THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



Incubation in each case was allowed to 

 proceed until no doubt existed as to their 

 incompleteness. All nests were built in 

 positions to receive the warmth of the sun 

 from the south and sheltered from the 

 winds of the north. The distance from the 

 ground to the nest in most cases was thirty 

 feet; two were but eighteen feet from the 

 ground. The nest is deep, with thick walls 

 and warmly lined. The female, who at- 

 tends to the duties of incubation, sits for 

 days at a time without food or water, de- 

 pending upon the male for food; which I 

 am led to believe he sometimes forgets, as 

 is evidenced by my examinations of birds 

 shot from the nest during extreme cold 

 weather. In one instance only have I seen 

 the male supplying the setting female with 

 food. 



Nests with eggs were found during the 

 months of January, February, March and 

 April, after which no birds were seen nest- 

 ing or carrying material for nest building. 

 Young birds became numerous, congrega- 

 ting in flocks to feed on pine seeds. 



Young birds do not possess the crossing 

 of the upper and lower mandible so pecu- 

 liar in the adult birds as to be often alluded 

 to as deformities, but appears in stages as 

 age advances. The bird comes into the 

 world with a cone-shaped bill much the 

 same in form as the Crimson Finch ( Cai'- 

 podacus purpureaus) , and the full "crossing" 

 is not attained until the bird is at least six 

 months old. 



At the approach of the breeding season 

 the red of the male becomes intense; in the 

 height of color pink feathers often appear 

 among the red. 



The somber gray of the female is often 

 relieved by the appearance of a' dull red 

 about the head and rump, which is unusual. 

 These parts in the female are commonly of 

 a rich gamboge yellow. 



Santa Cruz, CaL, March 20, i8g^. 



AN AMERICAN MERGANSER'S NEST. 



The illustration of the nest and eight 

 eggs of the Am. Merganser in the Feb- 

 ruary NiDiOLOGiST reminds me of my ex- 

 perience with a nest of the same species. 

 In the spring of 1892, two friends, Carlton 



and Clifton Howe, invited me to help ihem 

 find the nest of an American Merganser 

 that had nested, so they heard, for several 

 years in a hollow tree on West River, a few 

 miles below Newfane, Vt. Accordingly, 

 April 30, we visited the locality. We did 

 not know the exact location of the tree, 

 but finally found a hollow button-wood, 

 which we concluded must be the one. It 

 was one of a few trees in an open field, 

 and leaned out over the river. Across the 

 river and twenty rods distant was a much- 

 traveled road. On this road, about fifty 

 rods above the tree, and in plain sight from 

 it, was a farm-house. The tree was large 

 and difiicult to climb. After much hard 

 pounding on the tree and considerable de- 

 bating, we concluded that the bird had not 

 yet nested and withdrew, intending to 

 return. 



May 14 we again visited the spot, but 

 pounding failed to start off the bird. How- 

 ever, we decided to find out whether or not 

 a Duck had ever nested there. Jr'utting on 

 the climbers, Clifton began the ascent. 

 When about thirty feet above the water 

 he found the top too rotten for safety. 

 After several minutes of conversation he 

 decided to give it up. Just then he saw a 

 Tree Swallow flying near by. Thinking 

 that it might have a nest in the tree, he 

 looked about him carefully and discovered 

 a small hole just beyond his reach. He 

 determined to risk going up one more step. 



At the first attempt to get a firm hold for 

 the spike of his climber, the tree shook and 

 out came the female Merganser through 

 the broken-ofi" top. 



He could then just reach the small hole 

 that he had thought might be the entrance 

 to a Tree Swallow's nest. Upon tearing 

 away the rotten wood he put his hand upon 

 a n&sX. full oi eggs. 



There were 16 (sixteen) American Mer- 

 ganser's eggs in that nest ! There is posi- 

 tively no mistake about the identity or the 

 number of eggs. Who has ever known of 

 so large a set before ? 



The nest was about 35 feet above the 

 river and 6 or 8 feet below the top of the 

 tree. The eggs were all very badly incu- 

 bated, and it required a half-inch drill and 

 nearly a day's patient labor to save them. 

 Had we examined the tree more carefully 

 when we were there two weeks before, I 

 think we should have found the set com- 

 plete and in good condition. 



TownsJiend, Vt. A. B. Call, 



