86 



THE OOLOGIST 



agricultural districts, and not appear- 

 ing to resort much to the high uncul- 

 tivated benches. It is commonest on 

 the meadows and prairies in the vi- 

 cinity of the streams and irrigating 

 ditches. 



This nest was found in the cemetery 

 in the present site of Lewistown. The 

 location was near the fence, and the 

 site was a depression at the base of 

 a lupine bush. The brim of the nest 

 was somewhat elevated above the 

 ground, so that the structure was not 

 sunken completely. It was made in 

 the characteristic way, of coarse weed 

 stems, with a scanty lining of horse- 

 hair. There were four eggs in the 

 nest. 



Nest No. 18. June 7. Red-naped 

 Sapsucker. This Sapsucker is com- 

 mon in the groves bordering the water 

 courses in the vicinity of Lewistown, 

 and can generally be seen along the 

 course of Big Spring Creek. Its harsh, 

 impatient cry always announces its 

 presence, and it is noisy even in the 

 neighborhood of the nest location. 



This nest was in a small grove of 

 aspens bordering Spring Creek. The 

 female was out of the nest when I 

 drew near the place, and her im- 

 patient scolding at the nest betrayed 

 its location to me. I imagined she was 

 scolding her better half for loafing on 

 his job instead of supplying her with 

 necessary victuals, for the male is a 

 sort of Rip Van Winkle fellow and the 

 female must needs get out and rustle 

 for herself at times when her unduti- 

 ful liusband gets attached to a nice 

 sap-hole and becomes half topsy on 

 the contents, when he should be hurry- 

 ing home with his mouthful of goodies 

 for his confined dame. 



These sapsuckers had chosen a site 

 in a living aspen, though the inner 

 wood was partially decayed. The cav- 

 ity was about twelve feet from the 

 ground, near the lowest limbs, and it 



appeared that the cavity had been 

 made in a former season. The en- 

 trance was quite small, as is charac- 

 teristic with the home of this Sap- 

 sucker. The hollow was seven inches 

 deep and about four inches in diameter 

 at the bottom. No nest material was 

 used, the eggs being laid on the soft 

 particles of wood at the bottom of the 

 cavity. Six eggs constituted this set. 



Nest No. 19. June 8. Columbian 

 Sharp-tailed Grouse. This nest was in 

 a characteristic location, in a patch of 

 sprouts at the margin of a meadow 

 along Big Casino Creek. The female 

 was sitting closely, so that in scramb- 

 ling out she displaced two of the eggs; 

 she flew away low and quietly, leaving 

 the nest only when I parted the sprouts 

 around her and exposed her home, 

 which as usual was open at the top. 

 The nest was among sparse sprouts 

 about knee high, the apology of a 

 nest being a scant measure of dried 

 grass and a few feathers. There were 

 twelve eggs, which I judged to be far 

 advanced in incubation, as the actions 

 of the female and the appearance of 

 the eggs seemed to indicate. 



Nest No. 20. June 13. Western 

 Vesper Sparrow. The Vesper Sparrow 

 seems quite inambitious in the art of 

 nest-building, as its main purpose ap- 

 pears to be to provide something that 

 will merely hold its eggs and young. 

 The material is loosely woven to- 

 gether, and there is very little variety 

 in the composition. This nest was 

 made at the base of several sport 

 sprouts, in which a small wisp of 

 coarse grass had become entangled, 

 affording a dome-like protection for 

 the rude structure. The nest was a 

 flimsy affair of flne grass-stems, lined 

 with other fine grasses. There were 

 three fresh egs in this nest, evidently 

 an incomplete set. 



Nest No. 21, June 13. Western 

 Vesper Sparrow. Why is it that one 



