A Series of Eggs of the Tufted 

 Titmouse. 



The eggs of the Tufted Titmouse (Prerws 

 bicolor) vary in number from five to nine, al- 

 though five or six is the number that is usu- 

 ally found. 



The nest is loosely constructed, and is made 

 of leaves, strips of bark, moss, hair, feathers, 

 and sometimes snake skins. It is built in an 

 old hole of a Woodpecker, or in a natural 

 cavity, and is generally at a considerable 

 height from the ground, although sometimes 

 low down. Of the twenty-two sets of eggs 

 now before me one nest was two feet from the 

 ground; another, three feet; a third, five feet; 

 three others, seven, eight, and eleven feet re- 

 spectively; three were at fifteen feet; another, 

 twenty; another, twenty-live; still another, 

 twenty-eight feet: two were forty f eet; anot her | 

 forty-eight feet; while two were fifty feet; 

 and two others sixty feet from the ground. 



The eggs vary in shape from ovate to elon- 

 gate ovate. The ground color varies from 

 white to creamy. 



Set I. May 5,1888. Buncombe County, N. 

 C. Six eggs, fresh. Light creamy white, 

 speckled all over the surface with hazel: 

 .80X..58; .77X..55; .79x..56; .81x.57; .79x..i4; 

 .80X..5.O. 



Set II. May 15, 1888. Buncombe County, 

 N. C. Seven eggs, incubation begun. White, 

 speckled all over the surface with hazel: 

 .74X..55, .74X.55, .72x.55, .09 x .5.3; .73 x .5:5; 

 .71x..")4; .68X.50. 



Set III. April 13, 1889. Leighton, Ala- 

 bama. Six eggs, incubation begun. White, 

 speckled with hazel. One of the eggs has 

 bolder markings than the others, and in all of 

 them the specks are closer together near the 

 ends: .74x..56; .73x..55; .75x.55; .73x.55; 

 .72X.56: .72 X.50. 



Set IT. May 1889. Buncombe County, 

 JN'. C. Four eggs, fresh." White, speckled and 

 I spotted all over the surface with vinaceous- 

 ' rufous: .73 x . 54; .73 x .55; .75x.55; .7(i x .55. 



Set V. April 20, 1886. Lee County, Texas. 

 Four eggs, incubation commenced. Light 

 creamy, speckled, more heavily at the larger 

 ends, with hazel: .72x..52; .72x..55; .77x.50; 

 .78X..54. 



Set VI. May 8, 1887. Edgecombe County, 

 N". C. Five eggs, fresh. Light creamy white, 

 speckled and spotted with hazel. The mark- 

 ings are scattered all over the surface, but are 

 heaviest near the larger ends on all the eggs 

 except one, where they 

 smaller end: .80x.55; 

 .73X..53; .74 x .54. 



Set VII. April 28, 18) 

 C. Six eggs, fresh. White, speckled, more 

 heavily at the larger ends, with hazel: .70x.56, 

 .71X.57; .72X.54; .09x.56; .69x.56; .70x..55. 



Set VIII. May 2, 1888. Buncombe County, 

 N. C. Seven eggs, incubation begun. White, 

 speckled and spotted, more heavily at the 

 larger ends, with vinaceous-rufous. There 

 are also a few spots of lilac-gray: .74x.56; 

 .75X.56; .75 x.55; .74x..55; .72x..55; .74x.50; 

 .70X..56. 



Set IX. April 26, 1887. Iredell County, N. 

 C. Six eggs, fresh. Light creamy wliite, 

 speckled all over the the surface with vinace- 

 ous-rufous. Near the larger ends the markings 

 are heavier: .74x..58; .74x.57; .75 x.57; 

 .73X.58; .73X..58; .72x..55. 



Set. X. May 3, 1889. Buncombe County, 



thicker near the 

 5X..55; .79x.5i 



Wake County, N. 



JT.C. Six eggs, incubation advanced. White, 

 speckled and spotted all over the surface (but 

 more heavily near the larger ends) with chest- 

 nut: .73 X.55; .74x.55; .74x.55; .74x.55; 

 .74X.55; .75X..55. 



Set XL April 27, 1888. Buncombe County, 

 N". C. Six eggs, incubation begun. Light 

 creamy white, speckled with hazel: .71x.58; 

 .73 x 54; .72X.54; .74x.54; .73x.52; .73x.51. 



