354 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



The average number of eggs to a set throughout the greater part of their 

 range is seven; sometimes, however, eight or nine are found. At Fort Lapwai, 

 Idaho, I found sets of nine not at all rare, and have twice taken sets of ten. An 

 egg is deposited daily; incubation does not begin until the clutch is nearly com- 

 pleted, and lasts from sixteen to eighteen days. The female attends to this duty 

 almost exclusively; I rarely saw the male on the nest, but he feeds her, and is 

 quite attentive, being generally on the lookout in the vicinity of the nest. The 

 young when first hatched are ugly-looking creatures, nearly all head, and are 

 blind. They are fed on worms, the soft parts of insects, etc., and grow rapidly. 

 They are able to leave the nest in about three weeks, and soon learn to care for 

 themselves. Only a single brood is raised in a season; if the first set of eggs 

 is taken, a second and even a third is sometimes laid, frequently in the same 

 nest or in another close by. The second set rarely numbers more than five or 

 six eggs. 



These show great variation in shape, size, color, and markings, the majority 

 inclining to ovate, while others may be called short ovate, rounded, elliptical, 

 and elongate ovate. The prevailing ground color is a pale or dirty gray, less 

 often a light drab, and occasionally a set is found of a decidedly greenish tinge; 

 but such eggs are rare. They are generally heavily blotched with different 

 shades of brown and ecru drab, these markings being often confluent, almost 

 hiding the ground color, and are usually evenly distributed over the entire egg. 

 In some specimens the markings predominate at the upper end of the egg, more 

 rarely on the lower end. Some also show lavender shell markings, and occa- 

 sionally a specimen is found in which the markings are well defined, not con- 

 fluent, and leaving the intervening ground color distinctly visible. The shells of 

 these eggs are close grained, moderately strong, and show little or no gloss. 



The average measurement of two hundred and one eggs in the United 

 States National Museum collection is 32.54 by 22.86 millimetres, or 1.28 by 

 0.90 inches. The largest egg of the series measures 37.84 by 26.42 milHmetres, 

 or 1.49 by 1.04 inches; the smallest, 27.94 by 21.59 millimetres, or 1.10 by 0.85 

 inches. 



The type specimen, No. 20349 (PL 3, Fig. 11), from a set of ten eggs, Ben- 

 dire collection, taken by the writer near Fort Walla Walla, Washington, on April 

 10, 1882, represents an average-marked egg, and No. 25872 (PL 3, Fig. 12), a 

 single egg, taken by Mr. F. M. Dille, near Denver, Colorado, represents one in 

 which the ground color shows a decided greenish tint, while No. 26678 (PL 3, 

 Fig. 13), from a set of seven eggs, also taken by Mr. F. M. Dille, near Platteville, 

 Colorado, on May 2, 1892, represents a peculiarly shaped and heavily marked 

 specimen. 



