60 Observations on the Co'w Bunting 



noted, that the state of the atmosphere invariably affects the 

 conduct of the bird, not only in relation to the eggs, but also 

 to the young. If the weather be cool or humid, the parent 

 is never absent from her nest longer than a few minutes at a 

 time; whereas, should the weather be clear and warm, the 

 absence of an hour would occasion no detriment to either eggs 

 or young. I have taken notice, that some birds continue to 

 cover their young, at night, until the latter leave the nest. 



The extraordinary power which eggs possess of retaining 

 vital heat appears to have been overlooked by all those natu- 

 ralists with whose works I am acquainted. It is generally 

 imagined, that, should an incubated egg be neglected until it 

 feels cold to the touch, its embryo would inevitably perish. 

 A writer in this Magazine, for June, 1835 [VIII. 331.], thus 

 expresses himself: — " Every one must know that, after the 

 vital action within an egg has once commenced, a very short 

 suspension of the necessary heat is siifficient to destroy the embryo" 

 What the respectable writer above quoted (Mr. Blyth) 

 means by necessary heat, I can only conjecture ; and his phrase- 

 ology induces me to say that his meaning is, the heat of the 

 brooding bird. Now, between vital heat, and the heat of the 

 brooding bird, there is this difference, that, although one is 

 radically derived from the other, yet the latter may be sus- 

 pended for a considerable period, without, in any essential 

 degree, counteracting the effects of the former. Let us not 

 forget the important part which the blood performs in the 

 maintenance of vital action, and this assertion will not be con- 

 sidered problematical. 



In confirmation of the foregoing opinion, I will relate the 

 following facts : — On the 5th of August, of the present year, 

 I discovered, in my wood, the nest of the chewick (Emberiza 

 erythrophthalma Wils.). Contrary to the ordinary practice of 

 this species, this nest was built, not on the ground, but on a 

 chestnut sucker, which lay on a fence, placed around a stump, 

 to protect it from injury. The nest contained three eggs, all 

 of which were so cold, that I concluded they had been aban- 

 doned. This was in the morning. In the afternoon of the 

 same day I again inspected the nest, and found the eggs still 

 cold, and no chewick in the vicinity. The next day rain pre- 

 vented me from visiting it ; and on the 7th I determined to 

 remove it; but I was astonished to find the female snugly 

 seated in it, betraying no signs of uneasiness, although I ap- 

 proached within a yard of her. On the 8th of August the 

 three eggs were hatched; and on the 17th the whole of the 

 young departed ! 



On the 29th of July, a song sparrow (ZfangiUa melodia 



