308 NOETII AMERICAN BIRDS. 



liarities of voice, manners, and habits than this very singular bird. It is 

 somewhat terrestrial in its life, frequenting tangled thickets of vines, briers, 

 and brambles, and keeping itself very carefully concealed. It is noisy and 

 vociferous, constantly changing its position and moving from place to place. 



It is not abundant north of Pennsyh'ania, where it arrives early in May 

 and leaves the last of August. The males are said always to arrive three or 

 four days before their mates. 



This species is described by Wilson as very much attached to certain 

 localities where they have once taken up their residence, apiDcaring very 

 jealou-s, and offended at the least intrusion. They scold vehemently at 

 every one who approaches or even passes by their places of retreat, giving 

 utterance to a great variety of odd and uncouth sounds. "Wilson states that 

 these sounds may be easily imitated, so as to deceive the bird itself, and to 

 draw it after one; the bird following repeating its cries, but never permit- 

 ting itself to be seen. Such responses he describes as constant and rapid, 

 and strongly expressive both of anger and anxiety, their voice, as it shifts, 

 unseen, from place to place, seeming to be more like that of a spirit than a 

 bird. These sounds Wilson comjiares to the whistling of the wings of a 

 duck, being repetitions of short notes, beginning loud and rapid, and fall- 

 ing lower and lower. Again a succession of other notes, said to closely 

 reseirdile (he barking of young pupjiies, is followed by a variety of hollow, 

 guttural sounds, each eight or ten times re])eated, at times rcsemliling the 

 mewing of a cat, only hoarser, — all <>[' ilies(!, as he states, uttered M'ith 

 great vehemence, in different keys and witli peculiar modulations, now as if 

 at a considerable distance, and the next moment as if close by your side ; 

 so that, by these tricks of ventriloquism, one is utterly at a loss to ascertain 

 from what particular quarter they ])roceed. In mild weather this strange 

 melody of sounds is kept up througliout the night during the first of the 

 pairing-season, but ceases as soon as incubation commences. 



They construct their nest about the middle of May. These are placed 

 within a few feet of the ground, in the midst of low brambles, vines, and 

 bushes, generally in a tangled thicket. They build a rude but strongly woven 

 nest, the outer portions more loosely made of dry leaves ; within these are 

 interwoven thin strips of the l)ark of the wild grape, filjrous roots, and fine 

 dry grasses. 



The eggs, four or five in numl)er, are usually hatched out within twelve 

 days, and in aliout as many more the young are ready to leave their nest. 



While the female is sitting, and still more after the young are hatched, the 

 cries of the male are loud and incessant when his nest is approached. He 

 no longer seeks to conceal himself, but rises in the air, his legs dangling in a 

 j)eculiar manner, ascending and descending in sudden jerks that betray his 

 great irritation. 



The food of this bird consists chiefly of beetles and other insects, and 

 of different kinds of berries and small fruit, and it said to be especially fond 

 of wild strawberries. 



