its existence in any of the American Owls. The opportunity of examining the skeleton of Surnia funerea has never been afforded me. In the skeleton of Buteo borealis, from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, we find this bone present, although of relatively smaller size as compared with Circus; it also seems to articulate almost, if not quite, exclusively with scapho-lunar, barely coming in contact with radius at all. In the same collection we observe, in the skeleton of Haliæetus leucocephalus, the os prominens again present, and here of a more quadrate outline and figure, though evidently designed to carry out a like purpose as in the other diurnal Raptores. The skeletons of Accipiter cooperi that I have examined, an indifferent one in my own possession, and another, not entirely reliable, in the collection of the Army Medical Museum, Washington, seem to be without these bones, and I am of the opinion that if this Hawk possesses them at all, they will be found to be very small as compared with others of the family. They are present in Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis, where they again resemble these bones as found in Circus, differing principally in the position they occupy, being placed apparently still further towards the inner aspect of the joint. We find them also in Astur atricapillus, in Accipiter fuscus, where they are quite prominent and elongated, and again in Pandion, but further than this I have not looked into the subject and would prefer, in any event, describing their exact size, position, and relation to surrounding parts from the recently killed specimens rather than from museum skeletons, as valuable as these subjects are to osteological students in so many other respects. We may be certain that the os prominens will never be regarded by any one in the light of one of the bones of the carpus, but articulating as it does with one of those bones and the distal end of radius, it will be the proper place in descriptive works or special monographs upon ornithotomical subjects to notice and describe it; just as Professor Owen treats the os humero-scapulare of birds, directing attention to it under the section treating of the Scapular Arch and Appendage, where he says: "In Raptores, Scansores, and Cantores, an ossicle (os humero-scapulare) lies between the scapula and humerus at the upper and back part of the glenoid cavity." (Comp. Anat. & Phys. of Vert., Vol. 6 6 cuneiforme 6 II, p. 67.) In the same volume, page 73, in his general description of the bird-wrist, he simply describes it in the following terms: "The ulnar trochlea articulates with the two free carpal bones, one the scapho-lunar' - being wedged into the radial, the other into the ulnar part, leaving a small intermediate tract for the magnum' which is confluent with the base of the mid-metacarpal "not mentioning any such bone, nor do we find, further on under special references to certain departures in some of the genera from the general rule, any allusion to such an ossicle as the os prominens. Moreover, in the same work, in treating of the Muscular System of Aves, page 98, and apparently describing the muscles of a Hawk, too, - Buteo vulgaris, I think, the opportunity, one would suppose, was afforded to have called our attention to the presence or absence of such a feature; but nothing of the kind has been noted, the muscle being simply described (for all birds) as follows: "A remarkable muscle, partly analogous in its origin to the clavicular portion of the deltoid, but differently inserted, is the extensor plica alaris, ib. 30, a. b. [the Hawk] and forms one of the most powerful flexors of the cubit. It is divided into two portions, of which the anterior and shorter arises from the internal tuberosity of the humerus; the posterior and longer from the clavicular extremity of the coracoid bone. In the Ostrich and Rhea, however, both portions arise from the coracoid. The posterior muscle, b, sends down a long and thin tendon which runs parallel with the humerus, and is inserted, generally by a bifurcate extremity, into both radius and ulna. The anterior muscle, a, terminates in a small tendon [the one shown in the cut, for Circus, accompanying this paper] which runs along the edge of the aponeurotic expansion of the wing. In this situation it becomes elastic; it then resumes its ordinary tendinous structure, passes over the end of the radius, and is inserted into the short confluent metacarpal, u. It combines with the preceding muscle in bending the forearm; and further, in consequence of the elasticity of its tendon, puckers up the soft part of the wing." Professor Edward S. Morse, in his discussion upon the carpus of birds (On the Tarsus and Carpus of Birds; Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, Vol. X, 1872), makes no mention of the presence of any such bone, as being one likely to be confounded with the carpal bones, in our study of the carpi of Falconida. He sums up the results of his valuable and advanced studies by stating, "Thus we must recognize in birds the presence of four tarsal bones, and at least four carpal bones" (op. cit. p. 152). Prof. Huxley in his "Manual" (Manual of the Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals, New York, 1872, pp. 248–9) has nothing to say to us in regard to any such segment; he concludes with the wrist-joint by briefly remarking that "There are only two carpal bones, one radial and one ulnar," although this same profound anatomist, to whom we owe so much, calls our attention, in another paragraph, to the much smaller ossicle, in these terms: "A small bone, the scapula accessoria, is developed on the outer side of the shoulder-joint in most Coracomorpha and Celeomorpha." One would hardly look for it in Dr. Coues's elaborate description of the bird-wing in his "Key" (Key to North American Birds, 1872, p. 30), as that section was evidently written with a very different purpose in view, and certainly not to decide the peculiar osteological characters that might be or were already known, to occur in the various wings of the many representatives of the class. These remarks apply with equal force to all that Professor Carl Vogt has to say to us in his paper upon the Archæopteryx macrura (Ibis, Oct. 1880), where he devotes a paragraph to a revision of the osteological points as they occur in the upper extremity of the Ring-Dove. OÖLOGICAL NOTES FROM MONTANA. BY DR. J. C. MERRILL, U.S.A. THE following notes on the nests and eggs of six species of birds may be of interest, as all are rare and two, those of the Snowbird and Woodpecker, are, I think, undescribed. These nests were found during the past season in the northern part of the Big Horn Mountains, so near the Montana-Wyoming boundary line that in some cases it is impossible to say in which of these Territories they were located. Regulus calendula (Linn.) Licht.