Notes from Field and Study 



141 



the female. I did not have to wait long 

 for what I wanted to see, for about 

 May 10, I noticed the female carrying 

 .bits of paper, dead leaves, and wool into 

 a tree close by. The nest was placed out 

 on a limb about 12 feet high and within 

 5 feet of an upstairs window. There were 

 all kinds of noise from the looms and warp 

 machines in the weave-room, but it 

 didn't seem to bother the birds a bit. The 

 nest was made up of paper, wool, and 

 leaves for the bottom, then some sticks, 

 and some mud for the inside and finally 

 finished with rootlets for the lining. 



The female seemed to do all the nest- 

 building while the male sang to her and 

 sometimes would fly with her to the nest 

 just as if to see how she was getting on 

 with her work. Within a week I noticed 

 the female stayed on the nest most of the 

 time. Knowing that incubation must 

 have commenced, I watched my oppor- 

 tunity to peep in the nest. She did not 

 fly off the nest until I almost touched her. 

 With a loud pit pit she called for her mate. 

 They both scolded me until I left. The 

 female returned to her nest immediately. 

 In the nest were three eggs about the color 

 of Robins' eggs but not quite as large. 



I patiently waited for the young to 

 arrive and about June i the nest contained 

 two young. Both parents seemed to feed 

 the young but one always stayed at the 

 nest until the other returned. The young 

 grew fast and left the nest before the 

 middle of June. They were pretty little 

 fellows with their brownish backs and 

 whitish underparts. The male seemed to 

 do all the feeding after the young left the 

 nest. Within three days after that I 

 noticed the female carrying paper, wool, 

 and leaves as before. I watched her and 

 noticed that she was building another nest 

 in a maple tree about 50 feet from the 

 first and about the same height from the 

 ground. This nest was about 30 feet from 

 the building and well out to the edge of the 

 tree. I do not know how many eggs were 

 laid this time, as I never had a chance to 

 look in the nest. 



While the male was busy with the first 

 young the female was brooding the eggs 



for the second ofi'spring. I didn't see the 

 first two young after July 10. They were 

 full grown at that time and looked almost 

 like their parents. They left the lawn then 

 and I suppose went out in the world with 

 others of their kind. The second brood 

 were hatched about July 15 and left the 

 nest July 26. This time there were two 

 young again. They did about the same as 

 the first, the male doing the feeding. 



About a week ago one of the young flew 

 through an open window direct to the 

 shipping-room. The shipping clerk, who 

 is also a bird-lover, caught him and put 

 him back with his parents. 



Yesterday, August 7, when I last saw 

 them, they were getting pretty well grown, 

 and I think they will also soon leave. 

 The female has not been seen for the last 

 week, but the male is taking good care of 

 the young. 



I hope all these Thrushes land safely 

 through their migrations. I will be glad 

 to see them return again next spring for 

 these birds have given me much pleasure. 

 — Frank Harbaum, Hamilton, Ohio. 



More About the Song of the Red- 

 eyed Vireo 



In the September-October, 1920. issue 

 of Bird-Lore I had a few notes concern- 

 ing the ability of a certain Red-eyed Vireo 

 to mimic the call of the Crested Flycatcher. 



Since its publication I have received an 

 interesting letter from Mr. Winsor M. 

 Tyler, of Lexington, Mass.; and as he gives 

 me leave to quote his observations, and 

 suggests I send further notes on the sub- 

 ject to Bird-Lore, I wish to add the 

 following extract from his letter: 



"I also have heard a singing Red-eyed 

 Vireo interpolate the note of the Crested 

 Flycatcher and Mr. Walter Faxon spoke 

 to me once of another Red-eye which did 

 the same. From these three observations, 

 two made in Massachusetts and one in 

 Ohio, we must infer (must we not?) that 

 the introduction of this seemingly foreign 

 note is a habit of the species, although the 

 note is rarely heard, rather than a pecu- 

 liarity of an individual bird. 



