Red-billed Leiothrix in Hawaii — Fisher and Baldwin 
49 
chrysophylla ), and fronds of tree ferns 
(Cibotium Chamissoi ). 
Occupied nests have been found between 
March 3 and May 7 on Oahu, and from early 
March through June on Hawaii. It is likely, 
however, that further investigation on both 
islands would reveal a longer breeding 
period. 
On March 3, 1945, a nest with four eggs 
was found at 1,200 feet on the west side of 
Manoa Valley, Oahu. A complete descrip¬ 
tion of this nest follows, because we have 
been unable to find any published account of 
the nest of this species. The nest was located 
in a well-shaded spot beneath a koa tree and 
in a dense growth of the exotic palm foxtail. 
It was well concealed by the rank growth of 
the foxtail and would have passed unnoticed 
had not the bird flushed when the observer 
stopped some 18 inches from the nest, which 
was 36 inches from the ground. 
Support for the nest was a fork near the 
terminal twigs of an oi shrub (Stachytarpheta 
cayennensis ); the heaviest branch of the fork 
was only 2 mm. in diameter. The nest was 
attached to the fork by only a few fibers from 
the leaves of the foxtail, which were wound 
around the twigs and woven into the rim of 
the nest. While not swinging as free, for 
example, as the nest of an oriole, the nest 
was definitely pendulous. 
The measurements of the outside of the 
top of the ovoid nest were 9 cm. by 11 cm.; 
corresponding dimensions of the inside were 
4.5 cm. by 6 cm. Over-all depth of the nest 
was 8.5 cm., but the depth of the cavity was 
5.5 cm. From these figures we may conclude 
that the walls of the nest vary between 2 and 
3 cm. in thickness. 
All materials used in constructing the nest 
came from one plant, the palm foxtail, 
which was available within a few inches of 
the nest site. On the outside, entire leaves 
(some 18 inches long and iy 4 inches wide) 
were loosely wrapped around the nest and 
tied into the nest by small fibers (fibrovascu- 
lar bundles) from the leaves of the foxtail. 
However, the bulk of the nest was woven of 
longitudinally split leaves from which the 
epidermis and mesophyll had disappeared, 
leaving only 8 to 15 parallel fibers. The 
lining of the nest consisted of single fibers 
from the same plant; they were loosely laid 
in to form a springy inside surface for the 
nest. The only part of the nest not coming 
from the leaf of this grass was three rootlets 
(the largest was 25 cm. long and 1 mm. in 
diameter) woven into the rim of the nest. 
The rootlets gave additional rigidity to the 
free edge. 
Because of certain differences in construc¬ 
tion and in materials used it seems desirable 
to describe another nest, found May 18, 
1940, at 6,100 feet at Kipuka Kulalio, 
Mauna Loa, Hawaii. It was suspended in an 
aalii tree from the crotch of a forked twig 
at a height of 6]/ 2 feet from the ground and 
was secured by grass stems bent over the 
arms of the crotch and incorporated into the 
wall of the nest. The outermost part of the 
nest was a sling of grass woven vertically 
from the rim on one side, under the nest, to 
the opposite rim. This was the sole support, 
as there was no base of twigs. Inside this 
sling, grass was woven in various directions 
to make up the wall, which was about 3 cm. 
thick. Grass was worked in horizontally 
along the rim. There was a lining of loosely 
woven grass, strands of which ran diagonally 
up the sides to bend down at the rim at 
angles of about 80° and run again across the 
floor of the nest. The whole structure was 
firm, but not compact. Light could be seen 
through the sides. A few leaves had been 
placed near the bottom and in the bottom. 
The materials in the nest were 85 per cent 
grass (60 per cent stems and 25 per cent 
leaves), 15 per cent leaves of aalii, a trace 
of rootlets in the rim, and a few feral goat 
hairs in the lining. Measurements of this 
nest were: 
