430 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 



of Maryland or Delaware, though, attracted by the great 

 river courses, they are abundant from Pittsburg to New Or- 

 leans. A few individuals stray, in the course of the spring, 

 as far as the line of New York, and appear in New Jersey 

 and the vicinity of Philadelphia early in the month of May. 

 On the 17th of April, returning from a Southern tour of 

 great extent, I again recognised my old and pleasing 

 acquaintance, by his usual note, near Chester on the Del- 

 aware, where, I have little doubt, a few remain and pass 

 the summer, retiring to the South only as the weather 

 becomes inclement. On the banks of the Patapsco near 

 Baltimore their song is still heard to the close of Novem- 

 ber. According to Audubon, the nest of this bird is 

 usually placed in a hole in some low and decayed tree, 

 or in a fence-post; sometimes also in a stable, barn, or 

 out-house. The materials employed are hay, dry grass, 

 and leaves, for the outer part ; with a lining of horse- 

 hair, or the capillary dry fibres of the Long-moss ( Tillan- 

 dsia). Sometimes the nest is 5 or 6 inches deep, but, 

 with the usual precaution of the family, so narrow in the 

 entrance as only to admit of one of the birds at a time. 

 The eggs, 5 to 8, are oval, and greyish-white, spotted 

 with reddish-brown. Like the common species, an in- 

 dividual (probably one of the young birds) has been 

 observed to roost for a time in an old Wood Thrush's 

 nest which had been filled with fallen leaves. They are 

 so prolific as to raise two, and sometimes three broods in 

 a season. 



Our bird has all the petulance, courage, industry, and 

 familiarity of his particular tribe. He delights to survey 

 the meanders of peaceful streams, and dwell amidst the 

 shady trees which adorn their banks. His choice seems 

 to convey a taste for the picturesque and beautiful in 

 nature, himself, in the fore-ground, forming one of the 



