THE NATURALIST AND COLLECTOR 
45 
These were the highest nests found, 
and in both instances the birds were 
as tame as robins. Nests are seldom 
found lower than four feet from the 
ground. The last nest I examined, 
just before leaving the ranch, was a 
very bulky one of this species, which I 
had seen built in the place where, a 
number of days before, I had destroyed 
the nest of a mockingbird, after its 
young had departed. It was situated 
on the lowest branch of a small tree 
near the house, entirely exposed to 
view, and standing upon a chair, I was 
able to look into it. It was just com¬ 
pleted and ready for the eggs, and I 
did? not disturb it. The second nest 
was much larger than the first, but 
composed quite similarly of thorny 
twigs, and lined with a few grasses. 
This fearlessness is exceptional, but 
indicates that, were the country thickly 
settled, this bird might become as do¬ 
mestic as the mockingbird or robin. It 
is resident where found, commences to 
breed in March on the Rio Grande, and 
rears several broods in a season. The 
first is hatched in April, and generally 
numbers four. By the middle or latter 
part of May, clutches for the second 
brood are full, and consist nearly al¬ 
ways of three eggs. I have taken, 
however, a few sets of four from the 
second laying*. 
The eggs vary in shape from oblong 
oval to almost pyriform; the ends are 
round-pointed, and the greatest dia¬ 
meter nearer one end. The color is 
pea-green, covered more or less over 
the entire surface with fine brown dots. 
Of the large series of eggs taken, only 
one set was comparatively free from 
spots. A set of over-sized eggs, taken 
May 24, average 1.25 by .83. The gen¬ 
eral average is 1.12 by .79. The shell 
is not particularly fragile, unless incu¬ 
bation is well advanced, in which case 
it becomes so tender that it is almost 
impossible to prepare a fair specimen. 
The color becomes dull and faded when 
the egg is long incubated, so that its 
condition can generally be known with¬ 
out handling. 
BLACK-CRESTED TITMOUSE. 
(Lophophanes Atrocristatus.) 
This tit, so far as is known, is 
found within our limits only in 
Southern Texas, where it is abun¬ 
dant and resident The most north¬ 
ern records are San Antonio, by 
Dr. Woodhouse, and Comal county by 
Mr. W. II. Werner (see Mr. Brewster’s 
paper in April No., 1879, of Buil. Nut- 
tall Orn. Club); the most western is 
Fort Clark by Dr. Heermann. As no 
mention is made of it in Mr. Law¬ 
rence’s papers on “Birds of Western 
Mexico,” it is probably confined to the 
Gulf slope of both Mexico and the 
United States. The only form of the 
family of Chickadees or Titmice, be¬ 
sides this species, thus far observed in 
Southern Texas, is the yellow-headed 
titmouse (Auriparus flaviceps). The 
specimens L. wollweheri and L. inorna- 
tus , so far as our knowledge goes, are 
confined to the higher altitudes of Ari¬ 
zona and New Mexico. The family 
seems to be unnoticed by Mexican col¬ 
lectors (with the exception of Mr. Xan- 
tus, who records that he found A. flav¬ 
iceps at Cape Saint Lucas,(as I mention 
in my remarks upon that bird), and the 
geographical distribution of the var¬ 
ious species south of our border is as 
yet unknown. 
I mention the different forms of the 
same genus found on our southern bor¬ 
der to show how distinct are those of 
the Lower Rio Grande from those of 
the Upper Rio Grande and Colorado 
valleys; the one nowhere intruding 
upon the habitat of another, unless it 
may be in the case of the yellow- 
