Wren on 

 a larger plan, the small dots of 

 reddish brown being so thickly dis- 

 tributed and so evenly that the eggs 

 have nearly that color. There is also 

 the regular Prothonotary style of mark- 

 ings, the gi'ound of china white having 

 large irregular blotches of cherry and 

 walnut, with dark lilac shell marks, 

 the first colors being so confluent at 

 the larger end that they form compar- 

 atively large areas. These are hand- 

 some eggs, which cause the eyes of the 

 oologist to stand out in excusable ex- 

 ultation as he di'aws them toward him 

 . and carefully examines his treasures. 



Then there is yet another class of 

 coloration, eggs which have a ground 

 like cream which has been poured over 

 strawberries and become tinted with 

 the color of the berries, with the large 

 and L confluent marks of the last de- 

 scribed types, — these are the beauties 

 which delight the eyes of us egg- 

 cranks. When fresh,all these types have 

 the ordinary rosy tinge of eggs of this 

 class. As suggested, they are only 

 types, and the eggs usually vary to 

 show all possible gradations of one 

 type into another. 



