June, 1881.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



27 



their place. The first two eggs measure 

 2.26x1.79 and 2.24x1.89. The two last laid 

 measure 2.17x1.74 and 2.15x1.70. In an 

 interesting letter from Mr. Wm. Brewster, 

 he speaks of a similar circumstance, where 

 he found two eggs of B. Virginia nus, be- 

 neath a nest full of eggs of the sheldrake 

 in a hollow stub, in the State of Maine. 

 I think that there is no doubt but that the 

 conclusion arrived at with regard to the 

 above described eggs is correct, and that it 

 was not a set of four eggs, but rather, two 

 sest of two eggs each. C. A. Hawes, Boston. 



Verdin or Yellow Headed Titmouse. 

 {Paroides flaviceps {£aird.) — I first met 

 with this rare and interesting little 

 mite of bird life on the Colorado de- 

 sert, some 100 miles above Fort Yuma. I 

 was made aware of its presence, by finding 

 several nests which had been lately deser- 

 ted by the young. Later (about May 1st,) 

 I found a nest with full fledged young, 

 which fluttered away on my disturbing 

 them. From this I infer that the first set 

 of eggs is laid about the first week in 

 April. Desjiite my careful search, I could 

 then find no nest with eggs, although 

 abandoned ones were not uncommon. The 

 birds, too I seldom saw, but such I believe 

 is their customary habit, to keep in retire- 

 ment in the low undergrowth. Three 

 weeks later, in the vicinity of Tucson, A.T., 

 I had the good fortune to find a new nest, 

 (suspended in a small willow sapling) which 

 contained four eggs about half advanced in 

 incubation. The nest was a wonderful 

 structure considering the size of the bird, 

 scarcely larger than some of the larger 

 humming-birds. It is in shape a perfect 

 ball, about half the size of a man's head, 

 and composed of decomposed leaves, cot- 

 ton-like fibre from the cactus and various 

 soft fibrous vegetable matter, matted to- 

 gether like felt cloth. Externally, rough 

 and thorny twigs give a protection and 

 form the frame work aroxind which the nest 

 is built. Internally it is literally one mass 

 of feathers, lining completely, bottom, top, 



and sides. The entrance could be hardly 

 detected, so small and well concealed was 

 it by an overhanging twig and protuber- 

 ance of body of the nest. When found, it 

 would hardly admit of the passage of a 

 finger. The whole structure built so as to 

 swing free to the breezes, was hardly cal- 

 culated to withstand rough treatment or 

 handling, and once detached from its sup- 

 port was apt to fall to pieces. The eggs, 

 four in number in the only two nests I 

 found, were all partly incubated, and were 

 at least the full complement of those sets. 

 In the first brood they may lay five. They 

 are very delicate little eggs, measiiring 

 about .60 by .45 inches, and considerably 

 tapering and pointed at the smaller end. 

 The ground color is a pale delicate pea 

 green, and the egg blotched all over with 

 rather large markings of reddish brown, 

 forming a ring around the large end. 



The situation varied exceedingly. Those 

 nests found on the desert were all close to 

 the ground, at the end of mesqinte limbs, 

 or in a cactus, while those found near 

 Tucson were some in cactus, some in low 

 saplings and occasionally in mesquite 

 trees, from 15 to 30 feet from the ground. 

 The little birds, seldom seen, manifest their 

 presence by angry and auxioiis calls to 

 each other frcm surrounding brush or 

 thickets. 



Never having observed the bird around 

 Los Angeles or in any part of California, 

 until on the desert near Arizona, I am in- 

 clined to think they are confined to the ex- 

 treme soiithern limits, extending into Mex- 

 ico. — Gr. HoLTERHOFF. Jr., Los Augeles, Cal. 



While riding out over Laurel Hill this 

 morning (May 29) we noticed a cat put its 

 paw on a young robin, not with the inten- 

 tion of injuring it, however, but at the in- 

 stant it was done a robin came down with 

 the speed of lightning and struck the cat on 

 the head. We have been trying to solve 

 the problem of which movement was the 

 quickest, the coming of the robin or the 

 leaving of the cat. 



