EGGS: 
The number of eggs in a nest vai-ies from three to five, four being the usual complement. They 
measure in long-diameter from .88 to .98, and in short-diameter from .68 to .80. The largest of twenty 
specimens is .96 x .72; the smallest, .89 x .68. The usual size is .93 x .70. The ground-color of the shell 
of a fresh egg, when blown, is white, slightly bluisli-green tinted ; but the markings, which consist of 
small blotches, spots, and speckles of brown-madder, are sometimes so abundant as to nearly if not entirely 
conceal it. The deep shell-marks are obscure purplish. Usually the shell is well spotted and speckled, 
but the ground-color is apparent, except about the crown, where there is a slight confluence of the marks. 
Some eggs have a few irregular, small blotches and round spots upon them, but small, oblong spots and 
speckles are the rule. There is not much variation in pattern, although there is considerable difference 
in the depth of color of the markings in different specimens. 
DIFFERENTIAL POINTS : 
The locality, position, size, and materials of the nest, together with the size, shape, and markings of 
the eggs, will always insure identification. But even where these data are not all known, and the nest 
and eggs are separated from each other, identification is still possible. The former may be recognized by 
its size and lining; the latter, by the characters described above. There are several eggs of nearly the 
same size and pattern as the one under consideration, among which, may be mentioned the Cow-bird’s, the 
Chat’s, and certain forms of the Cardinal Grosbeak’s. The first averages less in size, and the markings 
are not so pinkish, being brown inclined to yellow instead of to red. The Chat’s also average smaller. The 
markings are of exactly the same tint, but of a larger pattern. The eggs of the Cardinal Grosbeak average 
larger, but small specimens are met with, which differ in tint only, from some eggs of the Chewink. These 
differences, while minute and not easily described, are emphatic. They are better presented in the illus- 
trations than by a word description. 
REMARKS : 
The illustration, Plate XXXVII, represents a nest and four eggs of the Chewink, taken 1879, from an 
upland woods, dense with underbrush. It was situated in a bank of dead leaves, which had drifted and 
lodged against a small lichen-covered branch, part of a dead limb that the winds had blown from a tree 
near by. Two eggs are figured below, giving the full outline, and the common sizes and markings. 
The male Chewink is much more frequently seen than the female, partly because he is a noisy fellow 
and of conspicuous plumage, but mainly, I think, because his partner is much more retiring in disposition. 
The nest is very difficult to find on account of its resemblance to its surroundings, and because search is 
generally made for it in the wrong place, the hunter being misled by the uneasy actions of the male. 
He is a clever cheat, and wherever he happens to be found during the nesting season, he behaves as if 
his home was within a few yards, when, in fact, it is rare to discover him within considerable distance of 
his nest. 
The nests which I have collected I have usually found by walking up the female, and, until she 
would give the alarm note, the male would keep quiet and out of sight. Indeed, he seems to avoid going 
too near the nest, unless the female calls him. Both parents show great anxiety and solicitude for their 
nest and eggs, and especially for their young. I have seen the female feign lameness when driven from 
her nest. The young run about some days before they can fly, and follow their mother wherever she 
calls. They are very active little chicks, and slip along through the grass and brush so rapidly that it 
is almost impossible to catch them. 
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