THE BAY STATE OOLOGIST. 



47 



Set ii. This set was taken on May ioth and contained tour fresh eggs of its 

 own and one of Molothrus ater. Nest composed ot plant down, hair, fine twigs, 

 etc., lined with fine grass and covered on the outside with lichens. It was built 

 on a last year's nest of the same species, situated in a walnut tree, thirty-five 

 feet from the ground. 



Set hi. Consisting of three fresh eggs, collected May 14. This nest was 

 composed of the usual materials and was placed twenty feet from the ground. 



Set iv. Collected May 15th. This set contained three fresh eggs. Nest 

 composed of the usual materials and was situated about twenty feet from the ground. 



Set v. This set was secured May 19th. This is the finest set in the series, 

 consisting of five eggs, slightly incubated. The nest was a slight affair, the inside 

 measurements being 1 ]/ 2 inches in depth and an inch in diameter. It was com- 

 posed of fine gray feathers, wool and downy substances; lined with fine grass and 

 covered on the outside, as usual, with star-shaped lichens. It was placed in a 

 locust tree, fifteen feet from the ground. This set now occupies a favorite 

 spot in my cabinet. 



Set vi. This set, consisting of two eggs of its own and one of Molothrus 

 ater, was collected May 22. Incubation had commenced and the presence of the 

 Cowbird's egg was accountable for an incomplete set of Polioptilo caerulea. The 

 nest was composed of the usual materials , and was placed fifteen feet from 

 the ground in a small walnut shrub. 



Set vi. This is a fine set of four eggs, collected on May 31. The nest was 

 a slight affair, with scarcely any bottom. It was placed on a large horizontal 

 branch of a walnut tree about thirty feet from the ground. Nest composed of 

 grass, moss, downy substances, lined with fine grass. 



I have collected as many as three sets of eggs from one pair of birds. Each 

 time I would return in a few days, to find them building in the immediate vicinity. 

 Their patience was always rewarded by being allowed a final set for incubation. 



Many times I have found abandoned nests with an extremely large egg of 

 Molothrus ater. At other times I have found nests containing slightly cracked 

 eggs of their own, and a perfectly sound egg of the Cowbird. Have also found 

 ne^ts containing a single bird, and that of Molothrus ater. 



