EGGS: 



The complement of eggs is four or five. The shell, commonly highly polished, is a beautiful light blue, 

 a little darker in shade and not quite so greenish as the eggs of the Bluebird. They vary in long-diame- 

 ter from .73 to .8G, and in short-diameter from. 55 to .65. An average specimen measures about ,60 x .79/ 

 Dr. Brewer states, in "North-American Birds," that a common size is .90 x .70. I have never seen an 

 egg of this species so large. 



DIFFERENTIAL POINTS: 



The nest and eggs together can always be identified with certainty, as no other similar structure con- 

 tains light-blue eggs measuring between .73 and .90 in long-diameter. The eggs, although resembling the 

 Bluebirds somewhat, can be readily distinguished from them by the deeper tint of the shell ; they also 

 average smaller. 



HEMAEKS : 



The illustration, Plate XXIX, is taken from a nest built three feet from the ground in a perpen- 

 dicular fork of a stunted ehn, situated near a railroad track, at the edge of a clover-field. It was con- 

 structed the last week in May, 1877. Four eggs, measuring resj^ectively .80 x .61, .76 x .59, .74 x .60. 

 and .80 x .59, constituted the complement. The eggs figured represent the color and sizes commonly 

 found. The middle egg is an average specimen in size, shape, and color. 



Of all our Fringillidae, there is perhaps none much more interesting than the Black-throated Bunting. 

 The male is clothed in a suit attractive and neat, is trim in form and his dress fits exceedingly well. 

 The clover-field is, above all others, his favorite. He delights to perch upon the toj) rail of a fence, or 

 upon a weed-stalk, and sing to his mate, who sits upon her treasures beneath the fragrant blossoms. 

 From dawn until dusk he utters at short intervals, first from one post and then from another, but never 

 far from his nest, those pleasantly monotonous notes, which, pronounced, sound like cMj^cMjhche-che-che ; and 

 which, translated into English, may mean, as has been suggested : ''Look! look! see me here! see! " When 

 thus employed, he seeins unconscious of intruders unless his nest is approached too near. He then be- 

 comes silent and suddenly disappeai^s, either to hide among the clover or to reappear at a place farther 

 from the nest and again attract you with his song. If followed, he repeats this maneuver again and 

 again, until he judges his home is safe, and that he has fooled you long enough; then he abandons the 

 fun. If now you remain quiet he will soon be heard cheering his mate from the same j)oint from which 

 ho was originally started. 



The nest, when upon the ground, is very difficult to find, owing to its surroundings, and from the fact 

 that the female can not be walked from the nest. She sits closer than either the Song Sparrow or Bav- 

 Avinged Bunting, and if forced to leave, to save her life from the collector's foot, she often runs silently 

 aAvay, like the Bobolink, to be flushed at a short distance, where her nest is not. To find the nest upon 

 the ground in a field of clover or timothy, requires skill and a thorough knowledge of the habits of the bird. 



The nest, when in a bush or tree, is easily discovered, as but little eff'ort at concealment seems to 

 be attempted; indeed, it is an impossible task to hide so large a structure in such situations as are 

 generally chosen. The female is not often seen, as she slips from the nest to the grass at the approach 

 of danger. Sometimes, however, she may be observed sitting, if caution is exercised. While the nest is 

 being robbed, neither the male nor the female makes the least demonstration. They seem to be unable 

 to appreciate the fact that so base an act is about to be perpetrated, and that their home is about to be 

 broken up. Even when the circumstance is fully impressed upon them by optical evidence, their philos- 

 ophy seems equal to the occasion. In a few minutes, the male will sing his sweetest, perhaps from the 

 same bush that contained his nest, and the female will assume her former air of timidity and indiflFerence. 



110 



