April 1888.] 



AOTD OOLOGIST. 



63 



inj;, 1 heard a poouliar noise quite near, and on 

 looking around was astonished to see a Tufted 

 Tit in the niidillc of Ilic room holding a liall 

 of cruni])led writing paper. Observing my 

 movement he dropped it, but tooli it up again 

 and carried it out of tlie win(iow. 



Early Breeding of the Carolina 

 Wren near Philadelphia. 



HV I. S. HI.IIF. 



On the first day of May, 1S80, when ou a col- 

 lecting trip, wliile walking along the bank of 

 a small stream, I saw a Carolina Wren {Thrijo- 

 Ihorus ludorii-iaiiiix), on a small sapling, singing 

 in such a joyous manner as to proclaim to the 

 world that tlie l)eautiful Spring liad cotue once 

 again. Not liaving a good .sjiecimen of this 

 species in my collection, I shot the bird under 

 the impulse of the moment, and a fine male 

 was ray reward. Hut. soon my joy was turned 

 to grief, for 1 found tliat I had ruthlessly shot 

 the father of a large family, and for many days 

 1 was sorry my old gun had carried so true to 

 its mark. 



In order to obtain the bird, 1 was compelled 

 to cross the stream to the side where it lay, and 

 the bank was about five feet high. When 

 about half way up, imagine my surprise to he.-ir 

 a sound I knew at once was made by none 

 orher than young birds. I stopped and tried 

 to locate it, hut before doing so it had ceased. 

 Making a slight noise with my foot it was re- 

 peated and this time I was more fortunate, and 

 found it came from under a piece of sod that 

 had become detached from the top of the bank 

 and lodged in such a way as to form a cave-like 

 apartment, only two feet from where 1 was 

 standing, and a little higher up the bank. 



Dropping on my knees I looked under the 

 sod, and vvas \cry much astonished when my 

 eyes rested u|iou the nest of this species, con- 

 taining six young birds fully fledged and not 

 less than two weeks old. .\fter mj' amazement 

 liad somewhat abated, I felt in the nest tliiidi- 

 irig there might be an addled egg; but when 

 my finger touched it the six youngsters Hew 

 rapidly away, showing, though so young, they 

 knew how to use their littli' wings. 



I then went to the dead male, picked him up 

 and packed him carefully in my bag, feeling 

 very sorry for what I had so thoughtlessly 

 done. In the meantime, the female was busy 

 gathering her fatherless family, and after she 

 took them a short distance down the stream. I 



returned and examined the nest. On lifting it 

 carefully, I found it was placed in a small cav- 

 ity in the baidi, about two inches deep and four 

 inches in diameter, which must have been part- 

 ly, if not all excavated by the parent birds. 

 The bottom and sides of the nest were very 

 thick, juaking a warm and comfortable bed for 

 the young birds, and the edge projected about 

 an inch above the cavity, making the depth 

 about three inches in all. .Mtbough having 

 a northern exposure, it was securely pro- 

 tected against wind anil sloian. 



I consider this a rare case of early breeding 

 in tbi< localily, tor .illowing a week for n<'st 

 building, another wc^ek for laying the eggs, 

 eleven days for incubation, and stating the age 

 of the young birds at two weeks, this pair of 

 birds must b.ave cOEumenciMl building on the 

 twenty-fifth of March. 



On May 1.5 of the same year, I fomnl ,i nest 

 placed in a stone wall containing young birds 

 not more than two days old. I hope other col- 

 lectors will give the readers of the O. A O. 

 their experience of the early breeding habits of 

 this species in its northern and eastern habitat. 



A Bald Eagle's Nest. 



HY WAl.TEK HOXIE, FKOIiMORK, S. C. 



During the past year I had a good o|iportun- 

 ity of watching a pair of Bald Ealges {IlaUceatus 

 leuc(icephahts) , constructing their nest. In the 

 latter part of December they began to repair an 

 old nest in the top of a dead pine tree, near the 

 beach on Pritchard's Island. 



Very near this spot is a favorite camping 

 ground for fishermen and hunters. The beach 

 is rapidl.y wearing away through tln^ action of 

 the tide and waves. Also, as 1 have said, the 

 tree is a dead one, and thus likely to succumb 

 to a gale of wind at any time. One or the 

 other — perhaps a combination of all three 

 causes — induced the birds to leave this spot be- 

 fore the repairs were completed. 



Their new location was about a mile farther 

 down the beach, in a monst(U' pine tree, aViout 

 fifty yards back in the woods. Here, for three 

 days, the temale worked steadily forming the 

 foundation for a new nest. The first site 

 chosen, on the north side of the tree, did not 

 seem to suit her, and she removed the already 

 half completed platform of sticks lo what 

 seemed a much less secure crotch on the south- 

 west side. In the removal of the materials the 

 male assisted, but it looked to me as if his ef- 



