276 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



placed upon the ground and is. the joint labor of 

 the sexes during a period 9f three days. It is 

 composed almost exclusively of dry grass-stems, 

 and is lined with soft materials of the same. 

 Oviposition commences on the day following the 

 completion of the nest, and continues for four or 

 five days, according to the complement of eggs 

 laid. Incubation then ensues and lasts for 1 2 days. 

 We have never met with more than two breeds in 

 a season. 



When the nest is approached, the birds seek by 

 various stratagems to draw off the intruder, some- 

 times counterfeiting the most astonishing lameness. 

 The parents manifest the utmost devotion for 

 their young. The latter are confined to their 

 nest until they are from 12 to 13 days old when 

 they quit it, but still. continue under the watch- 

 fulness and care of the parents from 7 to 10 

 days longer, when they are fitted to provide them- 

 selves with nourishment. 



The eggs are oblong-oval, more acuminate at 

 one extremity than the other, and marked with 

 divers tints of reddish-brown spots, lines and 

 dots upon a light greenish-white ground-color. In 

 some eggs the spots mainly constitute an annultis 

 about the larger extremity, and in others, the 

 ground-color is scarcely distinguishable from the 

 abundance of spots. The eggs average .85 of an 

 inch in length and about .64 in breadth. 



Coturniculus passerinus, Bonap. 

 The common Yellow-winged Bunting is quite 



