July, 1916 BREEDING OF TI.,4RI$ C.,4NOR?I 149 Cayman. It did not seem to be common, though the black and white of the males is conspicuous enough to attract attention. A nest with three well-incubafed eggs was taken March 18, 1915. Nest globular, with entrance in side; built in a dense thorny tree by side of trail through scrub; twelve feet from ground; male on nest. The nest resembles closely that of the Melodious Grassquit. The eggs are unlike any others known to me, although the description does not seem peculiar. Ground color yellow- ish white, spotted with lilac and brown, chiefly about larger end. Size .73x. 53 inches. Tiaris canora. Melodious Grassquit. This species finds a place on the A. O. U. List by virtue of its accidental occurrence on Sombrero Key, a tiny islet off the southern end of the Florida peninsula. As its eggs are not too common in collections, and little information regarding its nidification appears to have been recorded, I was particularly pleased to find this species generally distributed, and breeding abundantly on the reser- vation. My first set was taken March 9, 1915; and, as no fresh eggs were observed after the 18th, it seems probable that the breeding season, for the bulk of this species at least, is comparatively restricted. The nests vary Httle in structure, being globular in shape, with a side entrance, the whole affair about the size and shape of a Marsh Fig. 42. ARBOREAL ANTS' NEST WITH GROWTH OF EPIPHYTES: CUBA Wren's. On the whole, they are very neatly constructed, of fine grey fibres so com- pactly woven that they seem to last for several seasons. Old nests were so common and fresh looking as to make collecting difficult, for it was not usual to find a bird at home even when a nest held incubated eggs, and as they were always in thorn trees it was no small matter to investigate each one individually. The parents, in fact, seem to take little interest in their household duties; usually they appear after some waiting and then show no great concern about the operations of the intruder. As the trees and shrubs in this locality have generally very small leaves the nests are very conspicuous objects where the ground is at aH open; naturally most of mine were taken in such situations or along the trails, but I saw others in very dense scrub. With one exception all were in thorny trees, one particular species being generally selected. The exception noted was taken from the upright triple fork of a cactus grow- ing in an open glade. The nest was about eight feet high and I hooked it out, eggs and all, with a forked stick. In some cases the nests were so firmly entangled among thorns that it was difficult to displace them intact, and still more difficult to remove the eggs;
