OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 73 



peculiar cry which may be quite accurately ex- 

 pressed by the syllables krce-krcc-krcc-krc-cp, pro- 

 nounced sharply and hurriedly. Although a com- 

 mon winter resident, it does not remain long enough 

 in the spring to gladden us with a song. 



Its nest in more northern latitudes consists of a 

 loose aggregation of soft warm materials, such as 

 the fur of small animals, and feathers, with an in- 

 termingling of decayed w r ood, but with so little 

 consistency of form as to render removal without 

 violating the structure, utterly impossible; it is 

 placed in the deserted holes of the Woodpeckers, 

 and in the rotten stumps and branches of trees. 



The birds are strongly attached to their nest, and 

 are reluctant to leave it even when assailed by 

 human enemies. When rilled of their treasure, they 

 hover around the head of the delinquent, uttering 

 the most reproachful cries. Not a trace of timidity 

 is discoverable durinp- such times, but an exhibition 



o 



of the most reckless devotion. 



The eggs, when compared with the size of the 

 bird, are proportionally small. Tfcey are almost 

 oval in configuration, and display a sprinkling of 

 small minute reddish-brown spots upon a grayish- 

 white back-ground. They measure .55 by .43 of 

 an inch. 



Family Troglodytidae. // ^retis. 



This family embraces a number of forms ex- 

 ceedingly variable and difficult of precise definition. 

 They are intimately related to the last two fami- 



