74 



THE OOLOGIST. 



set, two miles east, in a like man- 

 ner. With another companion, who 

 had a 22 calibre rifle, we went to 

 the cliff and fired at the holes until a 

 bird came out. This time I had to 

 climb 40 feet up a plain rope. 



Found 3 eggs. The birds flew 

 about as if they intended to attack 

 me but never got nearer than 6 feet 

 of me. 



I have been told that their strike 

 will knock a chicken 6 feet. They 

 do much damage to poultry. 



F. TRUESDALE. 



In North Carolina and Virginia. 

 (Parus carolinensis). 



With the exception of the higher 

 mountains, where they are partially 

 replaced by the Black-capped species, 

 Carolinensis is a common resident. 

 In the valleys they are common, and 

 on the lower portions of the higher 

 elevations they appear numerous. In 

 the low-lands and swamps, no matter 

 how dense; in the orchards, groves 

 and shade trees near the haunts of 

 man, and in his garden and yard; in 

 the high woods and hedges, and along 

 the borders of streams, and wherever 

 else we go, — they are sure to greet 

 lis with their pleasant notes of song 

 or quick, emphatic chick-a-dee. Should 

 we visit their haunts in winter we 

 note them in company with Titmice 

 and Kinglets, in bunches of from two 

 to six; but if our visit should be in 

 the spring or summer, quite a change 

 is noticed, for they are seen only in 

 pairs. If they are employed in ex- 

 cavating for the nest, or in building 

 it, or in feeding and caring for a 

 brood of young, how marked are their 

 energetic efforts to succeed. The 

 nesting season begins in the latter 

 part of March or first part of April 

 and continues until the middle of June, 

 or perhaps the first day of July. 



From two to three broods are rear- 



ed in a season. The second nest is 

 usually completed and the second set 

 deposited by the first of the third 

 week in May, or about six weeks la- 

 ter than the first, and sometimes a 

 third may be deposited about the last 

 of June, or about twelve weeks later 

 than the first. For the different lo- 

 calities the dates for the construction 

 of nests vary- In the more northern 

 and western sections they are about 

 two weeks later than in the south- 

 east, and in some of the higher por- 

 tions of Western Virginia they may 

 be three weeks later in the construc- 

 tion of the nest than in southeastern 

 North Carolina. A cavity dug in a 

 stump is the usual nesting site, or a 

 hollow tree may be chosen for the 

 purpose, but the majority are in cavi- 

 ties dug by the birds. Of nineteen 

 nests from which eggs were taken in 

 1898, seventeen were in cavities pro- 

 duced by the efforts of the birds. In 

 limbs protruding from fallen logs, 

 even when at an angle of several de- 

 grees, I have found nests with the 

 entrance to the cavity on the under 

 side . of the limb ; in protecting the 

 nest from the severe rain storms we 

 so frequently have in the early part 

 of April, the limb served its purpose 

 well. Repeatedly have I found them 

 nesting in solitary stumps standing 

 in fields and pastures where they 

 were regularly visited by people, and 

 on the hollows of orchard trees stand- 

 ing in the fields and gardens; in 

 stumps on the borders of streams over 

 the edge of the water, and in the 

 darkest depths of the swamps; in 

 the dark depths of the deep tangled 

 woods, and in the most pleasant 

 groves with their park-like scenery. 

 A stump that has been standing for 

 a while, and is yielding to the de- 

 caying of the hands of time, seems 

 to be the first choice for a site; from 

 it the bits of decayed wood are easily 

 picked, offering but little resistance 



