6 LIFE HI9TOEIES OP NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Dr. Karl Riiss, of Berlin, Germany, in his interesting article on this species 

 in his work on "Die Fremdlandischen Stubenvogel, Die Papageien" (Vol. Ill, 

 1879, pp. 221-236), mentions several instances of the Carolina Paroquets breed- 

 ing in captivity in Germany, where the eggs were deposited in June and July, 

 two being the number laid; but in his "Handbuch fiir Vogelliebhaber," he gives 

 the number from three to five, and he describes these as pure white, fine grained, 

 very round, and qtxite glossy, like Woodpeckers' eggs, measuring 38 by 36 

 millimetres, or about 1.50 by 1.42 inches. 



Mr. Robert Ridgway's birds would not use the nesting boxes provided for 

 them, and both females deposited their eggs on the floor of the cage; they were 

 laid in July, August, and September, respectively. None of these eggs can be 

 called round; they vary from ovate to short ovate, and are rather pointed. They 

 are white, with the faintest yellowish tint, ivory-like and quite glossy; the shell 

 is rather thick, close grained, and deeply pitted, not unlike the eggs of the 

 African Ostrich (Struthio camelus), but of course not as noticeable. Holding the 

 egg in a strong light, the inside appears to be pale yellow. 



These eggs measure 36.32 by 26.92, 34.54 by 27.18, and 33.27 by 26.92 

 millimetres, or 1.43 by 1.06, 1.36 by 1.07, and 1.31 by 1.06 inches. 



The deep pitting is noticeable in every specimen, and there can be no 

 possible doubt about the identity of these eggs. The other eggs in the collection 

 about whose proper identification I am not so certain, and whose measurements 

 I therefore do not give, have a much thinner shell, and do not show the peculiar 

 pitting already referred to. There is no diffi.culty whatever in distinguishing 

 these eggs from those of the Burrowing Owl or the Kingfisher, both of which, 

 are occasionally substituted for them. 



The type specimen. No. 20784 (PI. 1, Fig. 1), was laid in confinement on 

 July 19, 1878, and is the smallest of the three eggs whose measurements are 

 given above. 



Family CUCULIDiE. The Cuckoos, Anis, etc. 

 2. Crotophaga ani Linn^us. 



THE ANI. 



Crotophaga ani LiNN^TJS, Systema Naturae, ed. 10, 1, 1758, 105. Type C. ani Linnseus. 



(B 66.67, C 288, R 389, 425, U (383).) 



Geographical range : West India Islands and northern Soutli America, east of 

 the Andes 5 south to northern Argentina j casually north to the southern United States, 

 Florida and Louisiana. 



The Ani, also called Black Ani, Black "Witch, Blackbird, Savanna Blackbii^d, 

 and Tickbird, can only be considered as a straggler within the borders of the 

 southern United States. It is a common resident species in the West India 

 Islands and in northern South America east of the Andes Mountains, and 

 reaches the southern limits of its range in northern Argentina. There are two 



