THE NESTS AND EGGS OF THE UNITED STATES.

[Illustration: 028]

Plate I.--AMPELIS CEDRORUM, Sclater.--Cedar-Bird.

|The Cedar-Bird, though mainly a denizen of the wooded regions of North

America, and occasionally of cultivated fields and orchards, has been

known to nest from Florida to the Red River country. But, wherever

found during the non-breeding period, it is the same gregarious, nomadic

species.

After the beginning of October, the search for food so completely

engrosses the attention, that it is not until the latter part of May, or

the beginning of June, that the flocks break up into pairs.

Nidification now becomes the all-absorbing passion, and the birds

after mating, which business is generally conducted in a quiet and

unostentatious manner, repair to the woods or hedges in quest of

a suitable shrub or tree in which to establish a home. This matter

requires considerable labor and care; and, ordinarily, no little time is

devoted thereto.

The place usually selected, is a retired and unfrequented thicket or

nook; or occasionally, an orchard in close proximity to an occupied

dwelling. When the former, the cedar, with its tall, nearly vertical

branches and dark green foliage, is, of all our forest-trees,

pre-eminently fitted to receive, support, and conceal the nest; when the

latter, the apple is accorded the preference.

Having chosen the locality, the birds waste no time in idleness, but

apply themselves to the task of building, with the most commendable

zeal and perseverance. Each bird has its allotted part of the work to

perform: the duty of the male being to collect the materials; that of

the female, to shape and fix them in their proper places. Occasionally

the latter, when not thus occupied, accompanies her partner in his

frequent journeys, and assists in collecting and bringing in his load.

The time employed in the labor of construction, making due allowances

for recreation and rest, is between five and six days.

In form, the typical structure is nearly hemispherical, and presents a

rather neat and elegant appearance. It is compactly made, and, in the

generality of instances, exhibits anything but bulkiness. In position,

it rests upon the horizontal limb of a tree, or is wedged in among

several upward-growing branchlets, at elevations varying from three to

twenty feet.

During the period of nidification, almost any substance, having the

requisite flexibility and strength, is in demand; consequently, the

materials of composition are as varied as they are numerous, and depend

in a great measure upon the _environment_. In thickets, small twigs,

stems of grasses, dried leaves, lichens, and the tendrils of the vine,

make up the bulk of the structure; but in places situated in close

proximity to houses, wrapping-twine, strips of rags, and such other

substances as are ready prepared and accessible, are utilized.

The lining is generally fine roots of grasses, bits of string,

flower-stalks, lichens and tendrils. The cavity seldom exceeds three

inches in width, and scarcely two and a half in depth; while the

external diameter varies from four and a half inches to five; and the

height, from two and a half to three.

The specimen which we have figured, and which may be regarded as typical

in its character, was obtained in the vicinity of Bridgeton, N. J., in

the summer of 1878, and was neatly erected upon the horizontal branch of

an oak, and held in position by two nearly vertical branches of the same

tree. It was placed at a height of nearly twenty feet above the ground,

and consists almost exclusively of fibres of the long greenish-yellow

lichens which constitute so conspicuous a feature of the trees of that

locality, in their sylvan retreats. Externally, besides a few fine

rootlets, there is noticeable much white wrapping-string, which

relieves, in a great degree, the monotony of the fabric. Internally,

there is the same green moss-like lichen. The cavity is beautifully

symmetrical, and measures about three inches in width, and nearly two

inches in depth. The external diameter is five inches, and the height,

two inches. The nest is most elaborately finished, and is evidently the

workmanship of superior mechanics. The Plate represents it three-fourths

the natural size, placed upon an apple branch.

Among other fabrics which the writer possesses, is one which was

obtained in June, 1871, in Germantown, Pa., saddled upon the horizontal

branch of an apple-tree. It is rather firmly and compactly built, and

is composed, exteriorly, of stems of the common timothy, fine rootlets,

dried leaves of the mullein, and green leaves of the apple, which are

held together by broad strips of colored rags, bits of lint, and divers

strings, the latter constituting a prominent feature. Interiorly, there

is a promiscuous lining of flower-bearing stems, fragments of strings,

fine roots of grasses, fibres of linen, and tendrils of some species

of cucurbitaceous plant. The nest is about four and a half inches in

external diameter, and nearly three in height. The cavity is three

inches wide, and two and a half inches deep in the middle.

This last model of architecture, as already remarked, was placed upon

the limb of an apple-tree, near its extremity, and barely at a distance

of fifteen paces from an occupied dwelling. The rags, etc., which form

such a prominent feature of the outside, were purposely furnished by an

inmate of the house. When first proffered, it was thought that the birds

would be slow to perceive the use to which they could be put, but not

so, for they entered into the idea with the most praiseworthy alacrity.

And even after the materials were no longer supplied, they would

repeatedly fly to the bush upon which they had been laid, as though

soliciting a continuance of such favors.

The birds having constructed their home, the female commences on the

day following its completion to deposit her complement of eggs. The time

thus spent varies from four to six days, and depends upon the number

which is to constitute a setting. Oviposition being accomplished,

incubation follows, sometimes immediately on the deposit of the last

egg, but, not generally, until the succeeding day. This is the exclusive

task of the female for nearly fourteen consecutive days. Although the

male does not assist in the labor, yet he shows himself to be a very

kind and attentive husband, by providing food for his partner, and

keeping a vigilant lookout for approaching enemies. This he signals by

a low single note, which the female quickly acknowledges, and instantly

the two timid creatures beat a hasty retreat to an adjoining tree or

shrub beyond the reach of peril, where they become passive spectators of

the demolishment of their home, with all its precious burden.

The eggs, which are from four to six in number, resemble those of the

Waxwing, but differ in size, being somewhat smaller. Their groundcolor

passes from a light slate to a dark stone-color. The markings are

chiefly blotches of dark purplish-brown, lighter shades of the

same color, and peuumbræ of light purple, either by themselves, or

surrounding the darker spots. In form, they are either oblong-oval, or

nearly spherical; and in length, they vary from .80 to .90 of an inch, and

in breadth, from .50 to .70 of an inch.

[Illustration: 034]

Plate II.--CONTOPUS VIRENS, Cabanis.--Wood Pewee.

|The Wood Pewee, like most of its congeners, has a somewhat extended

habitat, ranging from the Atlantic westward to the Plains, and from

Texas to New Brunswick. It visits the United States about the 15th of

April, and from this time until its departure for Guatemala in October,

it is principally an occupant of high-wooded regions with a scanty

growth of underbrush, and timbered river-bottoms.

But as the season advances, and the amatory feelings become awakened,

these shady retreats are deserted by a few individuals of more

venturesome disposition, and a temporary abiding-place is sought for

amid the stirring scenes of active farm-life. This generally occurs

during the last of May or the beginning of June, and is the prelude to

the more important act of mating, which follows.

The assumption of matrimonial relations, however, is not a matter that

is entered into without more or less consideration. Occasionally, much

time is spent in its preparation. This is presumably the case when a

young female is courted by some venerable male. But when an apparently

experienced individual is the object of his devotion, the state of

things is different. His advances are then either encouraged and

reciprocated, or they are declined, and the disappointed suitor

compelled to seek a partner elsewhere. It is probable, moreover, that

the same birds pair together on each return of the breeding-season,

unless prevented by death, or some other of the numerous vicissitudes of

life.

The ceremony of mating being over--which business is ordinarily of short

continuance, seldom lasting for a greater period than two days--the

newly-wedded pair now set out to discover a suitable place for the

building of a home. This is a matter of considerable moment, often

requiring the performance of long and extended tours of observation

and exploration. These reconnoissances generally last for a week, but

eventually result in the choice of a locality well adapted, as far

as the essential conditions of shelter and security are concerned, to

become the depository of a nest. The site generally chosen for this

important purpose is a tall open woods with a preponderance of ash or

oak trees; but where a time-honored orchard is the recipient of this

favor, which is sometimes the case, the apple, 011 account of the many

advantages which it possesses, is preferred above all other fruit-trees.

The site being mutually agreed upon, the happy pair proceed with all

possible dispatch and diligence to construct a domicile: the male to

collect and bring in the necessary materials; the female, to fix them

in their proper places, and also to give shape and symmetry to the

structure. The time devoted to this work varies with the industry of the

builders, the style of the nest, and the character of the neighborhood.

But, where the birds are laboring under the most favorable

circumstances, the task is easily accomplished in five days.

This admirable piece of bird-architecture, which rivals in beauty and

symmetry the nest of our little Ruby-throated Humming-bird, is either

saddled upon a living or dead limb that is horizontal and lichen-clad,

or else upon the crotch of a bifurcated branch, and is placed above the

ground at elevations varying from five to thirty feet. According to Nutt

all, "the body of the fabric" occasionally consists of "wiry grass or

root fibres;" but we have yet to meet with a nest with "_small branching

lichens_ held together with cobwebs and caterpillars' silk, moistened

with saliva," as that author remarks. In a structure before us, which is

typical in its character, small strips of inner bark plucked from trees

of chestnut and oak, bits of tow, and fragments of wool, circularly

arranged and compactly pi-essed together, are the prevailing

constituents. Externally, it is closely invested with the bluish-gray

crustaceous lichens which are so plentiful upon the trunks of certain

trees, and also upon fence-rails. In diameter, it measures three and a

half inches; in height, one and a half inches. The width of the cavity

is about two inches; the depth in the centre, three-fourths of an inch.

The most beautiful fabric, as well as the most compactly built, which we

have seen, was obtained in the spring of 1870, not far from Germantown,

Pa. It was placed upon a horizontal branch of an apple-tree, in close

proximity to a farm-house. Externally, it is thickly covered with

_bluish-gray crustaceous lichens_, which are held in place by a few

cobwebs, and fragments of the silk of caterpillars. The base consists

of dried stems of grasses, and on these is reared a neat and cosy

superstructure composed of the inner fibres of the wild and cultivated

species of the vine, and a slight sprinkling of wool. These materials

are variously interwoven, and arranged around the margin so as to form

a cavity. The dimensions of this nest are as follows: External diameter,

three and a half inches; height, one and a half inches; width of cavity,

two inches; depth in the centre, three-fourths of an inch. In the Plate

it is represented the natural size--built upon an oak branch.

