Brewer on the Golden-Crowned Kinglet. 97 
hood ; that from their size and markings they cannot well belong 
to any other species; and' because, while the egg so closely resem- 
bles those of R. cristatus (to which bird R. satrapci is also very closely 
allied) as to be hardly distinguishable from them, it is also essen- 
tially different from the egg of R. calendula ,* which more nearly 
resembles the eggs of R. ignicapillus . 
The following account of the nest and eggs I copy, by permission, 
from Mr. Merrill’s letter: “In 1876 a friend presented me with 
the nest which I shall describe, but the bird was not obtained, and 
consequently its identification is a matter of conjecture. The nest 
consisted of a large ball of soft moss, the whole forming a mass 
about 4J inches in diameter. The opening was at the top, and was 
about If inches across and 2 inches deep. It was lined with hair 
and feathers, principally the latter. The nest was in one of those 
bunches of thick-growth so common on many of our fir-trees, and 
contained ten 
eggs 
of the following 
dimensions 
: — 
No. 
Length. 
Width. 
No. 
Length. 
W T idth, 
1 
.52 
.41 
6 
.47 
.39 
2 
.50 
.40 
7 
.52 
.41 
3 
.50 
.41 
8 
.51 
.41 
4 
.50 
.41 
9 
.50 
.41 
5 
.47 
.39 
10 
.50 
.41 
The eggs are of a creamy-white color, and are covered with very 
obscure spots, so very obscure, in fact, that they merely give a dingy 
or dirty tint to the egg, and some to whom I have shown them are 
doubtful if they are spots, but I regard them as extremely obscure 
and confluent spots, not on, but in, the shell. From the number 
of the eggs, their extreme smallness, and the situation of the nest, I 
have been inclined to believe it to be a Kinglet’s.” 
Examining my example with a powerful magnifier, I find the ground- 
color to be white with shell-marks of purplish-slate, and a few ob- 
* See the interesting notes of Mr. W. E. D. Scott in the present number of 
the Bulletin, p. 91. I have also compared the egg in question with that of the 
calendula obtained by Mr. J. H. Batty on Buffalo Creek in Colorado, July 21, 
1873. This, though in a somewhat fragmentary condition, exhibits its size and 
markings. It measures .59. x 45. The ground-color is a creamy white, and 
over this are profusely scattered minute dots of brown with a reddish tinge. It 
closely resembles in its general character the supposed egg of satrapa , is larger, 
more oval in shape, and the spots are more distinct and of a different shade. 
Mr. Batty’s nest contained one egg and six young. The parent, though not pro- 
cured, was seen,. and there appears to be good reason to accept the identification. 
VOL. IV. 7 
