26 
THE WILSON BULLETIN— March, 1922 
Palmetto roots or grass stems broken into short pieces or 
shreds or (c) a combination of these different materials. The 
bulk varied considerably from about a pint to more than double 
that amount. The top of the nest cavity in one instance was 
but eight inches below the surface of the ground and they varied 
from that depth to not exceeding sixteen inches. One burrow 
in the preceding season had been dug out for its entire length, was 
nine feet long, 12 to 15 inches deep and a burrow that we opened 
was dug at right angles to and passed under this former burrow. 
A pair of owls were seen standing at their doorway on 
April 8th and on digging we found an unfinished tunnel four feet 
long which was within 20 yards of where we had dug out a bur- 
row four days earlier. In neither instance were eggs found. 
This was the only information obtained regarding the speed of 
the birds at their excavating and is of course indefinite as to 
actual time engaged at the work. At an isolated occupied 
burrow a second excavation was found about 15 yards from the 
home site and was evidently being used when found, as fresh 
earth was at the entrance and rejected parts of beetles were 
about the opening. I believed it to be freshly dug but after 
two weeks observation it was found to be but three feet long 
with no nest chamber. I was unable to determine whether it 
had been abandoned earlier as a nesting site or if it might have 
been an extra resort for one of the birds when not brooding 
although no other such arrangement was seen elsewhere. 
On April 1st at the burrow most often visited a broken egg 
shell was found on the ground a few feet outside the entrance 
and I concluded the chicks had hatched. 
On April 15th this burrow was dug out and found to contain 
three eggs, two of which were about two-thirds incubated and the 
other much fresher. 
Under date of April 15th the following is an extract from 
my note book: “Both birds were at the entrance when l ap- 
proached. The male (?) Hew as usual at 50 yards or so; the 
female stood her ground while I photographed her at about 
five steps. On digging found the tunnel not over six feet long, 
nearly straight, nest entirely of cow-clung, about twelve inches 
from surface of ground to bottom (of nest cavity). . . . Con- 
tents, three eggs . . . took photos of these eggs in situ. The 
female seemed less shy then when I saw them on April first and 
I photographed her from three places at about 15 feet distance. 
Several times as she flew she ‘twittered ’ plaintively and always 