In the details of form and dimensions, this nest differs immaterially

from specimens which we have met with and seen from other localities.

But wherever obtained, they will always be found to bear a very close

resemblance to one another, differing chiefly in the character of the

articles which constitute the inner arrangement. We will merely mention

one example which was taken by Mr. Welch, in Lynn, Mass., and which will

give our readers some faint conception of the extent to which variation

is often carried. This structure was placed upon a dead limb of a

forest-tree. Its walls were composed of small dry stems and vegetable

down, finely interwoven, and covered on the outside with lichens which

were cemented to it by a viscid secretion that was apparently supplied

by the builders. The base wras somewhat flattened, much thinner than the

walls, and composed of finer materials. The external diameter was three

inches, and the height one and a half inches; the cavity, two and a half

inches at the rim, and the central depth about one inch.

Having finished their home, only a day or so intervenes when

oviposition becomes the controlling instinct. The female now proceeds

to deposit her complement of four eggs, which she does on consecutive

days, at the rate of a single egg daily. This is followed, on the day

succeeding the last deposit, by the trying duty of incubation. Upon the

female devolves this arduous and irksome labor. For about eleven days

she is thus engaged, until her patience is finally crowned with success.

Although the male takes no part in this duty, yet he contributes his

share to the prosperity of the undertaking, by guarding his partner from

danger, and supplying her with the essential articles of food. When his

home is assailed by feathered enemies, if they are not more than a match

for his strength, he is not slow to wreak instant vengeance upon them.

But in the case of human depredators, where effort would be futile, no

exertion is put forth to cause desistance from any contemplated assault,

save a little scolding.

The eggs are four in number, and resemble in configuration those of

the common Phoebe-Bird. They are obtuse at one extremity, and slightly

tapering at the other. The ground is a rich cream-color, and is

diversified about the larger end with a wreath of purple and lilac

spots, which are large, and occasionally confluent. In length, they

measure .76 of an inch, and in width .54. It is pretty well established

that but a single set is deposited by any given pair of birds in a

season. Nests with eggs, however, have been taken during the last of

July, or the beginning of August; but whether a second laying or not,

we cannot say--possibly the work of birds whose early efforts had been

frustrated.

[Illustration: 040]

Plate III.--MIMUS. CAROLINENSIS, Gray.--Cat-Bird.

|The Cat-Bied is one of the most common and conspicuous of all our

feathered visitants. It reaches the United States from its Central

American home, on or about the 10th of April, and thence diffuses

itself over the whole country, northward as far as the Saskatchewan, and

westward to the Rocky Mountains.

Immediately upon its arrival, it seeks the shelter of dense woods,

or the security of waste fields and bramble-ridden hedges. In such

situations, among the dead leaves that lie scattered upon the ground,

it gleans a well-earned subsistence. But later, when the leaves begin

to appear, and with them an abundance of insect-life, these retreats

are deserted by a few venturesome individuals, and an abiding-place is

sought amid the quiet scenes of rural gardens.

A week or ten days, however, elapse before the sexes are ready to assume

conjugal relations. Being vigorous feeders, and living in the midst of

plenty,' they are seemingly all unconscious of the better and nobler

instincts of their being. But feeding eventually satisfies appetite,

and conduces to the awakening of the amatory forces from their hitherto

dormant condition. The males, by their altered demeanor, are the first

to show signs of change. We no longer observe them engaged in the

pursuit of the juicy caterpillar, or the gilded butterfly, with the

same energy and zest as before. Their aims are higher, their aspirations

loftier. Perched upon a small tree, or screened from observation by

dense clumps of bushes, with heads bent skyward, they startle the echoes

of woodland and valley with their strange, ecstatic music. But the

females still continue feeding, as though utterly oblivious of the

concert which is intended for their benefit. After a day or two thus

spent, they become less absorbed in such matters, yield to the potency

of song, and coyly emerge from obscurity to welcome and encourage their

would-be suitors. The period of courtship is short, and unattended by

any of those peculiar antics which characterize many species at this

time.

In the Middle and Western States mating occasionally commences as

early as the 25th of April, when the season is remarkably forward, but

generally about the first of May--seldom later. In the Territories, from

some unknown cause, it is delayed to a later period. Very little time is

wasted after this event has occurred, in celebrating the occasion, for

the pair soon begin to look for a proper nesting-place. This is a labor

not entered into without previous care and deliberation. Ordinarily

a week or ten days are spent in making a choice of locality. The site

selected is usually a brier, cedar, thorn-apple, or a bush in the

midst of a grove or hedge, seldom remote from a settlement. The nest is

sometimes placed in a maple, and when such is the case, the birds take

the precaution to build it pretty well up. During the summer of 1880,

my son discovered one in a crotch of the red maple, at an elevation

of thirty feet from the ground. This, however, is exceptional, as the

height usually ranges from three to about twelve feet. It sometimes

happens that an injudicious selection of locality has been made, and a

nest has been nearly completed before the mistake is discovered. In this

predicament, instead of "making the best of a bad bargain," the birds

ignore the site for another better suited to their purposes. The

situation being finally decided upon, both birds work diligently during

the cooler hours of the morning and evening, for five or six days, in

the construction of their home. In some instances, particularly during

moonlit nights, the work has been carried on long after twilight has

faded from the earth. Unlike the case of the Cedar-Bird, which we have

already cited, there does not seem to be any regular division of labor.

Both birds collect the materials, as well as arrange them in the

nest. When a suitable article has been found, the finder does not fly

immediately to the nest and adjust the piece, but indulges in short

flights from one object to an adjoining one, carefully surveying the

premises all the while, until within a few yards of the nest, when she

rapidly flies thither, and having disposed of her burden, goes off in

quest of others. Where accustomed to man, the Cat-Bird does not seem to

be much annoyed by his presence.

Nidification ordinarily commences about the 18th of May. The nest

is placed in various positions--sometimes 011 a horizontal limb,

occasionally in a crotch, but generally among the branches of the bush

upon which it reposes. The materials of composition are as varied as

they are numerous. In thickets, and also in places removed from human

habitations, a platform of dried leaves, slender sticks, or weeds is

used as a basis, on which is reared a superstructure of small twigs,

fine roots, herbaceous plants, bits of straws, pine needles, and other

materials which are common to such situations. But when a nest is built

in close proximity to the home of man, bits of string, strands of silk

or thread, and bunches of cotton or wool are appropriated, and made to

do excellent service.

From the foregoing remarks it is obvious that nests vary according to

changes in the _environment_. Hence, what is typical in one locality

might be deemed but a deviation from the normal form, when compared with

a nest of the same species found in an entirely different neighborhood,

and _vice versa_. Mr. Ingersoll describes a nest found near Norwich,

Connecticut, which was suspended between two small bushes in such a

manner that it had no other support than that afforded by a slender

spray from each bush; but the large mass of crooked sticks below offered

so many hooked ends and projections that the nest was very secure. The

writer describes elsewhere a nest that was carelessly made, and bearing

a close resemblance to the structure of the Maryland Yellow-throat,

which he supposed to be the work of young or indolent birds. Another, on

the contrary, showed superior workmanship. The outside of this cosy and

beautiful nest was composed of wool, raw cotton, strings, fragments of

lamp-wick, a slight intermixture of tangled silk, fragments of lichens,

etc., held _in situ_ by strands of silk. Upon this basis was built a

superstructure of fine rootlets, intermingled with patches of wool.

The nest which we have figured in the Plate was found in the vicinity

of Philadelphia, Pa., in the summer of 1876. It is represented the usual

size, and shown in its natural position upon a cluster of blackberry

branches. Exteriorly, it is formed of wrapping string, bits of thread,

fine roots, cotton ravelings, a few grayish lichens, and bunches of

discolored raw cotton in great quantities. Interiorly, there is a lining

of slender grass stems, which monotony is relieved in a measure by a

piece of lamp-wick. The external diameter is five inches, and the height

about two and a half. The cavity is three and a half inches, and the

depth an inch and a half.

Such facts as are detailed above, with innumerable others of a similar

nature that might be adduced, most abundantly and conclusively prove

that birds are not the dull, senseless, routine-loving creatures which

those who have some pre-conceived opinion to uphold, or cherished theory

to sustain, are wont to argue. Though many of their actions are purely

instinctive or mechanical, yet evidence is not wanting to show that they

are gifted with a faculty similar in character to that possessed by man,

but differing in degree. A thousand circumstances justify the

belief that they often reason _a priori_ from cause to consequences,

providently managing with a constant aim for future comfort, convenience

and necessity. Instinct is always the same thing, never advancing, never

retrograding. Reason tends to improvement, always seeking a higher plane

of existence. To say that changes in nest-building imply a _change of

instinct_, is to perplex the understanding by a perversion of language;

but to ascribe them to the operations of reason, influenced by motives,

seems to be the most rational view to take of the matter.

The nest being completed, which is usually the case in about five days

from the time of starting, a brief season elapses before any eggs are

laid. In the Northern States this happens about the third week of May,

and then only one is deposited each day, for four or five days. The

necessary complement being laid, the female immediately takes the nest,

and incubation follows. This is her exclusive task for a period of

twelve or thirteen days. While she is thus engaged, the male stations

himself close-by the nest, only departing therefrom in quest of food for

himself and partner. Should an enemy approach, he assails the

intruder with commendable fearlessness and boldness. Various snakes,

particularly the black-snake, are their inveterate foes. When an attack

is made by one of these wily creatures, both parents, heedless of

danger, often fly so close to the assailant as to lose their lives in

efforts to prevent the nest being ravished and despoiled. But in the

case of human depredators, knowing that resistance would be futile,

they seek to deter them from any contemplated sacrilege by the most

discordant cries and frantic gestures.

The young are objects of tenderest solicitude. Both parents vie with

each other in rendering them every needed service. While one is absent

from home in search of food for their rapacious appetites, the other is

guarding the nest and its precious charges with the most jealous care.

Earthworms, spiders, flies, caterpillars of non-irritating properties,

together with such berries as the season affords, are collected in vast

quantities, and fed to these helpless creatures. But as they increase in

size and age, other articles are added to their voluminous bill of fare.

