Field Notes · Catnum 105147 · Typed card
Nest of weed tops and stems, bits of vines, leaves and the dried covering of prickley pear cactus—the latter evidently used in place of the usual paper. Lined with fine grass, a few rootlets and the same dried cactus. Located 2 feet up in a tangle of low bushes, which grew in the flood bottom of a small creek, in thick brush. Female flushed.
Metadata · Catnum 105147
Date11 May 1923
LocalitySan Antonio, Bexar, Texas, USA
Coordinates29.3575912, -98.493345 ↗ map
CollectorQuillin, Roy W.
Eggs in Set3
Specimen Typee
Incubationfresh (transcribed as “Trace”)
Identificationflushed
Nest Height0.61 m (2 feet)
Nest Supporttangle of low bushes
Nest Materialsweed tops and stems, bits of vines, leaves, dried covering of prickley pear cactus
Nest Liningfine grass, rootlets, dried cactus
Near Waternear water
Nest Settingflood bottom of a small creek, thick brush
Nest NotesDried prickley pear cactus covering used in place of the usual paper.
HeaderOOLOGICAL COLLECTION OF ROY QUILLIN
Further Details1138/n3
✦ Anecdote
This nest is unusual because the cardinal used dried prickley pear cactus covering as a primary building material in place of the typical paper scraps that cardinals commonly incorporate into their nests.