THE OOLOGIST 



183 



No. 65 — Nest and Eggs of American Coot. 



— Photo by Alex Walker of Armour, S. 



D. 



Nesting of the White Throated 

 Sparrow. 



The White Throated Sparrow is a 

 common breeder in this locality, the 

 nesting season extending from May 

 20th to August 15th. During this per- 

 iod fresh sets can be taken at any 

 time, it having been definitely ascer- 

 tained that the bird lays second sets. 

 The first week in June appears to be 

 the best time for the first laying and 

 about June 15th for fresh sets of the 

 second. The earliest nest was found 

 on May 22nd. 1910, with four eggs and 

 the latest on August 1st, 1909, with 

 three fresh eggs. 



As is well known the W. T. Spar- 

 row spends the summer mostly in 

 lowlying evergreen woods — openings, 

 "lanes," or glades in damp cedar 



wocds being the favorite haunts of 

 the species when nesting season sets 

 in. In old winter wagon roads in 

 these woods, where the grass is long 

 and plants and vines of various ord- 

 ers are strewn about on the ground, 

 one is almost sure to locate a nest of 

 this beautiful sparrow. The majority 

 of the nests are usually placed on the 

 ground or on grassy mounds in small 

 oijenings or clearings: others are plac- 

 ed a foot or two up in coniferous 

 bushes or in old brush heaps. If the 

 bird is en the nest, she generally sits 

 close until you are upon her and then 

 you find the nest snugly placed and 

 heavily built of moss, dead wood, bark, 

 skeleton leaves, rootlets, etc., and 

 lined with fine grasses and a few 

 hairs. This appears to be the usual 



