170 



THE OOLOGIST 



The lining inateriai is but very slightly 

 liner than what is used for the balance 

 of the negt. As with other .Tuncoes, 

 the form is circular and somewhat flat- 

 tened frOm above downwards. Across 

 the top it measures about 10 cms., the 

 circle Of the concavity proper having 

 a diameter Of 6 cms., and a depth ot 

 about 3.5 cms- 



FOr the size of the bird, the pale 

 blue eggs are rather large, measuring, 

 on the average, 2.1x1.6 cms. A very 

 few fine specks are on the body of the 

 egg, while a well-pronounced circlet 

 of rather pale, rusty brown dottings 

 surround the butt, being about equally 

 well marked in all specimens. Set 

 mark, T. 56.) 



Our Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta 

 pusilla) lays one of the smallest eggs 

 of the Class Aves, it averaging but 

 1.4x1.15 in size. The eggs are almost 

 white, being more or less thickly 

 speckled all over with very minute 

 specks of a pale, rusty-brown, chiefly 

 at the larger end. This nest (Fig. 6) 

 was taken by Mr. Court and Mr. 

 George Woodruff from an old Downy 

 Woodpecker's hole, found in the neigh- 

 borhood of Point Lookout. St. Mary's 

 County, Maryland, April 30, 1911. (Set 

 mark, N-5). For a nest of this spe- 

 cies, or, indeed, of any Nuthatch, it 

 is in very perfect condition, for it is 

 usually very loosely put together, and 

 easily falls apart upon being taken out 

 of the excavation where found. This 

 one is composed of the fibrous bark 

 of some vine or other, with consider- 

 able blackish wool on one side, mixed 

 with the thin, flaky, and very light 

 and fragile bark of apparently some 

 sort of grape-vine. All is very loose- 

 ly held together, and flattens out con- 

 siderably when placed on a hard, plane 

 surface, as I ai ranged it for the pur- 

 pose of making my negative. It shows 

 very well, however, the component 

 parts of the nest, and the beautiful 

 set of eggs it contained. 



Legends for Figures. 



(Figures all natural size and repro- 

 ductions of photographs by the 

 author.) 



Fig. 1. Nest of Cassin's Vireo (Lan- 

 ivireo s. cassini). 



Fig. 2. Eggs of Cassin's Vireo (Lan- 

 ivireo s. cassini). Found in the nest 

 shown in Fig. 1. 



Fig. 3. Nest of Black-tailed Gnat- 

 catcher (Polioptila californica). 



Fig. 4. Eggs of the Black-tailed 

 Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica). 

 Found in the nest shown in Fig. 3. 



Fig. 5. Nest and eggs of Shufeldt's 

 Junco (Junco li. connectens). 



Fig. 6. Nest and eggs of Brown- 

 headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla). 



Texas Bird Notes. 



March 24, 1916— Screech Owl found 

 nesting one hundred feet from camps, 

 in a live elm. Hollow ten feet up, and 

 one foot deep; small hollow. Tree 

 near Hodgkins bayou of Lake Worth, 

 on this date one egg in nest, and on 

 the 31st there were three eggs, so it 

 took the owl seven days to lay two 

 eggs. April 3d there were a set of 

 four eggs. No more eggs were laid. 

 So Mrs. Owl was eleven days laying 

 a set of four eggs. These owls were 

 noticed around the tree about a week 

 before they ever laid. 



June 19, 1916 — Humming bird. 1-2, 

 Nest on tree wart; the limb that held 

 the nest had been broken off of the 

 main tree by the wind, and fell hang- 

 ing on another limb below; nest of 

 tree bark, moss and tiny seed pods, 

 woven together with spider webs and 

 lined with cotton. 



June 20, 1916— Turkey Vulture. 1-2. 

 Under rock six feet back, near top of 

 rocky hill. No nest eggs laid on shelled 

 rock. I had these eggs for five days 

 then I decided to blow them, and they 

 were hatching, so I set them aside to 

 watch the hatching process. They 