In about twelve days from the time of hatching, the young are able to

quit the nest, and in six days more, are ready to be initiated into the

mysteries of flight. This important duty devolves exclusively upon the

male parent.

The eggs are oval in form, of a dark emerald green color, very highly

polished, and measure .97 of an inch in length, and .68 in width. There

is small chance of confounding this with any other American bird's

eggs--certainly after a specimen has been once seen. Dr. Abbott, as

quoted by Ernest Ingersoll, once discovered a nest, at Trenton, N. J.,

that contained purely white eggs, which hatched in due time into perfect

young. Similar instances are known in the case of other species laying

dark eggs, where one or two white examples have been found among others

of the normal color in the same nest-complement. But a single brood

is positively known to be raised, although cases have come under

our observation of nests with fresh eggs as late as the 15th of

August--possibly the work of birds whose early efforts had been

frustrated by enemies, or by some accident.

[Illustration: 048]

Plate IV.--ICTERUS SPURIUS, Bonaparte.--Orchard Oriole.

|The Orchard Oriole is quite abundant throughout most of the United

States, from the Atlantic to the Missouri Valley, and on the southwest

to the valley of the Rio Grande. Individuals have been met with by Mr.

J. A. Allen as far west as the base of the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado,

the extreme limit of its western range. It is probable that it breeds

throughout the entire area of its distribution--sparingly, however, in

New England, according to eminent authority; but quite freely in the

Central States, from New York to South Carolina, and thence south-west

to Texas.

The period of its arrival in the United States from the genial clime

of Guatemala, where it winters, has been fixed by Mr. Dresser, who has

carefully studied its nesting-habits in Texas, as early as the first or

second week of April. But, farther north, its presence is not observed

before the last week of April, or the beginning of May.

Unlike the Warblers and Thrushes, which prefer secluded localities, the

subject of our sketch delights in cultivated grounds, particularly

where the apple and the pear abound. Here it takes up its quarters,

accomplishes the object of its mission, and thence retires to its

distant winter-home. Occasionally, a few individuals are to be found in

waste grounds, dense thickets, or along the borders of woods, but such

cases are exceptional, and conditioned only by the close proximity of

some time-honored orchard.

Mating does not occur until the 10th of May, more than two weeks after

the advent of the sexes. But from the first, the male, who precedes his

partner by some two or three days, may be heard in the early morning,

and quite as frequently at the close of the day, from the tall

tree-tops, chanting his wanton rhapsodies, for a half-hour at a time,

utterly unmindful of passers-by. His roundelay, which is undoubtedly the

free and happy expression of a heart actuated by the generous impulses

of love, though composed of rather shrill and sprightly notes, and

uttered with considerable agitation, is quite as pleasing as that of

his nearest kin, the Baltimore Oriole. Clear, distinct and resonant, it

thrills the air around, and is at last borne to the ears of some lonely

female, tired with travel, and unblest by a partner. The life of the

Orchard Oriole seems to be one of joyous song. Although, fond of

a dainty tid-bit, in the form of a juicy worm, he is not given to

gormandizing; he only eats from sheer necessity; for, after having

satisfied the demands of Nature, he resumes his soul-stirring strains,

to the delight of man and bird.

The sexes having come together in a wise and business-like way, with

little or none of the bluster that is customary on such occasions, a

conference ensues, which results in a temporary separation for mutual

good; one bird going in one direction, and the other in an entirely

opposite course. The selection of a suitable spot for a home is the

_vera causa_ of this divergence. This is evidently a labor of little

moment, as, ordinarily, but a day or two is thus spent. It must not

be inferred, however, that the birds are not particular as to place. A

large experience has convinced us that great care and deliberation are

then exercised. Many a tree is visited, and often the same tree again

and again, before a decision is reached; and when at last a suitable

site has been chosen, the happy pair set to work with praiseworthy

diligence to construct a home.

As previously remarked, an apple- or a pear-tree is generally chosen for

nesting purposes. This is especially the case, as far as we are able to

ascertain, in the Central and Western States; but in Texas, the nest is

suspended from the upper branches of a mesquite-tree. In the North,

the common red maple, and several species of coniferous trees, are

occasionally chosen, from some peculiar advantages which they possess.

A nest in the writer's collection, which was built in the summit of a

common swamp maple, occupies a very anomalous position. It is placed

within a crotch formed by four nearly upright, slightly divergent

branches, and is secured by long, flexible grasses from the nest,

wrapped tightly around the twigs. Another specimen, from Germantown,

Pa., is made to dangle from the end of a pine-branch. A peculiarity

about the latter nest is the strained position which the four branches

to which it is fastened are made to assume. The main twig, which is also

the thickest (being about three-fourths of an inch in diameter) shows

evidence of having been forced from a horizontal position to one that

is almost vertical. The latter is really the best authenticated case we

have seen of the truly pensile style of nest. In most instances these

structures are but partially suspended, being supported from beneath by

projecting branches.

In five or six days from the time of the assumption of matrimonial

relations, the nest is started, and through the united efforts of both

birds for the period of a week, is brought to completion. Although

nidification usually commences about the 20th of May, from some

inexplicable cause or other, this essential business is often deferred

until the middle of June and, occasionally, as late as the beginning of

August. But in the latter case, the birds are undoubtedly prevented by

varions accidents from carrying out their designs earlier in the season.

In the building of a home, either the male collects the materials, and

the female weaves them into a nest, or the converse is the case.

There is little variety noticeable in the materials that compose

the nest. The generality of domiciles which we have seen from Texas,

Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and several of the Western

States, have no lining, but are entirely constituted of one substance--a

flexible kind of grass or reed. In a few cases we have discovered a

slight lining of vegetable wool, doubtless plucked from the young and

developing fronds of various species of ferns. Bits of yarn, down of

seeds, and animal wool, have been mentioned by various observers as

occasional linings.

Such is the homogeneity of its texture, that once seen and recognized,

it can never be forgotten or confounded. A nest from Texas is the exact

counterpart of a similar structure from Pennsylvania, or of one from

Michigan. The abundance of the particular species of grass out of which

these birds construct their homes, and the facility with which it is

obtainable in localities remote from each other, conspire to produce the

resemblances which are found to exist.

Plate IV exhibits a nest of this species which was obtained in the

vicinity of Germantown, Pa., during the summer of 1880. It was suspended

from the branches of a pear-tree, in the manner shown in the drawing, at

an elevation of forty feet from the ground. It is built exteriorly of

a peculiar kind of long, tough and flexible grass, which is common

in Pennsylvania. The material is woven through and through in a very

wonderful manner, and with as much neatness and intricacy as if actually

done by a needle. It is hemispherical in shape, and open at the top. The

external diameter is four inches, and height two and a half inches;

the cavity is two and a half inches wide, and two and three-quarters in

depth. The color of the outside is yellow, while that of the inside is a

deep brownish-red.

Another specimen which the writer possesses from the same locality, is

built of the same material, more highly colored interiorly, but less so

exteriorly. It is pouch-shaped, and measures two and a half inches in

internal diameter, and four and a half inches in depth. The length is

five inches, and the external diameter three inches. When in position,

this nest was so placed that the short spurs of the pear upon which it

was built, with their beautiful green wreaths of leaves, met and roofed

it over, thus constituting a natural covering for the protection of the

young during the prevalence of inclement weather.

Dr. Brewer describes a nest taken by Mr. Brandigee in Berlin, Conn. This

structure was elaborately and skilfully woven of long green blades of

grass, lined on the inside with bits of yarn, animal wool, and a woolly

substance of purely vegetable origin. In external diameter and height it

measured four inches; in depth, three inches, and in internal diameter

three and a half inches--being widest in the middle. Specimens,

similarly colored, have been frequently observed in Pennsylvania.

By far the most remarkable structure which we have seen is the one we

are about to describe. This domicile was built in a red or swamp maple,

at an elevation of nearly thirty feet from the ground. It is a double

nest, composed entirely of long, flexible, yellow grasses, and securely

fastened between three nearly vertical branches, in a linear direction.

The main nest is inversely sub-conical, four inches high, with an

external diameter of three and a half inches in the middle, and four at

the top. The diameter of the cavity is three inches, and the depth

two and three-fourths inches. The smaller is joined to the first by a

continuation of the grasses of the latter, is somewhat similarly shaped,

but less compact in structure. The height is one and three-fourths

inches, external diameter in the long direction three and one-fourth

inches, and in the short, but two inches. The depth of the cavity is one

and three-fourths inches, and the width, one and a half inches. In one

side there is a circular hole one inch in diameter. Various opinions

have been ventured as to the object of this additional structure. Some

have contended that it was never intended for occupancy or ornament, but

is simply a fabric which the authors have failed to complete. But its

completeness and finish operate against such a theory. The writer, as

well as others who have witnessed this curious specimen of mechanism,

are convinced that it was erected for a special purpose--namely, the

accommodation of either parent while the other is sitting. The opening

alluded to, served for the head of the nonsitting bird, who, from his

position, looking away from the main building, could detect the approach

of enemies, like a sentry upon an outpost.

The nest being completed, on the following day the female begins to

deposit her complement of three or four eggs, at the rate of one egg

daily. Incubation now ensues, sometimes on the day of the last deposit,

but generally on the morrow. This duty lasts from fourteen to fifteen

days, and is wholly the work of the female. While she is thus occupied,

the male stands guard over the nest, or acts the part of a dutiful and

affectionate husband, by providing her with the necessary food. Should

their home be disturbed by feathered assailants, or by man, the female

leaves the nest, and by loud cries and menacing gestures, seeks, with

the assistance of her partner, to drive off the intruders. Often the

attack is carried on with a boldness and determination that challenge

admiration.

The love for offspring is very intense, and manifests itself in

unwearied devotion, and the tenderest solicitude. From early morn until

dusk, one parent or the other is constantly on the go for appropriate

articles of fare. Usually but one is absent at a time on this important

business. But the demands for food are so pressing, that both are

sometimes compelled to leave home, but only for a short time, and then

never beyond seeing distance of the nest. At first the young are fed

upon smooth caterpillars, aphides, spiders, ants, butterflies,

and dipterous insects; but as they mature, small beetles and other

hard-shelled articulates are added to their varied and extensive _menu_.

