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?76 THE CONDOR I VoL. VII was sitting high in a neighboring tree, near the end of a horizontal branch, sing- ing his "preet, preet, preet, preet,--ooree, ooree, ooree," but the female was not seen during the half hour I watched while he sat in the one place and sang. I could not understand the situation, but later it became clear to me. On July 26 we investigated the status of affairs at the crossbill's nest. It was exactly ?oo feet from the ground, about five feet from the main trunk: but the sup- posed nest was only a collection of small twigs. It was really a "dummy,"on which the birds had worked very faithfully for a time. For a while I was puzzled; then it occurred to me that the real ,lest must be somewhere near the place where the male had sat so long and sung on the former occasion. I turned my attention to the place, and presently the male came to the place, hopped carelessly along the branch, to a suspicious-looking tuft of small twigs, and then passed farther along the branch. Then I could see the nest, and could even see the femal e sitting there. On July 27 the real nest was taken. It was sixty-five feet from the ground, among twigs ten feet from the main stem of the tall tamarack tree which contained it. It was taken by tying a long rope about twenty feet above the nest, and then swinging it out on the ground until the collector could swing alongside the nest. It contained four eggs, on which the female sat until shaken from her cosy home. The nest was made externally of dry tamarack twigs, with fine dry grass stems, dark brown lichens, and horsehair. The cavity measured three inches and two and one-half inches major and minor axes, and was one and three-fourths inches deep. The base of the nest was a mass of bark strippings and gossamer. When blown, two of the eggs were found to be in an advanced state of incubation, the other two showed only traces of incubation. The female came near the collector several times, and once or twice sat by the side of the nest while the eggs were be- ing packed. Later she was taken with the nest. The male did not come near while the collectors were at work. In this connection I wish also to record the occurrence of the white-winged crossbill (Loxia leucoplera) in this region in summer. On one occasion I saw a beautiful male at Swan Lake, with a troop of American crossbills, bathing at the water's edge, under circumstances where there could be no mistake, though I did not collect it. 'Later I saw a female at Lake MacDonald, near Belton, when there could. be no ntistake in identification. It is my opinion thai the crossbill breeds in numbers in this region, an opinion warranted on observations extending over six years, though I have never taken a nest until this season; and contrary to the general data as given in the books, the height of the breeding season in this region is the mid-summer. Lewistown, A/[ontana. FROM FIELD AND STUDY Discovery of a Seconil Egg oftheBlaek Swift.--On June ?6, ?9o?, I took an egg of the black swift (Cypselo2des uig'er borealis) and recorded it in The ?tu?, XVIII, 394. The au- thenticity of this egg was questioned by many, and altho I was positive myself, since I had uo proof I had to be contented in knowing that I was right. I therefore resolved that if ever good fortune favored me again I would secure sufficient evidence to convince the most skeptical. Con- sequently I have been on the watch ever since, but not until July 9th of the present year, x9o5, did I receive my reward by discovering the second egg or set, the circumstances being identical with those of ?9o?; that is, the birds were flying around in the vicinity of the nesting site, some- times nearby and again a mile or two away.