Late Nesting of the Black-billed 
Cuckoo. 
BY S. W. DENTON. 
I have to record the finding of a nest of the 
the above species by myself on the 21st of 
August of the present year. 
The nest contained three eggs slightly incu- 
bated and was composed of the following ma- 
terials : A layer or platform of twigs on which 
were a few oak leaves with a thin and sparse 
lining of pine needles. Nest very shallow and 
placed in an oak bush about seven feet from 
the ground near a path on the sunny but wood- 
ed side of a hill. 
Was this a second laying this season? If not, 
then the birds, as near as I can figure it, were 
over two months behind time in their house- 
keeping duties and should have been preparing 
to leave for the South rather than imposing 
upon themselves the burden of a family at that 
time of year. Q & O. XU. Dec. 1887 p. Z04~. 
Notes from Taftsville, Vt. 
part of the eggs was of a grass green color, ^ - ^ 
and if my memory serves me rightly a set I ^ y 
obtained and blew last year was the same. ^ 
I would like to ask the readers of the O. <fc (). r ^ 
HPT'*' 
if they have ever noticed a similar thing and 
if they who are posted can inform me if the 7^^^ 
contents of the Black-billed Cuckoo’s egg 
always grass green, whether incubated or not, 
and can the eggs of this species always be dis- ^ ’ 
tinguislied by this character even though the — 
parent bird might not have been seen, and the 
outwardly appearance of the eggs looks any- fg y Q 
thing but normal? For if such is the case ^ , y 4 
then this point should be generally known, 
for it becomes a most important factor, at . 
least in the identification of the Black-billed / 
Cuckoo’s eggs. Shelley W. Denton. 
Wellesley, Mass., June 4, 1889. 
?<• 
A Peculiar Nesting Site of Coccy- 
zus Erythropthalmus. 
During the present season I have taken 
seven clutches of the above species, and have 
been familiar with the bird from my early 
boyhood, but had yet, up to June 4th, 1893, 
to find a nest on the ground. In this case 
the nest was placed in a clump of weeds 
and within two inches of mother earth. The 
bird was flushed, and both bird and nest 
were typical. Two eggs, partially incubated, 
made up the clutch. I should be glad to 
hear from other collectors concerning their 
experiences in this direction. 
C. L. Brownell. 
Nyack-on- Huds(fl,ff.fl. Yol tl8t Jx}l7l lQQ3 p.104 
While out collecting, Aug. 6th, I found 5 * 
a nest of the Black-billed Cucko o, which * 
contained three young and three eggs. 
One of the eggs proved to be nearly incu-j 
bated, one about half and the other fresh.] 
One week later I visited the place again.'^N 
Upon my approaching the nest the young Cj 
left it, but Mrs. Cuckoo had deposited | 
another fresh egg, which was slightly flat-1^ *-< 
tened on one side — it was the largest one ^ 6 
of the clutch, its shorter diameter being. - *9 
.89 and .88x1-27 in length; the other X ^ 
three measuring .86x1-19, .86x1.12, -86 X 
1.11. The largest egg of this species 
which I have taken before measured -84X 
1 . 11 . : ■ — 
warblers than cuckoos. About fifty feet from 
the location of the former nest, I found another 
of the same species. It was much more loosely 
formed than the previous one, and it was placed 
higher on a wild grape-vine, or rather, where sev- 
eral of these vines intersected each other at a dis- 
tiU ASfi» < if-u?il? l i) l y ’Jfev'enTull-page* engravings oFliirds 
and their nests. The descriptions are much fuller 
and more satisfactory than in the first edition, and 
much new material is added. This will be found 
especially noticeable in many species where de- 
scriptions are for the first time given of the nests 
and'qggs of very rare birds. The nomenclature 
adopted is that of Mr. Bidgway ; and the work is 
presented in very neat form, and will be welcom- 
ed by m^ny. When it is published it will be 
more fullwioticed in these^eblumns. 
The Eggs of the White-tailed Hawk. 
— 
Not finding any account of the eggs of this 
beautiful Hawk (Buteb albicaudatus,) in any work 
with which the present writer is acquainted, it 
has occurred to liiln that a description of them 
would be welcome To the readers of The Or- 
nithologist AND OOLOGIST. 
Early in the spring of 1884, a party of gentle- 
men consisting of MessrS; G. B. Benners, W. H. 
Werner and T. S. Gillen, went on a collecting 
tour to Texas. While there they secured many 
rare birds and eggs. Among the species found 
nesting near Corpus Cliristi was the White-tailed 
Hawk. The country about thqre is destitute of 
any high trees, and this fact caused the Hawks to 
choose curious nesting places for Buteos. In the 
Eastern States, and wherever thV have been 
molested, this genus select lofty Vees, often 
seventy or more feet from the ground/on which 
to build their nests ; but near Corpus Clif isti the 
Buteo albicaudatus found this neither possible nor 
necessary. 
A set of two eggs collected by Mr. Gillen’, .on 
Qr O. XiAoau imp** 
xeiiow-Dinea uuckoo, wmcli must have been 
laid on succeeding days, as incubation was about 
equally advanced in all. The eggs of neither of 
these birds (being in no wise remarkable) need 
any description here, but I will always associate 
in my mind a certain damp, dark spot in Dela- 
ware County, Pennsylvania, with the two species 
of Cuckoo. 
75 
