78 JOURNAL OF MAINK ORNITHOLOGICAL vSOCIETY. 



went out to the unfortunate ones. It suddenly occurred to me that 

 if I put up a board under my camp piazza the Ijirds might be in- 

 duced to build again. vSo I secured one about six feet long and 

 three inches wide and nailed it across to the floor timbers. This 

 gave them several selections for a home in the several corners. 

 Imagine my delight on reaching there two weeks later, June 24th, 

 to find the birds had built home, No. 3, on this board. The nest 

 contained five eggs. A week later five birds had hatched and the 

 parents were very busy supplying the wants of their hungry family. 

 This last nest was much smaller than any I have ever seen. July 

 8th the birds were well-grown. July 15th two birds were in the 

 nest, two just outside. The fifth, I think, was in a young growth 

 of oak and maple, quite near, as the parent birds were making con- 

 stant visits there, although after diligent search, I failed to find it. 

 At night all were out of the nest and fully a quarter of a mile from 

 their old home. 



Louis E. IvEGGE. 

 Portland, August 20, 1906. 



Swallows in Portland. — I recently came across a date in 

 my diary, which perhaps you may like to jot down in your notes. 

 June 16, 1872, Swallows built their nests under the eaves of what 

 was then the store of Woodman, True & Co., now^ the store of Cook, 

 Everett & Pennell, on Middle street. That year, or before, or after 

 (I haven't found this), they also built under the eaves of the Port- 

 land Savings Bank. My memory is that they staid several years at 

 the Woodman, True & Co. store, but only one at the Savings Bank. 



John M. Gould. 

 Portland, July 23, 1906. 



Insect Plating Habits of the House Sparrow {Passer 

 doiiieslicus). — The morning of July 5, 1906, I noticed a flock of 

 PvUglish Sparrows clambering over stalks of Aster cordifoUus, on 

 the grounds of the Portland Society of Natural History. The leaves 

 of the aster had been infested with insects, which had rolled the 

 leaves in bunches, several leaves in a single bunch. The birds 



