Notes from Field and Study 



457 



small stream, and even parts of the woods 

 tract tend to be swampy. On July 13, I 

 made my first acquaintance with the sub- 

 jects of my observation, a pair of Chest- 

 nut-sided Warblers, while following a path 

 through this woods. Two days later I 

 looked for them again and found them 

 both, but the female with an insect in her 

 mouth, and she, as well as the male, very 

 much disturbed at my intrusion. I con- 

 cluded then that they were evidently sum- 

 mer residents, and searched for a nest, 

 but could not find it. The next daj^ I 

 went again, determined to run the evi- 

 dence out to something definite, and was 

 fortunate enough to find the mother bird 

 feeding an almost fully fledged youngster, 

 one of three I was able to find, up in the 

 higher branches of a tree of considerable 

 size. Now the point of interest in this to 

 me is that I have never before known of 

 the Chestnut-sided Warbler breeding so 

 far south as the vicinity of Baltimore 

 cit)^ though it is common enough during 

 the migrations. Is not this a new nesting 

 record worth noting, since the records all 

 seem to locate the breeding birds so much 

 farther north, except in the mountains? 

 For, to be full in my report, I might add 

 that frequently afterward I saw the same 

 birds, often in company with White-eyed 

 Vireos, and once with a pair of Kentucky 

 Warblers that inhabited the same woods. 

 Chalmers S. Brumbaugh, Baltimore, 

 Md. 



Thrashers and Thrushes 



Are wild birds ever known to do freak- 

 ish, or unnatural performances? In other 

 words, is bird instinct so fallacious at 

 times as to lead them to play the game of 

 'make believe?' Where we live is mostly 

 a wooded place, with one corner of the 

 grounds used as a camp for cooking out- 

 door meals. In July of this year, while 

 sitting on the porch, at noon, my atten- 

 tion was attracted by a slight noise which 

 sounded like the faint patter of raindrops. 

 The sky being clear, I looked toward the 

 camp, a distance of about sixty feet. I 

 was surprised, indeed, to see a Brown 



Thrasher wallowing on a small table, 

 covered with white oil-cloth, free from 

 moisture (as I later ascertained), vigor- 

 ously shaking his plumage, ducking his 

 head, spreading his wings, engaged in all 

 the actions necessary for a bird-bath. 

 Having a time-piece in my hand, I noted 

 that he did this for nearly three minutes. 

 After wallowing over the whole surface of 

 the table, and shaking off imaginary 

 drops of water, he sat up, arranged his 

 feathers, and flew away. In a few days I 

 witnessed the same farcical dry-bath; 

 but I had no way of knowing whether it 

 was the same bird or not. I wish to 

 emphasize that, at that time, a small 

 stream of water was running through a 

 ravine, not a dozen feet away from the 

 dining-table. 



Repeatedly I have noticed a Brown 

 Thrasher taking a dust bath, seemingly, 

 in a small hollow he had made in a coarse 

 cinder-pile near our garden. 



x\round our home is a beautiful tract 

 of wooded land, made up of a few hills and 

 ravines, untouched as yet by real-estate 

 companies, an ideal nesting-place for 

 Wood Thrushes. This year I have heard 

 only one Wood Thrush singing, and it 

 was usually near a street occupied by 

 houses and with much travel. I have 

 observed many Brown Thrashers in the 

 wood, especially, several pairs that nested 

 near our house, which is pleasantly 

 isolated. The presence of Robins, 

 Cuckoos, Catbirds, Cardinals, Towhees, 

 they tolerated, but when a Wood Thrush 

 came in their vicinity, they began a mad 

 chatter, and a swift pursuit; even young 

 Wood Thrushes were made decidedly un- 

 welcome. I am wondering if the Thrashers 

 were instrumental in keeping out of these 

 several acres the charming Wood Thrushes, 

 except the nesting pair I mentioned. 



The much discussed cat-and-bird prob- 

 lem has been solved by a neighbor-friend 

 of ours, who owns a fine Persian. The 

 cat was severely punished for catching the 

 birds that were keeping house in the 

 shrubs and vines, but could not be per- 

 suaded that bird-murder was prohibited. 