At the age of fifteen days, they quit the nest, receive instructions

in ærial navigation under the tutorage of the paternal head, and in ten

days more, are prepared to shift for themselves.

One peculiarity of this species must have struck the attention of every

careful observer of its habits; that is, its remarkable sociability.

Audubon cites a case where no less than nine pairs were found breeding

in the same enclosure. We have known instances where as many as five

nests, all occupied, were crowded in the same orchard, within a short

distance of each other. The most perfect good feeling and harmony

prevailed in this little colony, the birds mingling together with the

freedom and ease of inhabitants of the best regulated human communities.

The eggs are oblong-oval in form, pointed at one extremity, and marked

with pale purple blotches and a few deep dark purplish-brown dashes upon

a light bluish-white background. Specimens from Washington measure .85

by .62 of an inch; from New Mexico, .79 by .54; and from Pennsylvania, .88

by .58.

[Illustration: 056]

Plate V.--TYRANNUS CAROLINENSIS, Baird.--Kingbird.

|The Kingbird, or Bee Martin, has an extensive range, being found during

the summer throughout the continent of North America, from Texas and

Florida in the south, as far as the 57th parallel of north latitude.

Westward, north of the 44th parallel, it ranges from the Atlantic

seaboard to Oregon and Washington on the shores of the Pacific.

Its arrival in the United States from Mexico, Central and South America,

and tropical Cuba, where it winters, generally occurs during the

early part of April. Having taken the step, the birds are not long in

spreading themselves over their immense breeding-grounds, which have

been found to be co-extensive with the whole territory over which they

range. They reach the Middle Atlantic States from the 20th of April to

the first of May; the New England, from the first to the 10th of the

latter month, and their more northern habitats, not later than the 15th.

Careful observations, carried through a series of years, have convinced

us that the appearance of the males always antedates that of the females

by a week or ten days. Their advent is unheralded by song, or noisy

demonstration, and is as mysterious as their departure. Our knowledge

of the fact is mainly furnished by the eye, and not by the ear, which is

ordinarily the first organ that apprises us thereof.

Like most of its kin, the Kingbird is not gifted with a fine voice. When

it does essay a madrigal, its shrill, unmusical syllables are anything

but pleasing and welcome to the cultivated ear. It may be otherwise with

beings of its own special class. At all events, his song, if such it

can be truly called, has the anticipated effect--namely, that of

calling from her wanderings, the partner, whose presence he is anxiously

awaiting in his shady retreat.

Unblessed with the talent of producing sweet and soul-inspiring music,

Nature has made amends for her seeming neglect by endowing him with

certain mental and spiritual qualities which amply compensate for the

want of a melodious voice. A noble, self-sacrificing nature, and a

courageous but affectionate disposition, are traits of character which

our little friend possesses in a remarkable degree.

Aware of these high qualities, the female, never unduly coy, but

innocent, arch and simple, seeks rather than shuns the society of her

suitor, almost as soon as she has reached his whereabouts, and proudly

but courteously receives his attentions, which, without any show or

pretension, she generously reciprocates by consenting to become his

companion and helpmeet. Consequently, the season of courtship is

comparatively brief.

Mating being accomplished, the newly-made couple, without much ado, and

with but little waste of time, start off in quest of a suitable spot

for a nest. This appears to be a difficult matter to settle. The

pasture-grounds and waste places for which they have all along

manifested a strong predilection, are deserted for the more congenial

situations to be found about the home of man. Orchards of pear- and

apple-trees, or an isolated pear-tree in close proximity to a human

dwelling, are now visited. When the former, tree after tree is examined,

and the particular advantages of each discussed, before one is found

which answers all the requirements. These examinations often continue

for a fortnight. The female seems to be the controlling spirit in these

transactions.

The nest is generally placed between the forked branches of a pear-tree,

although the apple, cherry, osage orange, oak, cottonwood and tulip-tree

are sometimes employed for this purpose. Why the pear should be

preferred in certain localities above all other trees, it is difficult

to divine, unless the density of its foliage, and the short spine-like

twigs with which it is armed, afford security from the attacks of

rapacious birds and mischief-loving boys. Mostly the birds select for

building purposes the topmost boughs where the densest foliage abounds,

although instances are known to us, through actual observation, where

such structures have been found but five feet from the ground. Again,

nests have been met with on the borders of deep forests, in situations

remote from man, which fact seems to point to the conclusion that the

habit of building in orchards has been acquired since the peopling

of this country by human beings. The fondness of the Kingbird for the

little honey-bee, whose hives are generally placed contiguous to human

dwellings, has, doubtless, through the desire to be near such articles

of luxury, prompted the change of habitat. This species, like one of its

near congeners, occasionally builds upon the timbers of a bridge. Dr.

Brewer mentions a case which came under his observation in the summer

of 1851. While the doctor was passing over a bridge near the village of

Aylesford, N. S., he was startled to see an individual of this species

fly from a nest which was built on the projecting end of one of the

planks of which the bridge was composed. "So remarkably exposed a

position, open to view and on a level with and within a few feet of

the highway," says he, "must be quite unusual." One fact which the same

distinguished writer mentions, showing that the Kingbird, during the

breeding-season, is not always the same ugly, pugnacious little creature

which is claimed for him, must not be omitted in this connection. The

circumstance to which we refer, occurred in the summer of 1871. A pair

of these birds had built a nest in an apple-tree, near the doctor's

residence and within four feet of the nest of the Baltimore Oriole, and

not more than eight or ten feet from the abode of a couple of Robins,

all in the same tree. These three pairs were on evident terms of

friendship and good-will. The male Kingbird, from the topmost bough,

kept a vigilant lookout for danger, and seemed to have all under his

special care, but manifested not the slightest disposition to molest or

annoy.

Few species are more careless in the selection of nesting materials.

Almost anything of the proper length and requisite degree of flexibility

is utilized. Herbaceous stems, leaves of deciduous trees, strips of the

inner bark of the flax, lichens, weeds, wrapping string, carpet rags,

patches of cotton or wool, are a few of the many articles which are

found on the outside; while slender grasses, fibres of bark, fine

rootlets and horse-hairs constitute the inner arrangement.

A typical structure before us is rather loosely built exteriorly, but

increases in compactness towards the interior, where the materials are

more closely intermingled. The frame-work of this nest is composed of

herbaceous stems, chiefly of the wheat and pigweed, large quantities of

fibrous bark of a white, satiny lustre, and leaves of the oak, apple,

pear, etc. The inside is formed of fine grasses, quite artistically and

intricately laid in position. The cavity is beautifully symmetrical, and

measures three inches in width, and two and a half in depth. The outside

is five inches at the base, but contracts to four and a half at the

mouth. The height is about four inches. This nest was obtained in the

neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, Pa., June 15th, 1872.

Another structure which the writer obtained in the same locality, only a

few yards distant from the foregoing, differs slightly from it in form,

but largely in composition. It is built of compressed stems of wheat,

numerous and rather large scraps of printed paper, a few herbaceous

plants, all closely compacted and curiously intermingled. Within, there

is an inner fabric, secured to the former in a neat and substantial

manner, and composed of dark stems and leaves of various species of

grass, besides a small quantity of fine roots. The cavity is less

regular than that of the other, and conspicuously shallow. It measures

three inches in diameter and two in depth. The basal diameter is five

inches, which is nearly the width at the mouth. The vertical thickness

is three and a half inches.

The Plate represents a very beautiful nest which was obtained in

Southern New Jersey, in the summer of 1879. It was placed upon a

cherry-branch, as shown in the drawing, at an elevation of fifteen feet

from the ground. The outside consists of fine lichens, stems of grasses,

wrapping string, roots, tassels of the oak and chestnut, and some

mosses; the inside, of fine lichens, dried catkins of the oak, but

largely of slender stems and rootlets. The external diameter is four and

a half inches, and the thickness about one and three-fourths. The cavity

is three inches wide, and one and a half inches deep. In the engraving

it is shown the natural size.

Before drawing this part of our subject to a close, we cannot permit

the occasion to pass without giving a brief description of one more nest

which was obtained in June, 1880. It was placed upon the horizontal limb

of an apple-tree, at an elevation of about ten feet from the ground. The

peculiarity of this structure is the large number of carpet rags which

depend therefrom. In most cases they extend from ten to fourteen inches

beyond its lower border, thus contrasting very markedly with the dark

stems and rootlets that make up the bulk of the exterior. Was this

arrangement the result of blind chance, or were the rags placed there

for some special purpose?

The building of a home occupies the birds from four to five days. Did

the builders work continuously at it from sunrise to sunset, the period

of nidification would be considerably shortened. But such is not the

ease. They seem to have no regular hours for labor, but only work as

it suits their convenience. The duty of the male is to collect the

materials; that of the female, to arrange them in suitable places. The

nest being completed, scarcely a day passes before the first deposit is

made. Subsequent deposits are made on consecutive days until the full

complement is reached, when the female on the day following the last

extrusion, takes the nest, and continues thereon, with brief intervals

of intermission, for a period of thirteen or fourteen days, when her

labors are repaid by the appearance of a nest-full of tiny fledglings.

While she is thus occupied, the male acts the part of a dutiful and

faithful husband, guarding her from danger, and supplying her with the

choicest and most savory articles of food. When not foraging, he may be

seen upon the topmost bough of the tree upon which the nest is placed,

directly above his mate, on the constant lookout for danger. Should an

enemy approach, he immediately gives vent to his displeasure by a few

shrill twitterings, elevates his crest, and then gives chase to the

intruder, whom he pursues for a considerable distance, all the while

darting at him from different positions, and inflicting the severest

punishment, in order to teach him the folly of trespassing. Owls,

Eagles, Crows, Grakles, Jays, and even the common barnyard Hen, are made

to feel the force of his vengeance; but his most implacable enemy is the

Purple Martin.

The young are objects of more than ordinary parental solicitude. The

most endearing attentions are lavished upon them, and no efforts are

spared to render them comfortable and happy. Caterpillars, flies, and

other equally tender insects, are brought in great quantities, during

the first few days of their existence, to satisfy the demands of their

greedy appetites; but as they become larger, beetles and grasshoppers

are added to their dietary. When fourteen days old, they quit the nest,

but still remain under home influences for a fortnight later, when they

are allowed to shift for themselves.

