20 



THE DOLOGIST. 



torn lauds. Here, iullie willow swamps, 

 wheieadecayed, water soaked stumps 

 ure scattered thickly here and there 

 amoug the willows, you will make the 

 iie(]uaiiitance of the Prothonotary. 



In the breeding season, the usual song 

 of the male bird can be heai'd from 

 early morn until dark. It is very 

 pleasing to the ear and much resembles, 

 at a distance, the notes of a Solitary 

 Sandpiper, but a description would be 

 useless. 



The males are very pugnacious at 

 this season and tierce encounters fre- 

 quently take place. I have often seen 

 two bright little felhnvs fall into the 

 water, while fighting in mid air, but 

 dart off in opposite directions like two 

 golden meteors. 



The great quantities of drift-wood 

 tloating in the stagnant water among 

 the trees, contain myriad of insects up- 

 on which these birds feed. Here, one 

 can see tiiem, hoi)ping from log to log, 

 feeding on an insect there or pulling 

 some unfortunate spider from a crevice 

 here, and occasionally running up the 

 sides of a stump in the manner of a 

 creeper. The male is a venturesome, 

 little fellow, and, while the female is 

 sitting, explores every nook and crevice 

 in the viciuity, sometimes being (piite 

 surprised at meeting one of his tribe in 

 u hole that he is about to enter. I, 

 at one time, saw a male clinging to an 

 old mossy .stump and the contrast of 

 colors was beautiful. 

 Soon after their arrival from the south, 

 mating begins and the two little lovers, 

 after wandering ana exploring, select 

 some cavity in a water soaked stump 

 for Iheir domicile. 



The stump selected, is generally a 

 short one, and, in nearly all cases, 

 cither standing in or projecting over 

 the water. I have found stumps, con- 

 taining nests, oil dry ground, but in 

 these cases, the nests being built at 

 Mgh water, wliicli, receding left the 

 stumps high and dry. The heights of 



the holes and stumps vary from one to 

 fifteen feet, the latter being rare. The 

 average height is about three feet above 

 the water. 



The cavity is tilled with materials, 

 gathered close at hand, within two or 

 three inches of the entrance. These 

 matei'ials differ considerably i'l some 

 nests, but an average nest is built of 

 bark strips, dried grass, dead leaves 

 and moss. Some have an addition of 

 tiberous roots, stems and hair, while 

 others lack the moss. The cavity of 

 the nest is neatly roumled, measuring 

 about two inclies in diameter by one 

 and a half iu dejilli. A few iiesls out 

 of the ordinary line are worth de- 

 scribing. 



Probably the most handsome nest 

 was found in a large, rotten, water 

 soaked cavity, within a few inches of 

 the water. The materials were entire- 

 ly of bright green moss, kept fresh by 

 its damp situation. This nest tilled 

 with its speckled eggs and the golden 

 yellow birds, will long be retained in 

 the memory of the writer. ^ One nest 

 was constructed partly of snake skins, 

 inadeep bowl-like hollow, on" the top 

 of a stump, I found a nest, and also 

 one in an old woodpecker's hole ai^out 

 twenty feet above the water in a solid 

 dead tree. T have never found a nest 

 in an out building as has been described 

 by some. 



The eggs of this wail)ler are exquisite. 

 Very little idea can be obtained, from 

 a few eggs, of the vast variation in 

 color, size and shape, The average egg 

 is of a glossy, creamy white, blotched, 

 spotted and speckled with a rich chest- 

 nut red. Some do not show the gloss 

 and generally have only a few shell 

 markings. Olheis are more of a buff" 

 shade, while some are so thickly cover- 

 ed with markings as to completely ob- 

 scure the ground color. Lilac mark- 

 ings are frequent. Some of my finest 

 eggs are clear white, ver^' glossy, and 



