174 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
[Vol. 7-N(). 22 
Wilson’s Thrush ('TunTus f>iscesre7is,) 
exce})t the Robin, the most abundant thnish 
of this locality. Although found plenti¬ 
fully in nearly all situations, its favorite 
haunts are low. swainiiy woods. The past 
Summer a jiair of these Thnishes built 
their nest and reared their young within 
fifty yards of my home. The site which 
they selected for their nest was by the 
roadside under an elm tree, among the 
rank, growing male fenis. They seemed 
to be an nnusually social pair, and came 
about the house searching for food, show¬ 
ing no signs of fear. Teams were con¬ 
stantly passing within eight feet of their 
nest. Of twelve sets which I collected 
tins Summer, seven contained four, four 
three, and one two eggs each. The set 
containing but two eggs was taken July 
2fith and would undoubtedly have con¬ 
tained one or two more had I left the nest 
undisturbed. Tlie earliest set was taken 
May 30th. Six sets measure as follows : 
Set of four collected ^lay 30th. 02 X 00, 
00 X 05, 88 X 05. 88 X 05 ; set of four col¬ 
lected June 5th, 88X05. 87x05.80X05, 
85x05: set of four collected June 5th, 
80 X 08, 88 X 07, 88 X 00. 02 X 05 : set of 
three collected June 13th, 85x08. 84x07, 
85x08 ; set of three collected June 2()th. 
84x70, 87x00, 84x00; set of three col¬ 
lected June 28th. 80x00. 70x02. 80x00. 
The set taken June 28th was, I think, the 
third litter laid by that pair of birds, 
which will account for the small size of 
the eggs. The eg’gs are oval but vary 
somewhat in shape: their color is bluish- 
green, a little darker than those of the 
liluebird, and lighter than those of the 
Catbird. The nest is ])hu‘ed on or near 
the ground, but usually in a low bush 
within a few inches of the ground, and is 
composed of leaves, dried grass and weeds, 
lined with fine roots, strips of bark, and 
often hair. There is but little variation in 
the nests which I have examined in this 
locality. — C'. fJ. '/'ntrif, V’nftntu'lif', 17. 
Subscribe for Volume \TII. Onlv Si 
Brief Newsy Notes. 
Eggs in a Set.— Harry F. Haines, Eliza¬ 
beth. N. J., who has taken a good many 
Long-billed Marsh Wren’s nests, writes 
that six is the largest numVier found in a 
nest, but five is found oftener than four or 
six. Let us hear from others. 
Harmony.— Henr}- A. Berry of Iowa City, 
Iowa. i*eports finding the following nests 
in one tree. Orchard Oriole, five eggs; 
Kingbird, three eggs, and White-eyed 
Vireo. four eggs. 
Cardinal Grosbeak.— Henry' A. Berry, 
Iowa City, reports a specimen being taken 
in a box trap at that place last Febniarv. 
It is now in confinement. 
Savannah Sparrow. — John H. Sage re¬ 
ports that he has never taken a set of these 
eggs at Portland. Conn., although they 
breed there. Chas. H. Neff was more for¬ 
tunate and found a set this season. 
Common Crow. —Ajiril 21, 1882. I took 
my largest set of seven eggs. Have taken 
several sets of six. 
Humming Birds.— C. J. ^la^-nard states 
in his Birds of Eastern North America, 
page 215, that the male R. T. Humming 
Bird is esjiecially watchful of the nest and 
is vei-y pugnacious when any jierson ap 
proaches it. I have taken several nests of 
this species and have watched the birds 
building their nest, and in no instance 
have I seen the male bird near the nest, 
even when it contained young, and the ex¬ 
perience of othera who have taken them 
here agrees with my own. 
Great-horned 0m7,s’ Eggs. — The aver¬ 
age size was about 2.10x1-80. The set 
of four was somewhat smaller than any of 
the others, the measurements being2.08X 
1.(58, 2 08X1.7(5. 2.10x1.78, 2.12x1 80. 
The largest set measured 2.25x1.85, 2.28 
Xl.88, 2.30x1 88. The pores of these 
eggs are very large. In blowing with one 
of Howland’s blowers it was noticed that 
the moisture came out of every pore and 
stood in drops like sweat. — J*'. .1. N. 