In many particulars the eggs of this species resemble those of the

Arkansas Flycatcher, but differ mainly in their somewhat larger

size, and more pointed form. They are oval in shape, white in

ground-color--except when fresh, when they show a roseate tinge--and

beautifully spotted with brown and reddish-brown blotches and markings,

which are confluent about the larger extremity in some, and irregularly

scattered over the surface in others. They measure from 1.02 to .87 of

an inch in length, and from .75 to .72 in width. Specimens from different

parts of the country have been examined, and all, without exception,

bear a very close resemblance to each other, scarcely differing more

than do eggs of the same clutch.

[Illustration: 064]

Plate VI.--AGELAIUS PHOENICEUS, Vieillot.--Redwing Blackbird.

|The Redwing Blackbird is found throughout North America, from ocean to

ocean, and westward to the 57th parallel. From Texas and Florida to

the plains of the Saskatchewan, wherever found, it breeds more or less

abundantly.

During the winter they congregate in large parties in Southern Virginia,

the Carolinas, and all the Gulf States, especially near the sea-coast

and among old fields of rice and grain. Occasionally, small flocks

are found during the same season about stables and hay-stacks, in the

vicinity of Vancouver. But in the Eastern, Middle, Western and Central

sections, they are chiefly migrants.

Early in March these large assemblies break up, a part separating

in pairs and remaining among the Southern swamps, while the greater

portion, the males leading the way, direct their movements northward.

Later in April they have re-established themselves in their favorite and

accustomed haunts.

On their arrival, the males consort together in high open fields, where

their songs may be heard, at regular intervals, from morning until

night. At this time they are rather suspicious, and can be approached

only by the exercise of great caution. But when the females make

their appearance, their attention becomes so absorbed, that they are

apparently oblivious of events transpiring around them. The presence of

the latter is the signal for redoubled vigor in the line of music.

From bush and tree, from ground and fence-rail, and from almost every

available place, in loud, clear and resonant notes, is heard their

strange, unmistakable melody, each bird striving to outsing his

companions. Ever and anon a half-dozen voices may be heard at the same

time, producing a perfect medley of sounds, enough to "split the ears of

the very groundlings." The males seem never to weary of singing. It is a

remarkable and well-authenticated fact, that during the breeding-period,

and even late in September when preparing to migrate, the same sweet but

pensive strains are heard.

Nearly three weeks have expired since the advent of the Redwing, and

still the sexes remain unmated. This cannot long continue. Already a

change is manifest. The males are more musical, while, on the other

hand, a spirit of restlessness pervades the females. The latter are now

no longer given to feeding as before, but cease from their labors, and

bend listening ears to the gushing notes of love which swell around.

Enraptured, impressed, they eventually emerge from their hiding-places,

select their partners, and hie away to more congenial scenes.

The period of mating is unusually short, and unmarked by any special

peculiarities. It generally occurs about the 20th of April, but seldom

later than the beginning of May. The chief concern of the newly-wedded

pair now seems to be the selection of a building-spot. This is a matter

of importance, and, with most species, is attended with considerable

difficulty. Not so in the present instance. The birds repair to

accustomed sites, and there, amid the small bushes and tussocks which

abound, prepare their houses.

Nest-making commences in the Middle Atlantic States between the 25th of

April and the 1st of May; in New England, about the 1st of June, but not

before the middle of this month, in more northern regions. The nest is

usually placed in a cluster of reeds, or in the tops of small bushes

alongside of streams of water. Occasionally, small trees and fields of

timothy are made the recipients of these marks of attention, and, in

rare instances, the bare ground is made subservient to this purpose.

Almost every ornithologist who has paid any attention to field-work

has observed nests in their ordinary positions upon small hushes, or in

bunches of swamp grass, but few, we opine, have met with them elsewhere.

Mr. Maynard, as stated by Dr. Brewer, seems to have been the first to

notice this change. While exploring an island in the marshes of Essex

River, he found a number of nests in trees at an elevation of twenty

feet from the ground. One of these structures, which was purse-shaped,

was composed entirely of eel grass, and placed upon a sapling, at a

height of fourteen feet.

High grounds are seldom chosen for nidificating purposes, for the

obvious reason that they offer poor facilities for food-collection; the

aquatic larvæ, may-flies, dragon-flies, and mosquitoes, which constitute

a conspicuous part of the diet of these birds, being only found in

marshy situations. Even here a preference is manifested for certain

positions. Small bushes along the borders of streams, from the two-fold

advantages which they possess, are almost wholly adopted in some

localities. Being convenient to appropriate food-stuffs, they are placed

beyond the reach of snakes, particularly water snakes, which have a

decided partiality for young birds.

Having selected a building-spot, the pair proceed with all possible

dispatch to construct a home. This requires the joint labor of the

sexes, during the early mornings and evenings, for a period of about

five days. The articles of composition are chiefly collected by the

male, while the female performs the more difficult operation of putting

them in position. Considerable differences are often noticeable in

these structures. Those placed upon bushes are, as a general thing,

more symmetrical and compact than those found in clumps of grasses, and

differ still further in being-plastered with mud on the outside, which

adds to their durability; while, on the other hand, nests enclosed by

tall overarching grasses, have a looseness of arrangement that will

scarcely bear manipulation. But where the nest is placed in fields of

timothy and clover, there is evidence of great pains having been taken

in its construction.

Having finished their domicile, generally on the following day, but

sometimes not for nearly a week afterwards, as is the case when mud and

other damp substances have been used in building, the female begins to

deposit her eggs, at the rate of one a day, until the full number of

five has been laid. Incubation follows on the day of the last deposit,

and continues for fifteen days. This business devolves wholly upon the

female. While she is thus engaged, the male is not idle, but stands

guard over the nest, or ventures off in quest of food for himself and

companion. Should the nest be assailed, both parents seek, by the most

piteous cries and remonstrances, to drive, off the offending party. In

case of pillage, they keenly feel the injustice, and for several days

bewail their misfortune. But they soon recover their usual spirits,

and prepare to remedy the disaster. So tenacious are they of a chosen

locality, that the same pair has been known to build as many as three

nests in the same bush, after having been robbed twice.

The parents show the most intense affection for their progeny. Day after

day they watch over their helpless infancy with a devotion somewhat akin

to that which a human mother manifests toward her child. Their slightest

desire is a law, which is obeyed with cheerfulness and alacrity. When

food is in demand, they prove themselves to be willing providers, each

parent vying with the other in patience and fidelity. While one is

absent in quest of food, the other remains at home to protect them from

danger, the labor being accomplished by turns. Earthworms, caterpillars,

fresh-water larvæ, flies and mosquitoes constitute their earliest fare.

But later, beetles, butterflies, and various kinds of fruits help to

swell their hitherto very extensive dietary. When about fourteen days

old, the young leave the nest, but are not yet prepared to earn

their own living. This requires an additional period of twelve days.

Brood-raising being over, both young and old continue in the old haunts,

until near the time of departure, when they collect in small flocks, and

take up their southward-bound journey.

A typical nest of this species is somewhat irregular in shape, and

rather coarsely and rudely built. It is composed of stubble and broad

grasses variously intermingled, and lined with soft meadow grass. The

dimensions vary according to locality. Several nests before us, from New

Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the South and West, have an average external

diameter of five inches, and a height of three. The cavities, however,

are more uniform, and generally measure three inches in width, and

one and a half in depth. But when a nest is built in a bush, the outer

basketlike frame is carefully interwoven with, and strongly secured to,

adjacent twigs. Though somewhat rudely put together, it is nevertheless

firmly and compactly woven. The outer framework is usually made of

rushes, strong leaves of the iris, and, in some instances, of an

additional article apparently similar to mud. Within is packed a mass

of coarse materials, over which is placed a thick lining of grasses

and sedges. These nests, in the matter of size, differ from the former

chiefly in the particulars of length and thickness. The internal

dimensions offer no very striking exceptions.

The nest represented in the Plate is three-fourths of the natural size,

and was obtained by the writer in the summer of 1879, by purchase, from

Mr. Alexander M. Reynolds, of Philadelphia. It was built in a field of

grass, many of the stalks of which being wrought in its composition. In

figure it resembles an inverted cone, and is beautifully, symmetrically

and compactly put together. The outside is formed of grasses and rushes,

very neatly and intricately interwoven, and shows here and there a head

of dried pappus plucked from some species of hawkweed. The inside is

lined with sedges and fine blades of grass. As shown in the drawing, the

nest occupies a rather conspicuous position. This was not the case in

its natural location. Being found in the centre of a large field, it

is at once evident that the authors had spared no pains to make the

concealment as complete as possible. In height, this fabric measures

nine inches. Its external diameters above, below, and in the middle,

are, respectively, six, two, and four and a half inches. The width of

the cavity is three inches, and the depth three.

The eggs are oval in contour, of a light bluish ground-color, and are

marbled, blotched and streaked with light and dark purple, chiefly about

the greater extremity. In size, they vary considerably; the average

length of a large number of specimens from different regions being 1.01

inches, and breadth .76. In the Middle, New England and Western sections

of our country, this species is single-brooded; but further south,

three, and even a larger number of broods, are annually raised.

[Illustration: 072]

Plate VII.--TROCHILUS COLUBRIS, Linaeus.--Ruby-throated Humming-bird.

The Ruby-throated Humming Bird is found throughout Eastern North America

as far west as the Missouri Valley, and thence northward to the 57th

parallel. It breeds from Florida and Western Texas to the plains of the

Saskatchewan and the head-waters of the Elk River.

From its winter-quarters in Guatemala and Mexico, it takes up its line

of flight when the season has fairly opened, reaching our southern

frontiers late in March. Thence it slowly advances northward in its

migration, arriving in Upper Georgia about the 10th of April; in

Pennsylvania, from the last of April to the Middle of May, and in its

northern habitats, during the last of May, or the beginning of June.

