THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



21 



Painted Bunting or Nonpariel. 



(PASSERINA CIRIS.) 



This bird is one of the migratory tribe 

 wintering in Soutli America and the West 

 India Islands. It is one of the handsomest 

 birds we have, beautiful in plumage and 

 rich in color, besides having a very pleasant 

 song. It generally arrives at Savannah by 

 the 14th of April. I have never seen them 

 any earlier, and have watched them for 

 years. They commence to build early in 

 May ; I have found their nests as early as 

 May 7th, with eggs ; they build a neat nest 

 composed of paper, rags, withered plants, 

 leaves, etc., lined with fine fiberous roots 

 and sometimes horse-hair. They have no 

 regular place to build, as you will find 

 them in the smallest bushes to the largest 

 trees. I know of no bird that the collector 

 needs to watch more than he does the 

 Painted Bunting. At first sight the female 

 looks a great deal like some of the Warb- 

 lers and Vireos, and the eggs vary a great 

 deal in size and markings, but the general 

 type is white, vdth red, amber, purple and 

 lilac shadings. Last summer, while out 

 collecting, I found a nest in a small pine 

 sapling, about four feet from the ground ; 

 it contained four eggs so thickly marked 

 with ferruginous dottings, as to appear that 

 color. As I was somewhat doubtful about 

 its identity, I concealed myself near by to 

 watch ; I had not long to wait before the 

 bird came and went on the nest ; I shot it, 

 and it proved to be a female Painted Bunt- 

 ing. I have often found two and three 

 nests in the same tree, placed in the moss ; 

 I have collected as many as forty eggs of 

 this species in one afternoon. Another 

 striking thing about this bird is, that it will 

 very often build its nest on top of another 

 Bunting's nest. I cite a case here : On 

 June 33d, 1883, I found a nest which con- 

 tained one egg and one young bird ; the 

 whole structure was about eight inches 

 long outside, and only about two and one- 

 half inches deep inside. I was somewhat 

 surprised, and thought it strange that the 

 nest should be so long and yet so shallow, 

 so I took the egg and young bird out and 



laid them on the ground, and commenced 

 to pull the nest apart, when I found 

 another perfect nest, which contained three 

 eggs slightly incubated, and upon the 

 ground underneath the nest, among the 

 leaves, I found two more eggs which doubt- 

 less had fallen from the top nest, as incuba- 

 tion was far advanced. I have often found 

 eight eggs in one nest, thus leaving little 

 doubt that two birds sometimes lay in the 

 same nest. I have found nests with eggs 

 as late as July 20th, so I think they must 

 rear two, if not three broods during the 

 season. 



Troup D. Perry, 



Savannah, Ga. 



Pigeon Hav^k. 



J. B. W., of Fork Union, Va., sends us 

 the following description of a Hawk, its 

 nest and eggs, which he has found at that 

 place. Can any of our older Ornithologists 

 tell us whether it is the Pigeon Hawk or not? 



" The nest was one that had previously 

 been used by a pair of crows, and was 

 placed in the top of a spruce-pine, twenty- 

 five feet from the ground. Four eggs, 

 average dimension l^^xl^^g inches ; unequal 

 in size, and varying in color ; three were 

 dirty white, with very small brown dots, 

 and around the middle a broad band of 

 brown, the blotches running together ; the 

 fourth was smaller than the rest, uniform 

 light brown, with light mottlings. Parent- 

 male killed ; spread of wings, 19f| inches ; 

 length Hi; inches ; tarsus, 2i inches ; tail, 

 7-} inches ; beak, ff inches. Eye, pupil, 

 large black ; iris red ; top of wings, back 

 of neck, back and upper part of wings, 

 slaty blue. Under part of primaries and 

 secondaries, light, with dark bars under 

 wing coverts, dirty white, with reddish 

 brown motlings. Throat and ear coverts 

 white ; mid rib of each feather, black ; 

 breast and under body, light reddish, with 

 indistinct white spots. Tarsus and toes, 

 yellow ; claws much curved. Under tail 

 coverts, pure white ; upper coverts, slate ; 

 tail, brown, barred vrith black tips, faintly 

 white," What is it ? 