-The Kinglets offer a remarkable illustration of the fact that a bird may be very common, and yet its eggs remain for years among the greatest desiderata of oölogists. So far as I am aware, but four nests of the Ruby-crown have been found up to the present time, and all were found in Colorado.* A fifth nest was found by me on the 18th of June at an elevation of 7,700 feet. It was in a fir tree, about eighteen feet from the ground, and placed directly against the trunk, supported by a single branch beneath and by several twigs to which the sides were firmly attached. It is large for the size of the bird, measuring externally 3×4, internally 12X13 inches. It is a very neat, wellmade structure with soft thick walls. With the exception of the lining, which consists of feathers of the Richardson's Grouse well woven into the sides and bottom, the whole nest is composed of delicate strips of bark, small pieces of green moss, and fibres of weeds, with a few feathers, spiders' webs and fragments of a wasp's nest, the whole forming a somewhat globular mass of soft materials. Of the eggs, which were eight in number, one had apparently just been laid; the others were somewhat advanced in incubation, but in varying degrees, showing that the female† had begun to sit soon after laying the first egg. Dissection of the female showed that this was the full complement of eggs. They average .55X.43, with scarcely any variation in size, though some are much more pointed at the smaller end than others. It is not easy to give an accurate idea of the color of these eggs by any description. At first sight they appear to be of a uniform dirty cream-color, but a close examination shows that in most of the specimens this color is deeper at the larger end and there forms a faint ring. In six of the eggs there are one or two very fine hair lines at the larger end. Other eggs of this species are spotted, a fact which is strongly indicated by the appearance of the set just described. Thus, Dr. Brewer, in speaking of the egg found by Mr. Batty, says "the ground color is a cream-white, and over this are profusely scattered minute dots of brown with a reddish tinge." Mr. Scott describes the eggs he found as "of a dirty white color, faintly spotted all over with light brown, which becomes quite definite at the larger end." The single egg obtained by Mr. Drew is described as "white." It is thus evident that many more sets must be obtained before the prevailing type of egg of the Ruby-crown can be determined. I may add that this species was breeding in considerable numbers, but owing to want of time I only succeeded in finding the nest above described. Parus montanus, Gamb.-Common in the same localities as the preceding species. This is another bird whose eggs have only recently been described, and especially interesting from the fact that they usually differ from those of other members of the genus in being unspotted. The first * See this Bulletin, IV, 91; ib., 97, note; VI, 87. I cannot now refer to the original description of the nest found by Mr. Henshaw. + It may be stated here that the crown of this specimen was plain with the exception of three scarlet feathers. specimen described was found by Captain Bendire in Oregon; it was white, " moderately spotted and blotched with pale reddish-brown, but not thickly." Mr. Belding, who found three nests, was the first to describe the eggs as white.* A fifth nest is recorded by Mr. Scott;† and Dr. Brewer describes§ a set of seven eggs, six of which are pure unspotted chalky white, the seventh being "marked over its entire surface with fine rounded dots of reddish-brown." A nest found June 18 was in a fire-killed pine at a height of about sixteen feet. A knothole had been cleared out and the soft decayed wood removed to a depth of four inches, the hardness of the surrounding wood preventing a deeper excavation. On a warm felted bed of various soft materials were five or six recently hatched young and an addled egg. The latter measures .58X.48 and is a dull unspotted chalky white, only slightly pointed at the smaller end. While examining the nest the parents were very bold, perching on a branch within a foot of my head and scolding vigorously. Dendroca auduboni (Towns.) Baird.-Breeding rather abundantly in the Big Horn Mountains but only one nest was found. Several descriptions of the eggs of the Western Yellow-rump have recently appeared, and its breeding habits are now fairly well known. My nest was found on the 17th of June in a young pine tree growing on the top of a ridge at the edge of a deep cañon, at an elevation of 6,500 feet. It was about seven feet from the ground and placed against the main trunk, supported by and partly saddled upon two twigs. It is large for the size of the bird, measuring 4X4 inches: internally 1×13. Externally it is composed of many small twigs and fine strips of bark; within this is a thick wall of well matted strips of a weed and of bark and pine needles. The inner lining consists of fine fibrous roots and hairs, with a feather or two. The most curious feature of the nest is a circle of feathers of Richardson's Grouse attached to the rim for nearly the entire circumference, a small bare space being left which was apparently used by the bird on entering. These feathers are fastened to the rim by the larger ends and are directed upwards and inwards forming a sort of canopy which completely hid the female while sitting. The appearance is very peculiar and quite unlike anything I have seen, for this use of the feathers is evidently intentional and is very different from what is seen in nests with a lining of loose feathers in which the bird sinks nearly out of sight. One egg was broken; the other four, far advanced in incubation, average .68X.53. The ground color is a decidedly greenish-white, sparingly marked over the entire surface with small spots and dots of black, brown, and lavender, the latter predominating, and form an irregular wreath around the larger end. Junco annectens, Baird.-Rather common in the mountains, but only at a considerable height and among the pine trees. A nest taken June 13 * Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., I, 400. + Bull. Nutt. O. C., IV, 92. § Ib., V, 47. |