For a brief season subsequent to arrival the sexes remain apart, and

seem only intent upon the procurement of food. This is especially the

case in the Middle Atlantic States where their habits have been very

closely observed. Here they make their appearance with the blossoms of

the horse-chestnut and tulip-tree, and may be seen at all hours of

the day, in fair weather, delving into flowers for honeyed sweets,

or probing their bosoms for the caitiffs within. In feeding, their

movements resemble those of the hawk-moths. Gracefully they suspend

themselves in mid-air before the opening flowers, ravish their hidden

treasures, and, with almost the speed of an arrow let fly from a bended

bow by some skilled archer, are off in an instant, possibly to more

delectable vineyards, or to some shady nook for rest and contemplation.

For agility and fleetness of motion the little Ruby-throat is certainly

unsurpassed by any of our smaller feathered species.

But things cannot long remain in this state. Their favorite flowers must

soon wither and decay, and with their timely death, must inevitably come

the disappearance of an easy and luxurious means of subsistence. The

tooth of appetite will then grow dull, and other thoughts and scenes

invite their attention. Experience has taught us that the falling of

the blossoms of the horse-chestnut and tulip-tree foretell the time of

mating.

This important business is performed without the least semblance of

show. The sexes tired, as it were, of the riotous and luxurious lives

they have been leading, come together by mutual agreement, and enter

into matrimonial relations. This being accomplished, they separate for a

brief period, and each proceeds to scour the country for miles around

in quest of a suitable tree in which to locate. When one is selected

by either bird, the other is summoned to the spot to talk over, in true

bird-language, the merits thereof. Should the parties differ as to the

advantageousness of the site, no quarrelling or bickering is indulged

in, but, in the most friendly manner, they separate, and renew the

search until one is found which gives satisfaction.

Having decided upon a locality, the birds are now ready to commence

building. This takes place between the first and the tenth of June in

the Middle States, about the tenth in New England, and as early as the

fourth in the Southern Atlantic and Gulf States. The situations chosen

vary considerably. Sometimes high, open woods are selected; again,

low, dense thickets; but, more frequently, an orchard close-by a human

dwelling, or an isolated tree in the midst of a lawn. Occasionally, the

birds have been known to build in trees along travel-worn thoroughfares.

A case in point came under our notice in the summer of 1872. While

returning home one day, we were surprised to see a female fly from her

nest in a maple-bough, only a few feet above our head. The nest was

immediately examined, and found to contain a pair of young birds. Not

wishing to disturb the happiness of the family, we permitted it to

remain intact. On visiting the spot a week or ten days afterward, it was

found to be empty, the birds either having matured and flown away, or

else had been killed by some ruthless invader. For several successive

years a nest was to be seen on the same tree and branch, but whether the

work of the same pair, we are unable to say.

That this species is not very particular as to the kind of tree in which

it builds, has been our experience, and we do not find any recorded

instance of disagreement. Dr. Brewer mentions but one kind of tree

in which it builds--the apple. In addition to it, we have found nests

saddled upon the pear, red-oak, white-oak, willow, red maple, sugar

maple, cottonwood, beech, pine, etc. In fine, almost any tree will

answer this purpose, as the generality of arboreous growths are more

or less favorable to the development of lichens. Several anomalous

positions, as on pine-cones and warty excrescences, have frequently been

met with in our ornithological rambles.

The nest is the result of the joint labor of both birds, who work with

unwearied perseverance and diligence until it is completed; the male

furnishing the raw material to be manipulated and adjusted by his

zealous partner. Occasionally, the latter assists her "liege lord" in

collecting and bringing in his burden.

In the matter of composition, there is but little difference in fabrics

from the most distant regions. Nests from Texas are exact counterparts

of those from Georgia; and these, again, resemble others from

Pennsylvania and Michigan. All we have seen are composed mainly of a

woolly substance of vegetable origin, plucked from the leaves of the

common mullein, or from the young and unexpanded leaves of the various

species of oak, immediately before their full development. This

substance, after being wrought into form and symmetry, is strengthened

on the outside by small woody fibres, or the webs of spiders. Over all

is placed a close and compact thatching of small lichens, a species of

Parmelia, glued thereon by the viscid saliva of the builders. On the

inside may be frequently observed a thin lining of white feathers; and,

on the outside, a few dried catkins. In dimensions, these nests usually

measure one and a half inches in external diameter, and nearly one and

three-fourths in height. The cavity is generally three-fourths of an inch

wide at the rim, and the same in depth. Specimens have been met with

which were but half an inch deep, and others which showed a much greater

depth, as well as external height.

The nest in the Plate is from Comal County, Texas, and was found upon

a beech-tree. It is composed almost entirely of vegetable wool from

the poplar and oak, and is lined with a few small white feathers.

Externally, there is a dense covering of bluish crustaceous lichens and

brownish oak-tassels, which are held in position by saliva and strands

of spider's silk. It was placed upon a branch at an elevation of twenty

feet above the ground. In height it measures one and three-fourth

inches; in external diameter, one and a half. The width of the cavity is

three-fourths of an inch, and the depth about a half.

A nest obtained in Lynn, Mass., in June, 1860, was saddled on a

horizontal branch of an apple-tree. It is woven of a soft woolly

material, fine in texture, silky in appearance, and of the purest white

color. Basally, it is strengthened with pieces of bark; and laterally,

with fine vegetable fibres. The whole exterior is beautifully covered

with a compact coating of lichens. It measures one and a half inches

in height, and two and one-fourth in external diameter. The cavity is

shallow, and is seven-tenths of an inch in depth, and one in width.

A very beautiful nest, as well as a marked deviation from the normal

form, as far as materials of composition are concerned, was discovered

in June, 1870, upon a branch of a red-oak which overhung a by-road, and

within a few feet of a woollen factory. Scattered in the neighborhood

was a lot of reddish shoddy, which had been discarded by the mill hands.

The birds, it is evident, were not slow in perceiving the use to which

this "waste" could be put. Accordingly they set to work, and, in a few

days, had constructed a beautiful nest, at a saving of much labor and

time. It might be thought there was a dearth of the usual materials, but

this was not so, as a careful survey of the grounds soon satisfied us.

Interiorly, this nest was entirely composed of this shoddy, while the

exterior was covered with the ordinary lichens fastened to the nest

proper by a few cobwebs and a secretion from the builders. In external

diameter, it measured one and three-fourths inches; in height, two

inches; in internal diameter, three-fourths of an inch, and nearly as

much in depth of cavity.

The nest being finished, which is the work of five or six days, but

a day or two elapse, and the female is ready to deposit her eggs. The

latter, to the number of two, are laid in as many consecutive days.

Incubation immediately ensues, and continues for a period of eight days.

Its duties devolve upon the female, who sits with commendable patience

until her task is accomplished. While thus employed, her mate stands

guard, or is abroad in quest of food. If any attempt is made to

interfere with the nest while he is on duty, the most menacing gestures

and loudest remonstrances are indulged in. Should these not have the

desired effect of frightening away the intruder, he darts at his foe

with wide, open bill, and endeavors to inflict summary punishment. He

is so persistent in these attacks that it is often very hard to beat him

off. The female, on the contrary, is of a more passive nature, quietly

keeping the nest, although not unmindful of the proceedings being

enacted, and only venturing therefrom when danger is imminent. These

assaults continue while the nest is endangered, and even for a short

time afterwards, when the birds retire to a neighboring tree to brood

over their mishaps, and consider what is best to be done.

The young are objects of special interest to the parents, who render

them every needed attention. When one is absent for food, the other

stays at home to protect them from danger. Their food consists of a

prepared mixture of nectar and soft insects, which they procure by

thrusting their bills into the mouths of their parents. It was formerly

supposed that this diet consisted entirely of the honey of flowers, but

this opinion of the ancients was not wholly a fallacy, since a portion

of nectar is taken with the insects, and supplies to the Humming-bird

that kind of nourishment which the larger insectivorous birds derive

from fruit. When eleven days old, these tiny creatures, in their

beautiful robes of green, quit the nest, but necessarily remain

under parental control a week longer, before they are able to support

themselves. By some inexplicable circumstance, the young do not

leave for their winter-homes until some time after their parents have

departed.

The eggs are beautifully elliptical in outline, and of a pure dull white

color. They measure .50 by .34 of an inch. Never more than a single brood

is raised annually. Nests with eggs have been taken as late as the 20th

of July, but these were doubtless laid by females whose early efforts

had been interfered with.

[Illustration: 080]

Plate VIII.--PIPILO ERYTHROPHTIIALMUS, Vieillot.--Towhee Bunting.

|The Towhee Bunting, or Ciieavink, has an extended distribution

throughout the eastern portions of the United States, ranging from

Florida and Georgia on the south-east to the Selkirk settlements on the

northwest, and westward to the border of the Great Plains, where it is

replaced by closely allied races. It breeds wherever found, certainly in

Georgia, and, doubtless, in Florida, although sparingly.

According to Wilson, it is found in the middle districts of Virginia,

and thence south to Florida, during the months of January, February

and March; but as the weather grows mild, and Nature begins to don her

livery of green, many forsake these haunts, and wing their flight

to distant localities; reaching the Middle Atlantic States about the

fifteenth of April, Massachusetts and Connecticut towards the last of

the month, Maine and New Hampshire early in May, and the North-western

States a little later.

In some regions the birds arrive singly, but retire in small flocks.

This is the case in the vicinity of Washington; whereas in Eastern

Pennsylvania, they are somewhat gregarious for a week or ten days after

their arrival, when they separate, and lead solitary lives. Their sole

object now is the acquirement of food. For this purpose they repair to

waste fields and damp thickets, or to small patches of underbrush

along frequented roads. Here their simple song may be heard during the

intervals of feeding, with scarce an intermission, from five o'clock

in the morning until eight in the evening, by the early or belated

pedestrian. In rain or in sunshine, or at noonday in the hottest weather

of the season, the woods resound therewith, or with that peculiar note

of complaint from which the species has received the name Chewink.

There is an expression of cheerfulness in these notes, though they are

not delivered with that enthusiasm which characterizes the songs of many

of our species. But music, like poetry, must be of a somewhat plaintive

nature, if it would take firm hold of the feelings.

