OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 75 



Remarkably imitative, the rattle of the Kingfisher, 

 the liveliness of the Tufted Titmouse, the refrain 

 of the Ground Robin, with the notes of the Grakles, 

 Meadow Lark, and Blue Bird, are produced with 



astomsning exactness. 



Nidification commences about the beginning of 

 June. Low swampy grounds ordinarily surround 

 the tree which marks the site of the nest. This 

 experience agrees with Audubon's. Instances 

 have been recorded of nests beincr built in close 



o 



proximity to human dwellings; butthese are, doubt- 

 less, exceptional occurrences. The cavity which is 

 occupied, measures five or six inches in depth; and 

 the entrance is just large enough to admit but one 

 bird at a time. The materials employed are leaves, 

 hay, grasses, horse-hair, and feathers, on the ex- 

 terior, with a warm and soft lining of hair and 



^> 



feathers. We have never known more than a sin- 

 gle brood to be reared in a season, although the 

 experience of others proves the species to be oc- 

 casionally triple-brooded. 



The fact that sequestered situations are chosen 

 for nidihcating-purposes, is not always proof that 

 a species is shy. Both before breeding and after 

 it, we have observed birds in retired situations, 

 and have not seen the least betrayal of timidity. 

 In primeval times, when dense forests and impene- 

 trable underbrush covered what is now arable 

 ground, there was no choice of locality; but since 

 their disappearance by the magic wand of civiliza- 

 tion, some have deserted their natural haunts for 



