204 
Merrill^ Oological Notes from Montana. 
Regulus calendula (. Linn . ) Licht . — The Kinglets offer a remarkable 
illustration of the fact that a bird may be very common, and jet its eggs 
remain for years among the greatest desiderata of oologists. So far as 
I am aware, but four nests of the Rubv-crown have been found up to the 
present time, and all were found in Colorado.* A fifth nest was found by 
me on the iSth of June at an elevation of 7,700 feet. It was in a fir tree, 
about eighteen feet from the ground, and placed directly against the 
trunk, supported by a single branch beneath and by several twigs to which 
the sides were firmly attached. It is large for the size of the bird, meas- 
uring externally 3X4, internally i-|X 1 - 2 - inches. It is a very neat, well- 
made structure with soft thick walls. With the exception of the lining, 
which consists of feathers of the Richardson’s Grouse well woven into 
the sides and bottom, the whole nest is composed of delicate strips of 
bark, small pieces of green moss, and fibres of weeds, with a few feathers, 
spiders’ webs and fragments of a wasp’s nest, the whole forming a some- 
what globular mass of soft materials. Of the eggs, which were eight in 
number, one had apparently just been laid ; the others were somewhat 
advanced in incubation, but in varying degrees, showing that the femalef 
had begun to sit soon after laying the first egg. Dissection of the female 
showed that this was the full complement of eggs. They average -55X-43, 
with scarcely any variation in size, though some are much more pointed at 
the smaller end than others. It is not easy to give an accurate idea of the 
color of these eggs by any description. At first sight they appear to be 
of a uniform dirty cream-color, but a close examination shows that in 
most of the specimens this color is deeper at the larger end and there 
forms a faint ring. In six of the eggs there are one or two very fine hair 
lines at the larger end. Other eggs of this species are spotted, a fact which is 
strongly indicated by the appearance of the set just described. Thus, Dr. 
Brewer, in speaking of the egg found by Mr. Batty, says “the ground 
color is a cream-white, and over this are profusely scattered minute dots 
of brown with a reddish tinge.” Mr. Scott describes the eggs he found 
as “of a dirty white color, faintly spotted all over with light brown, which 
becomes quite definite at the larger end.” The single egg obtained by 
Mr. Drew is described as “ white.” It is thus evident that many more sets 
must be obtained before the prevailing type of egg of the Ruby-crown can 
be determined. I may add that this species was breeding in considerable 
numbers, but owing to want of time I only succeeded in finding the nest 
above described. 
Parus montanus, Gamb . — Common in the same localities as the pre- 
ceding species. This is another bird whose eggs have only recently been 
described, and especially interesting from the fact that they usually differ 
from those of other members of the genus in being unspotted. The first 
* See this Bulletin, IV, 91 ; id., 97, note; VI, 87. I cannot now refer to the original 
description of the nest found by Mr. Henshaw. 
f It may be stated here that the crown of this specimen was plain with the exception 
of three scarlet feathers. 
