LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE 135 



Two broods are usually raised, though in coastal South Carolina 

 there are often three in a season. It is interesting to note that Audu- 

 bon's (1842) account is contradictory in that he says in the early part 

 of his biography of the species that "loggerheads rear only one brood 

 in the season" and later, quoting Rev. John Bachman, that "this species 

 breeds twice in a season." The latter is the correct statement, apply- 

 ing to the greater part of the range. 



An example of what amounts to practically colony nesting of the 

 loggerhead is furnished by M. G. Vaiden, of Rosedale, j\'Iiss. He says 

 (MS.) that on April 9, 1937, he was driving near the site of the old 

 town of Concordia (Miss.) now inundated by the river. Along the 

 levee was a hedgerow of dwarf thorn bushes or small trees {Crataegus 

 uniflora), and shrikes were noted flying in and out of them. Careful 

 investigation revealed that nearly every tree held occupied nests, and 

 14 were found in 13 trees! Eight nests contained eggs; the others 

 were either just completed or still building. Eggs were found in them 

 a few days later. This is a remarkable observation, and the writer 

 has never heard it approached, but Mr. Vaidon says that he once saw 

 another similar instance. This was the finding of seven nests in thorn 

 trees along an unused road also in Mississippi. No two nests were 

 more than 60 feet apart, and it Avas not over 200 feet from the first to 

 the last nest in a straight line down the road. The writer has often 

 found two or three loggerhead nests in trees fairly close together, the 

 distance of a city block for instance, but never anything that would 

 justify an illustration of colony nesting. 



S. A. Grimes (1928) gives an interesting observation of communal 

 use of the same nest by loggerheads as follows : 



A nest about eight feet up in an oak, found March 15th, 1925, was built on a 

 thrasher nest of the preceding year. Revisiting this nest a week later, I was 

 much astonished to find seven eggs in it, and two broken eggs on the ground below. 

 The eggs were obviously not all laid by the same bird, for five were of a dark 

 ground color and minutely speckled with dark brown, whereas the set of four, 

 two of which were on the ground, were of a much lighter ground color * * * 

 and there were three solicitous Loggerheads berating me on all sides. This was 

 a plain case of avian bigamy. The nest was destroyed a night or two later, 

 apparently by someone's treacherous house cat. Within a day or two, the "pair" 

 began making a new nest fifteen feet up in a pine sapling * * *. On April 

 5th, this nest held five dark eggs and one light egg. Nine days later it contained 

 three light-colored eggs and only four of the dark variety, and in the grass beneath 

 were two of the less densely speckled eggs. This nest subsequently met the fate 

 of the first. At least nineteen eggs, but from them not one Loggerhead to enhance, 

 With futile loquacity and sprightliness, the attractiveness of a bit of shaded street 

 or tree-lined field. 



Efff/s. — [Author's note: The sets of ecrgs laid by the loggerhead 

 shrike may consist of four to six eggs, though four and five are prob- 

 ably commoner numbers than six. These are practically indistin- 

 guishable from those of other races of the species, which are well de- 



