94 



THE OOLOGIST 



which every hunter is accustomed to hear 

 in the wilderness. 



Progress with the raft was necessarily 

 slow, but this gave us ample opportunity 

 to examine the bushes for birds and nests. 

 Warblers of various and desirable species 

 were secured ; Flycatchers chased insects 

 through the air ; Woodpeckers rattled on 

 the tops of the adjacent dead trees, and as 

 if to complete a scene whose every aspect 

 was already charming, the Wood Thrush 

 and Veery, as if in mutual rivalry, poured 

 out their beautiful songs, which, re-echoing 

 and reverberating through the woods, lent 

 us an appreciation of the admirable dispo- 

 sition of nature which will never be forgot- 

 ten. Almost every bend in the stream 

 seemed to reveal new birds and furnish ad- 

 ditional material for study. Here we saw 

 the Black-and-Yellow Warbler, here a Red- 

 bellied Nuthatch, there a Yellow-bellied 

 Flycatcher ; while the hearty little song of 

 the Black-throated Blue Warbler seemed to 

 proceed from all quarters. The plaintive 

 note of some parent bird whose nest was 

 already the home of several little ones, and 

 the indignant cry of another protector vvei'e 

 among the incentives to careful search for 

 eggs, even though the season was well ad- 

 vanced. 



Our raft had been poled some distance, 

 when a nest was espied in the bushes on 

 our left, just above the water. It required 

 but a few moments to reach the place, but 

 with all the caution which it was possible 

 to use, the sitting bird must have been 

 frightened, for she evaded us. The nest 

 was that of a Thrush, and the eggs told 

 plainly that the species was the Olive-backed 

 or Svvainsou's. There were only three 

 eggs in the nest. Without disturbing ei- 

 ther eggs or nest, we retired and awaited 

 the return of the parent, and in half an hour's 

 patient quiescence succeded in obtaining the 

 female. Like many other smaller species, 

 she had uttered no note whatever, but had 

 glided noislessly from her nest upon our ap- 

 proach, only returning when assured of our 

 apparent harmlessness. The male bird was 

 heard singing in the trees a few paces from 



the nest. Being near the edge of the wa- 

 ter, and but four or five feet above it, the 

 nest was easily discovered ; but had we 

 been obliged to search for it without other 

 indication of its presence than some action 

 of the bird, we never should liave found it ; 

 the usual circumstances were reversed — 

 having found the nest, which surely inti- 

 mated that one parent was near by, we had 

 no difficulty in securing her. 



This nest was composed of rootlets, slen- 

 der and rather stiff grasses and bits of moss 

 in nearly equal proportions. The bed of 

 the nest, as well as the lining or interior 

 consisted mainly of dried leaves, some of 

 them skeletonized ; the edges were mostly 

 of fine, compact, hairy moss ; while, worked 

 in the outside and forming part of the main 

 structure were stems of various kinds. It 

 resembled a Cat Bird's nest more than those 

 of either Wood Thrush or Veery, for no 

 mud Vi^as used and but very few leaves, 

 while rootlets were a prominent material. 

 A horizontal position between three or four 

 slender twigs had been selected by the 

 builders, their nest settling into, and not 

 resting upon, the sprigs ; the support was 

 not strong, inasmuch as the bush itself in 

 which the nest was placed was frail, and 

 bent to the touch. The nest measured 2.5 

 and 4.5 inches in inside and outside diam- 

 eters, and 1.5 and 2.5 in inside and outside 

 depths, respectively ; its general aspect was 

 indicative of solidity, and it could easily be 

 lifted from its position without disintegra- 

 tion. 



The eggs were pale green, covered with 

 light brown spots, most of which, however, 

 were collected about the greater end ; in 

 shape they were like a Robin's egg — a 

 rather long ovoid ; their measurements were 

 about equal to those of a Baltimore Oriole's 

 or Cat Bird's egg. Though it was the lat- 

 ter half of July, the eggs had not been sat 

 upon more than two or three days at the 

 most, which pointed strongly toward the 

 probability of the clutch being a second 

 laying ; for by the first of the month, the 

 first brood of young would have become 

 competeut to take care of themselves, even 



