April, 1881.] 
AND OOLOGIST. 
11 
May 28th, while hoeing a new straw¬ 
berry patch I found another nest of this 
species and came very near crushing both 
nest and eggs as there was nothing near 
to protect it, but simply hollowed out of 
the dry sand and lined with grass like the 
jjrevious nest. The grass was very dry 
and very loosely put together. In this 
case incubation had commenced and the 
bird was unusually tame, she did not leave 
the nest until I got within eight or ten feet 
of it and then she would move off in a slow 
and quite unconcerned manner. She 
did not seem in the least afraid and 
would pick up bugs and worms quite un¬ 
concerned. When I had passed the nest 
about the same distance she would as 
quietly return to it and snuggle around 
like a setting hen before settling down and 
would sit as quiet as though no one was 
near. This nest contained 4 eggs the 
ground cylor of which was gray, minutely 
and thickly spedkled with light brown 
very uniformly. Some of the specks are 
nearly as large as a pin’s head. The meas¬ 
urements varied and were as follows,.80x.61 
.80x.62, .82x.63, and.84x.63. About the 15th 
of June, this same pair made another nest 
in a patch of Tobacco near by. I did not 
molest this nest and by the middle of July 
the five young which they had raised were 
able to fly and left the nest, and were fully 
as large as the old birds. It is my opin¬ 
ion that all three nests were made by one 
pair of birds, and if I had left the eggs in 
nest No. 2 they would no doubt have raised 
three broods in the season. 
F. H. Lattin, Gaines, N. Y. 
-- 
C,actus Wren. 
( Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus.) 
Journeying across the bleak and arid 
Colorado desert, this little wren with the 
awe-inspiring name was one of the most 
numerous of the feathered race that I saw, 
and its nest was to be seen wherever 
cactus or ‘mesquite grew. Its peculiar 
note continued long and monotonously, 
relieved the oppressive silence and sug¬ 
gested life and cheerfulness. The nests, 
very large for the size of the bird, were 
laid on the flat branches of the cactus, or 
occasionally placed in a mesquite or palo 
verds tree, and were very conspicuous. 
They were built of fine grasses, well inter¬ 
woven, and were shaped something like a 
retort, with a long funnel shaped entrance. 
The body of the nest was often as large as 
a man’s head, completely roofed over and 
with the entrance, also roofed, on one side 
at the top of the nest. This entrance way 
was often 6 to 9 inches in length, and of 
only sufficient diameter to admit the pas¬ 
sage of the bird. The interior of the nest 
was always thickly lined with feathers, 
which were gathered with infinite labor 
from many and various birds, and to exam¬ 
ine one of the nests was a good way to 
find out what birds were in the vicinity. 
The nests were seldom higher than three 
or four feet from the groiind, exceptional 
ones in mesquite trees being at a height of 
from ten to fifteen feet. The full comple¬ 
ment of eggs, in no case noticed by myself, 
exceeded five. -They are rather elongated 
and slightly pointed and average specimens 
measure about 1 inch in length by .65 inch¬ 
es in diameter. The color, when freshly 
blown, is very rich being of a delicate sal¬ 
mon, marked laniversally and evenly with 
darker salmon ; also forming a slight ring 
around the larger end. The birds are in 
little flocks during the winter months, and 
mate and nest very early. How many 
broods are raised I am unable to say, but 
dates of finding nests with eggs in the 
middle of February and as late as August, 
are before me and well authenticated. In 
this case they must be remarkably prolific. 
I will endeavor to ascertain more concern¬ 
ing number of broods raised. 
G. Holterhoff, Jr., Los Angelos, Cal. 
-- 
W. W. Worthington, Shelter Island, N. 
Y. re 2 )orts the following arrivals; Fish 
Hawks and Great Blue Herons March 25, 
Shore Larks and Wild Geese Apr. 1, Grass 
Finches Apr. 2, White-bellied Swallow A})!- 8. 
