straws. One nest before me is exceptional, in that it has a well-marked foundation of rather coarse 
weed-stems, and measures in external depth five and one-half inches. 
Within the dingy and loosely interwoven Avails of the nest is commonly a bright and clean lining, com- 
posed of slender blades of nicely bleached grass, and split and round grasses, orderly arranged, and form- 
ing a smooth and elastic covering to the walls of the cavity. There is but little art displayed in the 
structure, being so poorly made that the early fall winds blow it from its supports. 
The diameter of the cavity of the nest varies from two and three-eighths to two and three-fourths 
inches ; the average is about two and one-half inches. The depth of cavity varies from one to one and 
three-fourths inches ; usually it is about one and one-half inches. The external diameter varies from four 
to five and one-half inches ; and the external depth, from two and one-half to five and one-half inches, 
being ordinarily about three and one-half inches. 
EGGS: 
The complement of eggs in every set I have seen has been three. There is, however, good author- 
ity for the statement that as many as four or five are sometimes laid. Mr. Ridgway, in Indiana, found 
three to be the usual number. The ground-color of the shell is light bluish-green, varying in purity and 
shade in different specimens. The markings consist of blotches, spots, and speckles of yellowish-brown, 
distributed over the whole egg. About the crown there is generally a slight confluence of the marks form- 
ing a faint wreath. The blotches and dots have ragged outlines, and less color at their edges than in 
the center. The deep shell marks are dull-purplish. The variations that occur are of a nature not easily 
described, consisting more in minute differences in tints, than in any marked characteristics. 
The eggs vary in long-diameter from .85 to .93; and in short-diameter, from .61 to .70. The average 
specimen measures about .88 x .68. The dimensions here given are taken from five sets. 
DIFFERENTIAL POINTS : 
A typical nest is so characteristic that it can be readily recognized from the position, materials, and 
measurements. The eggs resemble closely those of P. rubra , and can not always be distinguished from 
them. Usually they measure less in long-diameter, and are not so pointed, the ground-color is not as bright 
greenish-blue, and the markings are duller. The nest and eggs together can not be mistaken for that of 
any other species if the description of each is considered. 
REMARKS : 
The nest illustrated on Plate XXXIV was found May 30th, 1881, in a hickory tree, in the woods 
referred to above. In position, size, shape, and materials it is an average specimen, as they occur in 
Central and Southern Ohio. The eggs figured represent the average and extremes, in size, shape, ground- 
color, and markings. The center egg being the most typical one. 
The nest of the Summer Redbird is hard to find, even when the tree in which it is placed has been 
located, as it can most always be by a little patience. If there is a Summer Redbird in the woods in 
which you are, he is pretty sure to see you before you do him, and will at once give the alarm note to 
his mate, and endeavor to scold you from the premises. Excepting the Yellow-breasted Chat, he is the 
greatest scold in the woods. His voice is not harsh and loud, on the contrary, it is low and mellow, but 
there is in it a plaintiveness which expresses, plainer than words could do, the irritation of the biifl, and 
his hearty wish that the intruder was out of his way. The female sits so closely upon her nest that the 
hand can almost be placed upon her before she will fly. When driven from her eggs she usually flies 
away silently, and hides among the foliage, but if she has young she will defend them bravely. She utters 
the same cry as the male when disturbed. 
120 
