The Breeding Habits of Agelaius Phoeniceus. 37 



ony a single unmated male. They had mated and the extra 

 males had flown to some other territory. As I have indicated 

 they nested in a colony. There were fifteen pairs and we 

 found fourteen nests within a very few rods of each other. 



They built their nest of weeds and dead grass. The founda- 

 tion was of coarse weeds laid crossways in layers, thus raising 

 the nest off the ground about an inch and a half. Then the nest 

 proper was made of very fine grass wound around it horizon- 

 tally with some very fine roots woven in up and down to 

 hold it together. It is a very neat little affair about two and 

 one-half or three inches across the top. Both birds worked 

 diligently in the process of home-building and it was here 

 that I found my pair and was able to note some marks of dis- 

 tinction, which were : on the male a light spot on his breast 

 that was almost a freak mark, and on the female a little 

 tinge of red on the left wing. 



They finished the building of the nest on the twenty-third 

 day of May ; then they rested over the twenty-fourth and the 

 first egg appeared on the twenty-fifth and one each succeed- 

 ing day until the twenty-eighth, when the clutch was com- 

 pleted. It is very hard to describe the eggs. They are a sort 

 of a pale blue bordering on green and having a sort of a yel- 

 lowish tinge. They were spotted at the large end with large 

 irregular brownish-black spots, while the lower or smaller 

 half was perfectly clear. 



They were about one inch through the long way. They 

 were laid in the nest with the small end towards the center. 

 In order to see if that was the intention I took the eggs and 

 pointed the small end of each towards the outside, but the 

 next day they were all changed back again and in that posi- 

 tion they just filled the nest. 



The female did not begin incubating immediately after the 

 clutch was laid, but waited and seemed to rest for three days. 

 Then she began the process of incubation. At one time, 

 about six o'clock I went to the nest, and as I approached the 

 nest the male flew off, seeming to indicate that he was assist- 

 ing in the process. 



