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Description of the nest and eggs of Coturniculus henslowi 
obtained NEAR Falls Church, Ya. — Nest rather rud# and irregularly 
shaped, composed externally of coarse grass, lined with exceedingly fine 
grass-tops circularly disposed and well finished but without any horse- 
hair; no other material than grass was used in its construction. The nest 
is about four inches in diameter, about two inches in height, and 
two inches inside diameter; it was placed in the center of a large 
clump of wild clover ( Trifolium agrariuiti) and rested directly on the 
ground without any appearance of a cavity. The clover had grown up 
about a foot or more in height and completely surrounded the nest, which 
was only discovered by parting it. The female was secured as she flew 
from the nest. The eggs, four in number, are much blotched and speckled 
all over with a mixture of madder-brown and sepia, the color becoming 
more confluent on the larger end ; there are also a few dashes and dots of 
very dark sepia, almost black, scattered among the spots. One of the 
eggs has a number of large blotches of a lighter fint than the spots 
scattered all over it so as to almost form a ground tint for the spots. The 
ground color is a delicate greenish-white. The measurements, in hun- 
dredths of inches, are as follows: .75 x .60, .75 x .58, 75 x .56, .75 x .60. 
These eggs, taken June 3, contained large embryos within four or five days 
of hatching. As I took full-fledged young last year on the 12th of July, 
they undoubtedly raise two broods in a season. 
The above described nest and eggs were taken in the locality where Mr. 
Ridgway found the birds last year (see this Bulletin, Vol. IV, p. 238). 
They are more or less common in all suitable places, probably a dozen 
pairs breeding in this and the adjoining meadows. 
Since writing the above, two fully fledged young birds have been taken 
(June 6) in the same place. The birds have been also seen and heard 
singing at Ball’s Cross Roads in Virginia, about two miles nearer the 
District than the other locality. Besides the characteristic note of tee-wick , 
they have quite a song, which may fairly be represented by the syllables 
sis-r-r-rit-svit-srit, with the accent on the first and last parts. This song 
is often uttered while the bird takes a short flight upward; it then drops 
down again into the tangled weeds and grasses where it is almost impossi- 
ble to follow it. — Pierre Louis Jouy, Washington , D.C. 
O , 
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BuaNtO.O, 61 ? 
101 
