100 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-No. 7 



bank, iuu\ then the nest composed of leaf 

 stems, grass stems, weed stems, etc., is built 

 oil this and lined with finer material, the nest 

 exclusive of its foundation being not unlike 

 that of a Chat, the foundation, however, being 

 not infrequently nearly as large as the nest 

 proper. In this nest, which, like that of most 

 small birds takes about ten days building, and 

 which is usually sheltered from the weather by 

 the projecting bank above. The Louisiana 

 Wiiter Thrush lays her four or live eggs 

 provided no one looks at the nest or walks by 

 it in the branch; if that occurs she usually 

 forsakes the nest and starts another, one bird 

 this year having forsaken two successive nests 

 but I got a set of four from the third which 

 was found with eggs in. 



The natural date for fresh sets is from April 

 2Gth to Miiy 10th and only one brood is raised 

 in the year. Of course when the Louisiana 

 deserts her nest, or the first set is taken, she 

 builds another nest and so gives us sets of 

 eggs much later than the above dates; but 1 

 am convinced that unless the nest is deserted 

 or destroyed, the set is almost invariably 

 completed by May 7th, in fact I have found 

 hardset eggs on May 4th. 



Although the nest is built on the bank of a 

 small branch usually half a mile or so from its 

 mouth, yet one seldom sees the birds along the 

 branch, their feeding grounds being in the low 

 grounds of the creek or river into which it 

 flows sometimes nearly a mile away and there 

 the loud, vigorous song of the male may be 

 heard or the loud chirp of both sexes as they 

 run about in tiie mud or on the edge of pool 

 and stream looking for their grub in more 

 senses than one. 



The distribution of this bird may, perhaps, 

 be better understood when I say that for 

 some seven or eight miles from the mouth of 

 Walnut Creek up stream, I know of only seven 

 tributaries (branches) of Walnut Creek they 

 breed on and usually only one pair on each, 

 though on two occasions I have known two 

 pairs on a branch, yet every branch is not used 

 every year. 



The young appear in Jxine and July and 

 linger on into August sometimes, and I have 

 noticed that when the young are in good 

 feather the adults are usually moulting and 

 worthless as specimens. 



The Louisiana is more active and strong of 

 wing than tlie Common Water Thrush and to 

 my taste is better looking. Cynics say that is 

 because he is worth more. But there is no 

 doubt as to his superiority on one point, viz., 



his better taste in selecting his feeding 



grounds, he not being found in such awful 



thickets of mud and briers as his transient 



cousin delights to frequent. 



C. S. Brimley. 

 Raleigh, N. C. 



An Adventure. 



For nearly two weeks I had watched that 

 Fish Hawk's nest and I was detei mined to 

 have either the eggs or a pair of young 

 birdlets. 



At last the female began to set and at the 

 end of the usual time the eggs hatched and I 

 then was in a dilemma as to how long to wait 

 before capturing the young ones. Finally, 

 when I would see them stietch their necks 

 over the side of the nest, I decided not to 

 delay operations any longer for fear I should 

 lose my game. So one bright morning I 

 started out, minus the usual outfit of climbing 

 irons and rope for they would have been 

 useless. 



Tall, straight and without a twig for nearly 

 twenty-five feet, and then such a growth of 

 scrubby, gnarled and tangled branches as I 

 hope never to encounter again — such was the 

 tree that I was preparing to climb. After 

 half an hoiu's hard work and many trying 

 "backslides" I managed to grasp the lowest 

 branch and climb into the tangled mass of 

 small growth above nie. 



It took me one whole hour to reach the nest, 

 or rather to get underneath it, for as usual it 

 was placed on a rotten stub at the top of the 

 tree. Here the fun began; the female seeing 

 her offsjiring in danger and probably not 

 desiring them to go to increase my collection 

 of live specimens, began to cavort around my 

 head in a manner at once impressive and 

 astonishing. But I kejit on and at last, crouch- 

 ing directly under the nest, found a com- 

 fortable position and began to meditate on my 

 expected capture. 



Just at this juncture my thoughts were 

 interrupted by hearing a hoarse scream in the 

 distance and, looking, saw the male bird com- 

 ing as fast as his wings could carry him. The 

 female flew to meet him and together they 

 made a dash that nearly unseated me, so 1 

 started to get my birds. The nest was the 

 largest I have ever seen and stuck out on all 

 sides of me like a huge umbrella. 



Twisting my legs around the trunk, I worked 

 cautiously out under the edge of the nest, dig- 