After a period of three or four weeks mostly spent in feeding, the males

seem to tire of such a life, and seek to attract the attention of the

females. Perched on the lower branch of a tree, near the edge of a

wood, or 011 the summit of a small tree or tall bush in the midst of

a thicket, or hid from view by clusters of bushes, they may be heard

pouring forth, with all the fervor of their being, their strange

madrigals. At first, their efforts to captivate are unheeded. But

patiently and persistently the singing is kept up in a quiet, simple

manner, until their auditors become impressed, and modestly quit their

shady retreats to encourage the musicians by their presence. Having

gained this advantage, they follow it up, and in less than a week from

the time the first note was uttered, have mastered the situation. The

females wholly entranced, yield to the persuasions of their would-be

lords, and conjugal relations are entered into. This generally occurs

not later than the fifteenth of May. But the happy couple are not yet

ready to begin nest-building. They must needs celebrate the occasion

of their marriage. Accordingly, they set out on a wedding-trip, so to

speak, visiting adjoining lots and thickets, and enjoying the delights

and scenes around them. This continues for four or five days, when the

lovers, thoroughly surfeited, return and quietly settle down to prosy

life.

The erection of a home is now the absorbing topic of interest and

conversation. Where to build, and how, are matters that are agitating

their minds, and which seem, judging from the actions of the parties

interested, very difficult questions to adjust. After no inconsiderable

portion of time thus spent, and with little possibility of coming to any

decision, a separation ensues, and the country scoured for miles around.

Should a situation which seems eligible be discovered by either

party, the other, by a peculiar signal, is called to the spot, and the

advantages thereof carefully discussed. If satisfactory, it is accepted,

and building operations commenced. Otherwise, the search is commenced

anew, and continued until one is obtained which is mutually pleasing.

But where the birds are unmolested, the same localities are probably

selected on each return of the breeding-season. The situation generally

chosen is a small thicket with a dense growth of underbrush, or a high

piece of ground overrun by brambles, and dotted by patches of fern.

Latterly, nests have been frequently found in clumps of tall grass, in

fields once swampy in character.

In New England, the locality usually chosen is a low, dense woods,

thickets of briers and bushes near streams of water, or the "scrub,"

which is a low or bushy "growth" of trees, chiefly of oaks and birches,

occurring in dry, hilly lands once occupied by pines. In the extreme

northern limits of its range, dry uplands, near the edges of woods, or

high tracts covered with a. low brushwood, are used, rather than low or

moist grounds, as was the case in some sections at the time when

Wilson wrote. The love for such situations doubtless gave rise to the

appellation of "Swamp Robin," which is generally applied to this species

in Pennsylvania.

When placed within a thicket, or in the borders thereof, the nest is

either built in a depression of the ground, usually beneath a bunch

of grass, in a pile of old brush or fagots, or on a slight prominence

surrounded by tall, graceful ferns. Within a concavity, the structure

is made to project slightly above the margin thereof, and is artfully

concealed from the gaze of intruders by dry leaves. So completely is it

hidden, that all efforts to find it frequently prove unavailing.

The work of building is entered into with diligence and alacrity, each

bird collecting and adjusting the materials as it thinks best. While

thus engaged--which is usually from sunrise to sunset, allowing the

necessary time for foraging and rest--the architects seldom, if ever,

get at outs, but labor with a purpose, and in the best of spirits. The

time thus spent has never been known to exceed three days.

So little variation is manifested in these structures, that specimens

from the Southern States resemble those from the Eastern, Middle and

Western sections so closely, as to be readily identified by persons of

the least experience in such matters.

A typical nest is mainly composed of the leaves of deciduous trees,

twigs, grass and roots, 011 the outside, and is lined with the inner

fibres of the wild grape-vine, or with fine stems of grasses. The

drawing represents it as being constituted of the stems of grasses, with

a slight intermixture of leaves and roots, and as having a lining of

reddish-brown stems of the same. It measures four and a half inches in

extreme diameter, and two and a half in height. The internal diameter is

two and three-fourths inches, and the depth of cavity one and a half.

Oviposition commences on the day succeeding the completion of the nest,

and proceeds at the rate of one egg daily, until the entire complement

is deposited. Incubation closely, follows, usually a day or two after

the last egg is laid. This is undoubtedly the exclusive task of the

female for a period of thirteen days. Diligent and close watching has

failed to show that the male takes any direct part in this important

business. Although seemingly averse, or unaccustomed to this kind of

work, he does not fail to contribute his share to the success of

the undertaking. While his wife is engaged in sitting, he is an ever

watchful and cautious husband. Unlike many other species, he does not

make himself too conspicuous, but stations himself some distance from

the nest, for fear of revealing its whereabouts, and only ventures into

the neighborhood at certain regular periods, to receive the commands

of his patient little house-wife, or to administer to her bodily

wants. Though shy, these birds often seem saucy; and, while one person

complains of their chirruping to and starting his horse, another claims

that, 011 the discovery of their nest, they express their grief so

impudently as to arouse his indignation. But when the nest lias been

stumbled upon by some cruel oologist, and the female is compelled to

abandon it and seek safety in flight, the male does not even then

desert his hiding-place to come to her rescue. Everything is left to

her judgment, and well does she play her _role_ in the drama. By various

strategic movements, such as imitating the actions and cries of a

crippled bird, she decoys the inexperienced intruder to a remote

distance, when she flings off' the veil of hypocrisy, and quickly

disappears in the bushes. With the trained collector this _ruse_ hardly

succeeds, and the disappointed parent often beholds with profound sorrow

the discovery of her nest, and its destruction by ruthless hands.

When the young are hatched, they are watched over with jealous care, and

receive more than ordinary attention. Grubs, earthworms, plant-lice and

larvæ of butterflies, in immense numbers, are daily gleaned, and fed

to their hungry appetites. Such are their demands for food, during the

first week or ten days of existence, that the parents are kept extremely

busy in catering thereto. Occasionally, both are absent from home 011

this important business, but the rule seems to be for one parent to

keep a watch over it and its helpless inmates, while the other is thus

occupied.

At the age of thirteen or fourteen days, the young quit the nest, and

receive their first lessons in the mysteries of bird life; and, in

ten days more, are forced to shift for themselves, but are permitted,

however, to remain with the parents until the time of the autumnal

migration, when they help to form the small flocks which are seen flying

southward about the middle of October.

The eggs of this species are four in number, rounded-oval in shape,

and are covered over the entire surface with dots and blotches of

reddish-brown upon an obscure grayish, or reddish-white background. In

some specimens, these dots run into each other; and, in others, they are

distinct, being more profusely collected about the larger extremity.

The average measurement of a score of specimens from widely-separated

localities is .97 by .80 of an inch. Such is the resemblance which

obtains between these eggs and those of the Brown Thrush, that when

sets of both are placed together in a tray, the difference between

them would scarcely be apparent to a novice in such matters. It

remains for the keen and critical eye of the more advanced student to

point out the distinction, which consists in the paler and more

roseate tint of the Chewink's eggs, and the larger size of those of

the Thrasher. Wherever observed, these birds seem to be

single-brooded, although nests are sometimes found with young, in June

and August, which fact would seem to argue that occasionally more than

one brood is reared; but, generally, the first brood leaves the nest

too late for another to be brought out before the appearance of the

early frosts.

[Illustration: 088]

Plate IX.--PICUS PUBESCENS, Linaeus.--Downy Woodpecker.

|The Downy Woodpecker, or Lessee Sapsucker as it is called byway of

distinction, is a resident rather than a migratory species, and is known

to breed wherever it is found. Its area of distribution extends from

Lower Louisiana to Labrador, and from Texas northward through New Mexico

and the Indian Territory to the 58° of latitude. It is also quite common

in the maritime parts of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands excepted. Although

abundant east of the Rocky Mountains, and rather more numerous than its

nearest kin, the Larger Sapsucker, yet, owing to the smallness of its

size, it is not so well known outside of cultivated districts.

In the autumnal and winter months, these birds lead solitary lives. Go

where we will, then, we may here and there behold isolated individuals

busily probing the fissured bark of trees for the eggs and pupa of

insects. Even the mature forms meet with the same cruel treatment.

Though rarely observed in cultivated districts during these times, yet

a visit to the woods will reveal many a little fellow in dappled dress

arrayed, with or without a crown of red, wending his slow and labored

flight from tree to tree, or waking the clear echoes of rock and shady

glen with his shrill music and weird drumming.

But when balmy Spring returns, and releases the earth from the icy

fetters of the winter-god, and peoples our shade and fruit trees with

countless insect existences, then quits he the wild forest scenery, in

a measure, and betakes himself to our lawns and orchards. This is not

always the case. For in those lands where civilization has not planted,

but where Nature still reigns in her pristine glory, lie is the same

changeless creature as when first he greeted the vision of man.

'Tis now the social forces, freed from the frozen bonds of winter,

rejoice in new vitality. The sexes no longer shun each other as before,

but mingle in the most friendly manner. The male is the first to show

symptoms of change. He pursues his predatory exploits with less of his

characteristic zeal, and seeks to attract the attention of the gentler

sex. With this object in view, he arranges his toilet with scrupulous

nicety, and then goes forth to parade his beauties and grace before a

bevy of idle, listless females. Ever and anon, he varies his occupation,

by the rendition of a song. But his auditors seem either incapable of

appreciating his efforts to please, or else are too much concerned with

other matters to pay any real attention thereto.

Our little hero, not to be baffled, keeps up his courage, and with a

patience truly praiseworthy, continues his suit, till at last he reaches

the ear of some simple-minded female, when he pours forth, with all the

resistless eloquence of his being, the short but pleasing narrative of

his love.

Should his affection be requited as it deserves, the happy lovers,

without further ado, hie themselves away to sunny field or shady grove,

to enjoy a brief honey-moon, preparatory to entering upon the trying and

responsible duties of wedded life.

The getting of a wife is not always so easily accomplished. It is

generally attended with many trials and vicissitudes of fortune.

