EGGS: 



The number of eggs in a nest varies from three to five, four being the usual complement. They 

 nieasure in long-diameter from .88 to .98, and in short-diameter from .68 to .80. The largest of twenty 

 specimens is .96 x .72; the smallest, .89 x .68. The usual size is .93 x .70. The ground-color of the shell 

 of a fresh egg, when blown, is white, slightly bluish-green tinted; but the markings, which consist of 

 small blotches, spots, and speckles of brown-madder, are sometimes so abundant as to nearly if not entirely 

 conceal it. The deep shell-marks are obscure purplish. Usually the shell is well spotted and speckled, 

 but the ground-color is apparent, except about the crown, where there is a slight confluence of the marks. 

 Some eggs have a few irregular, small blotches and round spots upon them, but small, oblong spots and 

 speckles are the rule. There is not much variation in pattern, although there is considerable difl'erence 

 in the depth of color of the markings in different specimens. 



DIFFERENTIAL POINTS: 



The locality, position, size, and materials of the nest, together with the size, shape, and markings of 

 the eggs, will always insure identification. But even where these data are not all known, and the nest 

 and eggs are separated from each other, identification is still possible. The former may be recognized by 

 its size and lining; the latter, by the characters described above. There are several eggs of nearly the 

 same size and pattern as the one under consideration, among which, may be mentioned the Cow-bird*s, the 

 Chat's, and certain forms of the Cardinal Grosbeak's. The first averages less in size, and the markings 

 are not so pinkish, being brown inclined to yellow instead of to red. The Chat's also average smaller. The 

 markings are of exactly the same tint, but of a larger pattern. The eggs of the Cardinal Grosbeak average 

 larger, but small specimens are met with, which diff'er in tint only, from some eggs of the Chewink. These 

 differences, while minute and not easily described, are emphatic. They are better presented in the illus- 

 trations than by a word description. 



REMARKS : 



The illustration, Plate XXXVII, represents a nest and four eggs of the Chewink, taken 1879, from an 

 upland woods, dense with underbrush. It was situated in a bank of dead leaves, which had di^ifted and 

 lodged against a small lichen-covered branch, part of a dead limb that the winds had blown from a tree 

 near by. Two eggs are figured below, giving the full outline, and the common sizes and markings. 



The male Chewink is much more frequently seen than the female, partly because he is a noisy fellow 

 and of conspicuous plumage, but mainly, I think, because his partner is much more retiring in disposition. 

 The nest is very difficult to find on account of its resemblance to its surroundings, and because search is 

 generally made for it in the wrong place, the hunter being misled by the uneasy actions of the male. 

 He is a clever cheat, and wherever he happens to be found during the nesting season, he behaves as if 

 his home was within a few yards, when, in fact, it is rare to discover him within considerable distance of 

 his nest. 



The nests which I have collected I have usually found by walking up the female, and, until she 

 would give the alarm note, the male would keep quiet and out of sight. Indeed, he seems to avoid o-oino- 

 too near the nest, unless the female calls him. Both parents show great anxiety and solicitude for their 

 nest and eggs, and especially for their young. I have seen the female feign lameness when driven from 

 her nest. The young run about some days before they can fly, and follow their mother wherever she 

 calls. They are very active little chicks, and slip along through the grass and brush so rapidly that it 

 is almost impossible to catch them. 



126 



