142 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



two narrow white bands on wing, formed by the tips of the first and second cov- 

 erts, succeeded by one of brown ; the edge of the first primary, and of the second- 

 aries and tertials, white; tail rather lighter brown, edged externall}' like the back; 

 feathers narrow, not acuminate, with the ends rather blunt. In autumn, the white 

 parts are strongly tinged with j'ellow. 



Length, about five inches; wing, two and sixty-five one-hundredths; tail, two 

 and fifty one-hundredths. 



Hab. — Eastern United States to Missouri plains. 



This species arrives from the South usually about the 

 last week in April. The birds commence building about 

 the 20th or 2oth of May. The nest is placed usually in 

 a small fork of a limb of an apple-tree, in the orchard, and 

 often quite near the house : it is composed of soft, fine grass, 

 cobwebs, twine, cotton, — in fact, almost any thing that will 

 help to make a smooth, compact fabric : the interior is lined 

 with soft grass, bristles, fine roots, feathers, and wool. The 

 eggs are usually four in number, sometimes three, some- 

 times five : they are of a beautiful creamy-white color ; and 

 their form is nearly pyriform, being abruptly tapered to the 

 small end. Dimensions of a nest complement of four eggs, 

 taken at random from a large number, collected in different 

 parts of New England: .63 by .50 inch, .64 by .51 inch, 

 .61 by .53 inch, .60 by .53 inch. This species often breeds 

 twice in the season in New England. The period of incuba- 

 tion is thirteen days. 



This bird, being very abundantly distributed as a summer 

 resident throughout New England, is well known, and its 

 habits are familiar to all. It prefers the neighborhood of 

 civilization, and is most frequently found in orchards and 

 gardens. A pair once built in an apple-tree, immediately 

 beneath my chamber window, — so near that I could touch 

 the nest with a rod four feet in length. The nest was com- 

 menced on the 5th of June, and was finished by the 10th ; 

 both birds working in its construction. The female laid 

 four eggs in three days' time, and commenced sitting when 

 the fourth was laid. Both birds incubated, and the male 

 remained on the nest nearly as long as his mate. When he 