Sometimes when success seems ready to crown the efforts of an actor in

this part of life's drama, a rival comes upon the scene, and claims

the attention of the wooed. The most ridiculous antics now ensue, and

continue for hours together. The female becomes the most whimsical of

creatures, lavishing her caresses first upon one, and then upon the

other of her suitors. The jealousy of the contesting males now knows no

bounds, and only vents itself in long and fierce encounters. The female,

at last, comes to the rescue, desists from her meaningless flirtation,

and bestows the jewel of her affections upon her first lover. The combat

ceases, and the participants separate.

Occasionally, several pairs will meet by chance upon the same tree,

when similar scenes will be enacted by the jolly females, much to the

vexation of their respective suitors. These farces have been known to

last for nearly a week, but they seldom continue for a longer period

than two days.

Mating having taken place, which is usually the case during the

first week of May, never earlier except when the season is remarkably

advanced, the birds make ample amends for the time thus seemingly

frittered away, by the perseverance and diligence with which they

ransack the orchards and groves for a suitable tree in which to excavate

a nest.

The selection of a site is a matter of no little importance, the greater

part of a week being consumed in making the necessary reconnoissances.

These explorations commence early in the morning, and continue with but

few interruptions until the close of the day. They are never performed

singly, but always in pairs. One feature thereof strikes us as

peculiarly interesting, and as deserving of mention. It is the perfect

harmony and good-will which then prevail.

If a situation is discovered by one of the parties which is apparently

suitable, a conference is called, and the various advantages thereof

discussed. If mutually agreeable, further examinations cease, and

building operations are begun. In cultivated grounds, a decayed branch

of the apple or cherry is chosen for this purpose; but in more retired

situations, the maple, ash, elm or tulip-tree is given the preference.

In the Southern States, nest-building commences about the middle of

April; in the Middle Atlantic, seldom later than the fifteenth of May;

in New England, from the fifteenth of May to the tenth of June; and in

the extreme northerly portions of its habitat, about the fifteenth of

the latter month.

All things being in readiness, the male is the first to commence

operations. Stationing himself upon the spot which is to constitute the

doorway to his home, with claws imbedded in the wood to prevent from

falling, he digs the bark away in the form of a semi-circle. Then

reversing his position, he goes through the same difficult but trying

task, his little bill his only implement of execution, until he has

wrought a perfect circle. Continuing the labor, he delves away into the

soft or hardened interior, like a veritable Trojan, until an inch or

more of the wood has yielded to the blows of his small but powerful

chisel. Tired, at last, he resigns the work to his companion, and

settles himself upon a branch close-by to rest. Having recuperated his

exhausted energies, he starts off in quest of food, but to return in the

course of a half-hour to the relief of the female. Thus the work goes

on, day after day, with an industry and patience truly commendable,

until success crowns the undertaking.

The opening to the chamber is perfectly circular, and quite as accurate

as a skilful mechanic could make it with compasses. The cavity is first

directed downwards at an angle of forty degrees, for the space of five

inches, when it takes a perdendicular course for nearly ten inches

further, widening perceptibly at the bottom. Such is the capacity of

the latter that the sitting-bird is able to turn around therein with

considerable ease, but the external orifice is just large enough to

admit the bodies of herself and partner.

Few species are more careful to direct attention from the scene of their

labors than the subjects of our sketch. The chips produced during the

work of excavation are usually carried to some distance, so as to remove

all traces that might lead to detection. But howsoever clandestinely

they may act, and whatever precaution they may exercise, their home

does not always escape the keen eye of the experienced oologist, or the

sharpness and sagacity of the mischievous and insinuating little House

Wren--one of the most annoying enemies with which it has to contend.

Wilson gives an interesting account of the impudent coolness of this

bird, who coveting the neatly built home of this Woodpecker, and

powerless to construct such an apartment for herself, waits until

the Wookpeckers have finished their work, when she attacks them with

violence, and expels them from the nest which they have prepared with

so much pains. Another example is mentioned by the same distinguished

authority. In this instance, the Woodpeckers had commenced the work of

excavation in a cherry-tree, within a few yards of the house in which

he lived, and had made considerable progress, when they were assailed by

the Wrens, and compelled to withdraw. They then began a second nest in

a pear-tree, a few yards off' when after digging out a most complete

chamber, and laying one egg, they were once more attacked by the same

impertinent intruder, and finally forced to desert the place.

Having constructed their home, which is usually the work of a week,

the female, after a day of recreation and rest, begins the labor of

oviposition.

This continues for four or six days, the time being regulated by the

number of eggs which is to constitute a setting, but a single egg being

deposited daily. Incubation now follows, and is the exclusive task of

the female for nearly twelve days. The male, although he takes no

direct part in this business, is an important factor in the successful

accomplishment of the undertaking, as he, like an affectionate and

dutiful husband, supplies her with the necessary food. When not thus

occupied, he may be seen foraging the fields and woods, or perched upon

a twig in the calm enjoyment of ease and sober thought, He is seldom to

be observed in the immediate vicinity of the nest, save when carrying

food to his mate, or in times of great calamity. It has been affirmed by

Mr. Paine, of Randolph, Vermont, that the male occasionally constructs

a hole for himself close-by that of his mate, as he has taken males in

such apartments which were always unoccupied by eggs. He thinks that

they repair thither for shelter. Careful explorations for several years

have failed to show us that any such protection is practised in the

Middle States, nor do we find any record to substantiate this statement.

The young, when first hatched, are very helpless creatures, and require

the greatest care and attention from parental hands, so to speak.

Caterpillars, small moths, aphides and beetles constitute the bulk of

their fare, from the time they leave the egg until they are four weeks

old, when they quit the nest, to be instructed in the ways of the

outside world. For a fortnight the young birds rove in company, but

finally separate, each bird leading the life of a recluse.

The eggs of this species are nearly spherical, of a crystalline

whiteness, and measure .82 of an inch in length, and .71 in width.

Specimens from Eastern Texas and Southern Michigan differ but little,

if any, from others obtainable in New England and the Middle sections of

our country. In the Plate the eggs are shown in position, the wood being

cut away over the bottom of the chamber, to produce this result. The egg

in front, as well as the birds upon the branch, are three-fourths of the

natural size. The remaining eggs are in part concealed, and do not

show so fully. In the southern and middle portions of the range of this

Woodpecker, two broods are annually raised, one in June, and the other

in August, but further north seldom more than one.

[Illustration: 096]

Plate X.--VIREOSYLVIA OLIVACEUS, Bonaparte.--Red-eyed Vireo.

|The Red-eyed Vireo is quite an abundant species throughout Eastern

North America, ranging from Florida in a northeasterly direction to Nova

Scotia, thence northwesterly to Lake Winnipeg and Washington Territory,

and westerly to Ogden, Utah. Accidental specimens have been procured in

Greenland and England, but never more than a single individual in each

locality.

Many of these birds winter in Florida, and as specimens have been met

with in Central America, Cuba, Trinidad, and on the Isthmus of Panama,

it is highly probable that many betake themselves thither when the

period of breeding is over in their northern homes.

Early in March the latter enter the United States, possibly by way of

Texas and Florida, and wend their movements northward, reaching the

Middle States late in April; the New England, about the middle of May;

and the extreme northwest, a fortnight later.

Like all of its peculiar and characteristic genus, this species affects

a fondness for forests, or the summits of tall trees, but seldom

ventures upon the ground. It is, however, not wholly sylvan. At times

it may be found around dwellings, or along the shaded streets of

rural towns, in quest of the various insects which contribute to its

sustenance.

As it gleans among the tree-tops, the simple, pleasing and musical notes

of the male may be heard at somewhat regular intervals. So unsuspicious

and familiar is he then, that passers-by may come and go, and their

presence be unheeded.

During the hot and sultry hours of noon when other songsters have ceased

their warblings and foraging, and have slunk to the refreshing shades

for comfort and security, our little friend continues to pour forth

in loud, sonorous notes his peculiar

_te-te-tu'eah-we-ah-tweah-tweah-tweet_. Being the earliest of our vernal

choristers, he is also the most constant and untiring, and continues

to sing throughout the entire season. Even when about to depart for the

smiling scenes of his southern home, he thrills the air of woodland and

valley with impassioned song.

His tender and pathetic utterances, which resemble the melodious notes

of the Robin, but lacking their volume and power, are produced with so

much apparent animation, judging from their sound, as to be in striking;

contrast to the seeming indifference or unconsciousness of the plain

little vocalist who, while regaling the listener, appears all the while

to be bent upon the procurement of his daily food, which he pursues with

great ardor. But with the female the case is different. Although quite

as active a feeder as the male, yet there is apparent none of that

bustle and noise which characterize his movements. Her chief concern

seems to be the satisfaction of hunger, and a studious avoidance of the

male.

But as the days multiply, and insect life becomes more common, which is

generally the case about two weeks after their arrival, less anxiety

is felt on account of food; consequently, more time is left for the

development and play of the social forces. The sexes now begin to

manifest less reserve and coolness, and instead of shunning each other,

as was their wont, are brought more and more into friendly intercourse.

A week or ten days later, and the way is paved for the assumption of

matrimonial relations. In this movement, the male takes the lead. The

female, somewhat coy, at first listens to the wooings of her suitor at a

wary distance, but as time progresses, soon learns to regard him in the

light of a lover, throws off her restraint, and confidently advances

to receive his caresses. And thus events follow each other in rapid

succession until a union is effected.

Having mated, the happy pair, with no more delay than is absolutely

necessary, start off together in search of a nesting-place. This is a

matter that is easily accomplished, as almost any forest-tree of small

or medium height, answers the purpose. In some situations, the beech,

maple, sassafras and common laurel are in special demand. Why this is

so, it is impossible to divine.

High woods, with an abundance of small trees, are generally chosen.

Here, the nests are not often placed higher than five or six feet above

the ground. Sometimes, though rarely, they are found swinging from a

pendent bough, more than fifty feet high. Nidification seldom occurs in

compactly-built cities. Never more than a single instance has ever been

observed by us. This happened in the summer of 1876.

A site being chosen, building at once commences. This occurs in the

Middle States between the twelfth of May and the fifteenth of June;

in New England, about the first of the latter month; in Texas and

Louisiana, somewhat earlier; and in Nova Scotia, a trifle later. At Fort

Resolution, at the Cumberland House, and at Fort Simpson, nests and eggs

have been taken, but we are left in ignorance as to the time.