April, 1881.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



11 



May 28th, while hoeing a new straw- 

 berry patch I found another nest of this 

 species and came very near crushing both 

 nest and eggs as there was nothing near 

 to protect it, but simply hollowed out of 

 the dry sand and lined with grass like the 

 previous nest. The grass was very dry 

 and very loosely put together. In this 

 case incubation had commenced and the 

 bird was unusually tame, she did not leave 

 the nest until I got within eight or ten feet 

 of it aud then she would move off in a slow 

 and quite unconcerned manner. She 

 did not seem in the least afraid and 

 would pick up bugs and worms quite un- 

 concerned. When I had passed the nesi 

 about the same distance she would as 

 quietly return to it and snuggle around 

 like a setting hen before settling down and 

 would sit as quiet as though no one was 

 near. This nest contained 4 eggs the 

 ground color of which was gray, minutely 

 and thickly speckled with light brown 

 very uniformly. Some of the specks are 

 nearly as large as a pin's head. The meas- 

 urements varied and were as follows,. 80x. 61 

 .80X.62, .82X.63, and.84x.63. About the 15th 

 of June, this same pair made another nest 

 in a patch of Tobacco near by. I did not 

 molest this nest and by the middle of July 

 the five young which they had raised were 

 able to fly and left the nest, and were fully 

 as large as the old birds. It is my opin- 

 ion that all three nests were made by one 

 pair of birds, and if I had left the eggs in 

 nest No. 2 they would no doubt have raised 

 three broods in the season. 



F. H. Lattin, Gaines, N. Y. 



Cactus W^ren. 



( Catnpylorhynchus brunneicapil'us.) 

 Journeying across the bleak and arid 

 Colorado desert, this little wren with the 

 awe-inspiring name was one of the most 

 numerous of the feathered race that I saw, 

 and its nest was to be seen wherever 

 cactus or mesquite grew. Its peculiar 

 note continued long and monotonously, 

 relieved the oppressive silence and sug- 



gested life and cheerfulness. The nests, 

 very large for the size of the bird, were 

 laid on the flat branches of the cactus, or 

 occasionally placed in a mesqiiite or palo 

 verds tree, and were very conspicuous. 

 They were built of fine grasses, well inter- 

 woven, and were shaped something like a 

 retort, with a long funnel shaped entrance. 

 The body of the nest was often as large as 

 a man's head, completely roofed over and 

 with the entrance, also roofed, on one side 

 at the top of the nest. This entrance way 

 was often 6 to 9 inches in length, and of 

 only sufficient diameter to admit the pas- 

 sage of the bird. The interior of the nest 

 was always thickly lined with feathers, 

 which were gathered with infinite labor 

 from many and various birds, and to exam- 

 ine one of the nests was a good way to 

 find out what birds were in the vicinity. 

 The nests were seldom higher than three 

 or four feet from the ground, exceptional 

 ones in mesquite trees being at a height of 

 from ten to fifteen feet. The full comple- 

 ment of eggs, in no case noticed by myself, 

 exceeded five. They are rather elongated 

 and slightly pointed and average specimens 

 measure about 1 inch in length by .65 inch- 

 es in diameter. The color, when freshly 

 blown, is very rich being of a delicate sal- 

 mon, marked universally and evenly with 

 darker salmon ; also forming a slight ring 

 around the larger end. The birds are in 

 little flocks during the winter months, and 

 mate and nest very early. How many 

 broods are raised I am unable to say, but 

 dates of finding nests with eggs in the 

 middle of February and as late as August, 

 are before me and well authenticated. In 

 this case they must be remarkably prolific. 

 I will endeavor to ascertain more concern- 

 ing number of broods raised. 



G. HoLTERHOFF, Jr., Los Augelos, Cal. 



W. W. Worthington, Shelter Island, N. 

 Y. reports the following arrivals: Fish 

 Hawks and Great Blue Herons March 25, 

 Shore Larks and Wild Geese Apr. 1, Grass 

 Finches Apr. 2, White-bellied Swallow Apr 8. 