Set XII. April 24, 1888. Buncombe County, 

 N. C. Seven eggs, incubation begun. White, 

 speckled and spotted, more heavily at the 

 larger ends, with vinaceous-rufous, and a few 

 specks of lilac-gray: .75x.55; .74x.56; 

 .74'x.56; .71x.58; .73x..'j6; .73x.54; .73x..56. 



Set XIII. May 4, 1889. Buncombe County, 

 N". C. Six eggs, incubation advanced. White, 

 speckled and spotted witli chestnut. On two 

 of the eggs the markings are principally con- 

 fined to the smaller ends, but on the others 

 they are at the larger ends; and on one egg the 

 markings form a wreath. This last is a rare 

 type of marking for this species, being the 

 only one so marked in the whole series: .75 x.55; 

 .74X.55; .70x.55; .09x.52; .70x.53; .72x.56. 



Set XIV. May 2, 1889. Wake County, N.C. 

 Seven eggs, fresh. White, speckled and 

 spotted all over the surface with hazel and a 

 few specks of lilac-gray: .70x.,54; .69x..55; 

 .69X.54; .71x..54; .71x..54; .70x..55: .72x.5o. 



Set XV. May 1, 1888. Edgecombe County, 

 N. C. Five eggs, incubation advanced. Light 

 creamy white, speckled and spotted with 

 hazel. The markings are much heavier near 

 the larger ends: .74x.55; .74x.55; .77x.o6; 

 .73X..55; .7ox..54. 



Set XVI. April 25, 1880. Buncombe 

 County, N. C. Seven eggs, fresh. White, 

 spotted, principally at the larger ends 

 with vinaceous-rufous, and a few spots of lilac; 

 .70X.55; .68X.54; .68x .55; .67x..54; .65 x.55; 

 .65 x.55; .70x..56. 



Set XVIL May 2, 1880. Wake County, N. 

 C. Six eggs, iiiculjation lict;vin. "Wliilc, very 

 Wa...y spotteu, aimosi eutiieiy at, me larger 

 ends, with burnt sienna. Five of the eggs are 

 thus marked, and so heavily in some instances 

 that the ground color is obscured at the larger 

 ends; but the sixth egg is almost entirely un- 

 marked, except a few small specks of cinna- 

 mon-rufous and lilac-gray: .70x.o5: .69x.52; 

 .71X.53; .70X..53; .69x.52; .68x.51. 



Set XVIII. May 2, 1888. Buncombe County, 

 N. C. Six eggs, fresh. Light creamy white, 

 speckled and spotted all over the surface, but 

 more heavily at the larger ends, with hazel. 

 There are also a few specks of lilac-gj;Ti)^on^ 

 some of the eggs7/74xT.56r'74x.58; .71x.56; 

 .74X.56; .72X.55; .71x.55. 



Set XIX. June 7, 1889. Buncombe Cor.nty, ' 

 N. C. Five eggs, incubation begun. White, 

 speckled and sj^otted with hazel. In the case 

 of three of the eggs the markings are evenly 

 distributed all over the surface, while on the 

 other two they are heavier near the larger 

 ends: .75x..53; .75x.52; .74x.53; .75X..54; 

 .76X..55; .72X..54. 



Set XX. May 6, 1887. Edgecombe County, 

 N. C. Five eggs, fresh. White, heavily 

 speckled and spotted with burnt sienna and 

 drab-gray. There are markings all over the 

 surface, but they are much thicker and heavier 

 near the larger ends: .72x..55; .69x.56; 

 .05X..55; .73X..54; .69x.54. 



Set XXI. June 8, 1888. Wake County, N. 

 C. Five eggs, incubation begun. White, 

 heavily spotted with burnt sienna. Have also 

 a few spots of drab-gvay. On four of the eggs 

 the markings are so heavy at the larger ends 

 that they almost obscure the ground color, 

 while the fifth egg has fewer spots: .70x.52; 

 .68X.53; .68x.51; .68x.61; .66x.52; .68x..54. 



Set XXII. June 2, 1887. Buncombe County, 

 N. C. Five eggs, fresh. White, spotted, prin- 

 cipally at the larger ends, with burnt sienna, 

 and a few spots of drab-gray: .77x55; .70x.54 

 .74X.53; .74x.53; .73x.53. J. P. N. 



