THE OOLOGIST. 



43 



76. Downy Woodpecker. 

 Our lively little Downy Woodpecker is 

 well known throughout the country. It is 

 not choice of its breeding grounds ; it may 

 be found in high dense forests, or in " the 

 knot-hole in the old pear tree ;" in the tall 

 " stub" in the pasture, or in the dead ap- 

 ple-tree in the orchard. It is familiar with 

 the farmer and is seldom disturbed. The 

 lining to the nest is often the sawdust of the 

 tree ; sometimes it is fine straws, and very 

 frequently feathers alone. The hollow is 

 of various depths, according to circum- 

 stances. The eggs are from four to even 

 seven and eight, pure white, glossy as us- 

 ual with this family, and measure from .70 

 by .65 (very spherical), to .76 by .62 inch. 

 They breed as early as the midule of March 

 in some localities, but about the 20th of 

 April is the usual time. 



391. TOWHEK.. 



The Ground Robin is found throughout 

 the eastern portions of the United States. 

 It makes a nest of coarse dry grass-stalks 

 and weedy stems, woven together loosely, 

 and placed on the ground under a clump of 

 ferns ; sometimes hidden by a bush or de- 

 cayed stump. Eggs four and covered with 

 either very fine reddish, or grayish spots, 

 concealing the surface color of the entire 

 egg, though more of a congruity of them is 

 usually observable about the large end. 

 Often they are quite obtuse at both ends. 

 Measurement, average, .95 by .70 inch. 

 A specimen in a friend's collection meas- 

 ures 1.00 by .80 of an inch, but this is 

 larger than usual. Our Ground Robin 

 frequents scrubby pastures and wooded 

 lands, breeding in the latter. 



396. Brown Towhee. 

 This bird is found in the extreme west- 

 ern states : California, Oregon etc. As far 

 as I can ascertain, it breeds in a manner 

 similar to the above, the nest being con- 

 structed of very fine rootlets and leaves. 

 The eggs are four, pale bluish gray-white, 

 or rather white, with a bluish shade, mark- 

 ed with a few scattered reddish-brown and 

 black spots of almost indistinguishable size 



from their smallness, often resembling fig- 

 ures of animate objects. Frequently there 

 will be no markings whatever, except a few 

 very pale dots, of a shade but little deeper 

 than the primary color. Shape, — general- 

 ly obtuse, sometimes nearly spherical. Two 

 specimens measure .85 by .68 and .90 by 

 .65 inch, showing two different shapes. 

 Collectors in California state that this bird 

 is quite abundant there, and their eggs do 

 not appear to be desiderata among eastern 

 naturalists. 



432. Magpie. 

 . This bird inhabits the western portions 

 of the United States, especially in the re- 

 gion extending from the Missouri to the 

 Rio Grande. It breeds quite abundantly. 

 The nest is a singular affair, made most- 

 ly of sticks and placed in a small tree or 

 bush a few feet from the ground. A glob- 

 ular shaped nest with the twigs twined to- 

 gether, is made, usually cemented with a 

 little earth, and lined with rootlets and fine 

 vine-bark, with the aperture on the side. 

 Mr. Aiken says the structure is from one 

 to three feet iu diameter. The eggs range 

 from five to eight. They are pale grayish- 

 white, covered completely with very fine 

 spots and dashes of grayish -brown, reddish - 

 brown and raw umber, often with a scatter- 

 ing of minute black spots. A specimen 

 from Utah Terr, is regularly oval, perhaps 

 a little pointed at the small extremity, and 

 gives the following measurements: 1.30 

 by .94. 



The Yellow-billed Magpie is considered 

 by Dr. Coues, as only a form of this bird, 

 and not a distinct variety nor species. 



TO BE CONTINUED. " OvUM." 



Travelers and sailors who have visited 

 the islands of the south seas never fail to 

 observe the nesting places of the Wander- 

 ing Albatross. Acres of the low ground of 

 these islands will be studded with the ele- 

 vations these birds build for nests, the own- 

 ers themselves presenting a beautiful spec- 

 tacle while sittinor. 



