130 
THE CONDOR 
I Vol. Ill 
would not leave the nest and had to be 
taken off before the eggs could be col- 
lected. 
Nest No. 2 is a large natural cavity 
in the trunk of a live sycamore and is 
about twenty feet up. The cavity is 
about eighteen inches wide by three 
deep. The first set was taken from this 
nest on March 24, and consisted of five 
eggs, incubation far advanced. The 
second set of four eggs, incubation also 
advanced, was taken May 3, and, on 
the 25th of May, a third set of five 
slightly incubated eggs was taken from 
this nest. 
Nest No. 3 is a natural cavity in the 
trunk of a live Sycamore tree. This 
cavity is five inches wide by twelve 
deep, and is placed about 20 feet above 
the ground. The first set consisting of 
six fresh eggs, was taken from this nest 
on March 31, the bird being flushed. 
The second set of five eggs, slightly 
incubated, was taken on April 25. A 
third set consisting of five badly incu- 
bated eggs, was taken on the 25th of 
May. The parent bird was not on the 
nest on either of the two last visits. 
Nest No. 4 is a woodpecker’s excava- 
tion in the dead limb of a sycamore and 
is 30 feet up. The limb is about five 
inches through and the stub is hollowed 
out to a depth of six inches, leaving a 
mere shell of wood. Three sets were 
taken from this nest during the season ; 
one of five eggs on i^pril 7, one of five 
eggs on May 3 and the last, consisting 
of four eggs, on May 29th. The incu- 
bation in each of these three cases was 
slight. 
By making a comparison of the eggs 
in tliis series, the similarity of the differ- 
ent sets from the same nest is seen to 
be very strongly marked in almost all 
cases. The resemblance is so strong 
that the sets from the same nest can be 
picked out from the others with but lit- 
tle difficulty. This goes to prove that 
the birds keep on using the same nest 
all through the season, unless it is de- 
stroyed in some way. In one case, in 
which I disturbed the nest while get- 
ting the eggs, the birds simply moved 
about one hundred feet to another tree 
and there laid their second and third 
sets. These three sets are so different 
from any others which I have seen, 
that I am positive that they are from 
the same birds. 
From observations taken during sev- 
eral years collecting in the same local- 
ity I am led to believe that the birds 
keep their nests from year to year, go- 
ing back to the same nest they occupied 
the previous season. I have noticed a 
great deal of individuality in the ac- 
tions of the birds while their nests are 
being robbed, the bird at any given 
nest always acting the same. Some of 
the birds will immediately fly away on 
being disturbed and not appear again. 
Some will perch in some near-by tree 
and scold. Others will hover in the air 
above their nest and scream at the in- 
truder, while some will show fight and 
dart back and forth near the face of the 
person disturbing them. I have noticed 
that in the great majority of instances I 
have met with the same treatment at 
the same nests for several successive 
years. In three or four cases especi- 
ally, this has been l')rought very 
strongly to my notice. 
The sets this season averaged larger 
than for some years past. I collected 
two sets of six eggs each and found 
another so badly incubated that I was 
forced to leave it. The second and 
third sets were nearly all of five eggs 
each where usually they drop off to 
four and three eggs to a set. One set 
that was taken this year shows some 
features that merit a little fuller de- 
scription. The set consists of five eggs 
and only two are at all similar. One of 
the eggs is fully a third larger than the 
others and is pure white. One has the 
large end completely covered with 
brown markings and one has the small 
end covered in the same manner. In 
addition to this, this last egg is consid- 
erably smaller than any of the others 
and is not nearly so pointed at the 
small end. The other two are rather 
lightly and evenl}' marked all over. 
