86 



THE OOLOGIST. 



It gives the measurements .48 by .38 inch, 

 and is Roman ochre brown deepening at the 

 small end, which is spotted with a darker 

 shade of the same color. - Doubtless it is a 

 deformity that occurred to the last deposit 

 of the season ; it evidently is not an egg of 

 the sett in which it was found. 



The Bulletin of the Nuttall Club con- 

 tains some very interesting notes on the 

 nesting of the Black Tern, Wilson's Phal- 

 arope, the "Western Purple Finch and Pev- 

 cma ruficeps. 



Eggs described in this issue : — 

 Yellow-headed Blackbird, Leach's Pet- 

 rel, Violet-green Cormorant, Double-crest- 

 ed Cormorant. 



404. Yellow-headed Blackbird. 



The Yellow-headed Blackbird breeds 

 throughout the west generally, is found 

 plentifully as far east as Michigan and In- 

 diana, and breeds in large numbers in the 

 swamps and marsh grounds of Texas, Ari- 

 zona, New Mexico, Missouri and the more 

 northwestern States. Specimens have been 

 taken as far east as Pennsylvania and even 

 Massachusetts, but these can only be re- 

 garded as accidental. 



This bird builds its nest similar to that 

 of the Red-winged Starling, and from the 

 similarity of the bird itself it has been placed 

 in the genus Agelceus by some scientists. 

 The breeding ground is always in or near 

 a swamp upon the grassy tussocks of which 

 it builds its nest. There is little or no dif- 

 ference in the general construction of the 

 nest from that of the bird above alluded to, 

 although the birds may use material vary- 

 ing according to locality. As in the case 

 of ^. phceniceus^ the grass upon which it 

 is built is interwoven in the nest, and some- 

 times this is three or four feet high — placed 

 in the tops of the long species of swamp 

 grass. Communities of hundreds build to- 



gether. The structure is composed of the 

 tough wire-grass, slender reeds, dried grass- 

 es, and bits of swamp vegetation, all twin- 

 ed and interlaced together, making a light 

 and solid structure. The eggs are five, not 

 so varying in size as those of the Red-wing, 

 usually ovoidal and measure, maximum,* 

 .98 by .70 inch ; minimum, .82 by .62 in. 

 A specimen from Texas measures .84 by 

 .68 inch. A casual glance shows them to 

 be mottled ashy-gray, which is produced by 

 a minute dotting of lilac-brown upon a pale 

 white surface. Nest-building commences 

 about May 1 ; full complements of eggs by 

 the 25th of that month. 



642. Leach's Petrel. 



The.Petrels are exclusively sea-birds, and 

 breed only in the immediate vicinity of the 

 ocean. Leach's Petrel is found from New 

 York to Labrador, and breeds most plenti- 

 fully on the rocky shores of Maine, Nova 

 Scotia, Labrador and Newfoundland. No 

 nest is built : the eggs are deposited in suit- 

 able places on the bare rock, often in the 

 most inaccessible places. The eggs are 

 two, exceedingly thin-shelled and brittle, 

 and are white, with an almost impercepti- 

 ble creamy tint, and no markings except a 

 a very faint mottled ring about one end — 

 so faint as to be scarcely discernible. The 

 shape is elliptical, longly so in some speci- 

 mens ; size, 1.30 by .82 inch. The birds 

 do not pass as much of their life on shore 

 as upon the water, and, as well known, are 

 found sometimes hundreds of miles from 

 land. 



627. Violet-green Cormorant. 



This, the most beautiful of the Cormor- 

 ants, is a western bird, found along the Pa- 

 cific and Columbia river. It is also found 

 in California. According to authors and 

 collectors it nests upon trees, building 

 a bulky, coarse affair of sticks and grasses. 

 Some say the nest is built upon the rocks,. 

 and it is quite probable that they may oc- 

 cupy both places. The eggs are from three 

 to five, longly ovoidal, pointed, and pale 

 greenish- white, measuring 2.20 by 1.35 

 inches. In most cases the eggs are entire- 



