THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



the note of a grasshopper, and somewhat 

 ventriloquial, and although we searched 

 around for a long time we could not find a 

 nest. 



Next morning while Dippie was skinning 

 birds at the cabin, I went out determined 

 to search diligently for the nest of this 

 species, and after pacing up and down and 

 walking over every yard of the ground for 

 two long hours, at last my perseverance 

 was rewarded by flushing a little bird out 

 of the grass in front of my feet, and there 

 was its nest and five eggs built in the grass 

 about six inches above the ground. I felt 

 sure I had found a nest of lycconte's Spar- 

 row, so, carefully noting the spot, I went 

 for Dippie and his gun, but on our return 

 we failed to catch a glimpse of the bird. 

 That day and the day following we must 

 have visited the nest at least a dozen times, 

 but the bird slipped oflf the nest and disap- 

 peared in the grass before we saw her. 

 Once Dippie caught sight of her, and 

 wanted me to take the nest and eggs with- 

 out shooting the bird, as he felt sure of the 

 identity of the species. But I said no, we 

 must obtain the bird and convince skeptics 

 we were the first to discover the eggs of 

 this species. 



On the 2ist of June the eggs had lost 

 their transparency and incubation had com- 

 menced, but still we could not get the bird, 

 so I devised a plan to rush up to the spot 

 and shout, and this caused the bird to take 

 flight, and Dippie shot her, and we had 

 both nest, eggs' and the bird. 



On the evening of the same day I found 

 the first nest, which was June 19, I came 

 across another one containing four young 

 birds just hatched and an addled egg. This 

 nest and another one containing four eggs 

 were built in similar positions, in a tuft of 

 grass about six inches above the ground, 

 and all the nests were composed of fine 

 dried grass and nothing else. 



The eggs are about the size of the Chip- 

 ping and Field Sparrows, averaging 65x50. 

 Their ground color is pale greenish-gray, 

 and they are freckled and. mottled with 



grayish-brown, chiefly around the larger 

 ends, where the coloring has a tendency to 

 form a zone, and some of the eggs have 

 fine hair-lines of dark brown at the larger 

 end. 



I believe these are the only authentic 

 eggs of this species on record. 



The eggs I described in ' ' Bird-Nesting in 

 Northwest Canada," found at Raeburn 

 June 19, 1 89 1, I now believe were some 

 species of Warbler; likewise the eggs found 

 by my friend and neighbor, Mr. E. E. 

 Thompson, in Manitoba, and described in 

 Oliver Davies' work, were Warblers. Mr. 

 Thompson has seen my eggs and says his 

 were quite different, and he now concludes 

 the eggs he found were not those of Le- 

 conte's Sparrow. 



While examining my skins Mr. Thomp- 

 son called my attention to a specimen of 

 Nelson's Sharp-tailed Finch which I had 

 taken for a variety of Leconte's Sparrow, 

 and on showing him the two eggs taken with 

 the bird he informed me that we were the 

 first ornithologists who had taken the eggs 

 of this species. It therefore gives me 

 pleasure to be able to describe them for the 

 first time, although I must give Dippie the 

 credit, as it was he who obtained the bird 

 and the eggs. 



On June 12, 1893, Dippie flushed a small 

 bird out of the grass and found its empty 

 nest; next day it contained one egg, and 

 the day following two eggs. On the third 

 day on visiting the nest he found it covered 

 with water, as there had been a thunder 

 storm the night previous. The birds were 

 perched on the grass close by, and he shot 

 one and took the two eggs from the wet 

 nest, and I now have both the bird and its 

 two eggs on a table before me. Nelson's 

 Sparrow is somewhat larger than lycconte's, 

 and it is marked differently on the back 

 and head, and it has a larger tail. The 

 eggs of Nelson's sparrow are about the 

 same size as Leconte's, 65x50, and similar 

 in general appearance. The ground color 

 is grayish-white, and they are mottled 

 with grayish-brown, heaviest at the butt 



