34 



THE OOLOGIST. 



up of the uest is substantially the same, the 

 main constituents being pieces of vine bark, 

 stiff, dry grass and rootlets thrown togeth- 

 er loosely. 



The eggs are four, pale light green, in- 

 clining to dull gray, spotted all over with 

 dots and small splashes of a color between 

 light walnut and umber brown, collected 

 generally in a perceptible circle about the 

 large end. Size of one specimen, 1.00 by 

 .70. Like others they are apt to vary in 

 shape, the size above being quite long and 

 narrow. " They are less thickly spotted and 

 show a duller primary tint than those of the 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 



382. Blue Grosbeak. 

 This bird is an inhabitant of the southern 

 and warmer parts of the United States. 

 It breeds in the same manner as the other 

 Grosbeaks, building the nest of fine twigs, 

 rootlets and perhaps other equally answer- 

 able substances, and placing it in a low- 

 shrub or slim sapling. The eggs are pale 

 whitish blue with a faint neutral tint, with- 

 out markings. Two specimens measure 

 .80 by .65 and .85 by .65 inch. 



416. Bullock's Oriole. 

 This species is found over the greater 

 part of western North America, where it is 

 more common than is generally believed. 

 It builds its nest of various materials, ac- 

 cording to the productions of the locality. 

 The principal substances are the silky down 

 of plants, very fine, pliable bark, light 

 pieces of dry grass, feathers, hairs, shreds 

 of the inner bark of trees ; in fact anything 

 that can be used to advantage. It is sus- 

 pended from the tip of a limb in the man- 

 ner of the Baltimore -Oriole. Eggs four or 

 five, pale leaden blue-white, covered with 

 a series of fine lines and narrow spots of 

 black, which wander about the shell in a 

 beautiful manner. 



510. Black-bellied Plover. 



This species is found throughout the U- 

 nited States, though more abundantly on 

 the sea-coasts than in tlie interior. The 

 bird is rather scarce and but few sets of 



eggs have been taken. The eggs are large 

 — of about 2.15 by 1.40 inches, — brown- 

 ish drab, covered with markings of brown- 

 ish black and umber. The marks about 

 the large end are often confluent. The 

 nest is a depression in the ground lined with 

 dried grasses. 



507. Semipalmated Plover 



Breeds in the usual manner. The eggs 

 are usually four, light brownish drab, dull- 

 er in some specimens and always fading 

 after blown. Over this are distributed nu- 

 merous markings of umber, very decided 

 in outline. Other markings are observa- 

 ble, though very faint and formed in the 

 shell. Measurements : from one and one 

 third by one inch, to one and one fifth by 

 nine tenths of an inch. '■'Ovum." 



TO BE continued. 



Do Insects Harm Eggs? 



TNSECTS are troublesome pests and but 

 -*- few collections escape their ravages. 

 The insect usually frequenting egg cabinets 

 is a small, gray moth, the larva of which 

 is the pest. They will apply at the small- 

 est cracks and generally succeed in effect- 

 ing an entrance. In this larva state they 

 enter the eggs, and not unfrequently a col- 

 lector may be surprised to find six or seven 

 imbedded iu a mass of mouse-colored sub- 

 stance in a single large egg. Now, do 

 they harm the egg? In some instances 

 they certainly do, in others probably they 

 do not, as depends upon the size of the egg 

 and the state of its shell inside. Not long 

 ago, we were made aware of the fact that 

 three setts of Humming Birds' eggs were 

 attacked. Nothing could be done to drive 

 them out and the eggs were ruined : liter- 

 ally eaten up. Shortly after we discovered 

 the above, there were appearances of this 

 noxious pest in an egg of the Murre. Be- 

 ing anxious, we broke open the egg and 

 found therein two live insects and the east-. 

 off skins of others. The egg was not thor- 

 oughly blown. A. small strip of membrane 



