334



Mr. Hubert D. Astley,



stantial home for their future family, and in June the female,

after placing some scanty material in a Canary nesting-box of

wood with perforated zinc at the bottom, laid two or three eggs,

which were broken. Therefore I found a Blackbird’s nest, which

I fixed securely into the artificial nesting-box, and the hen bird

at once took to it. As it was about nine feet up and close under

the ceiling I could not see what was going on, but in the middle

of June I found egg shells on the floor from which young birds

had evidently hatched. The shells were of a pale green blue

blotched and spotted with rufous umber, a broad belt of which

colour formed an unbroken ring round the stouter end.


Both the male and female took their regular turns in in¬

cubating and (later on) in brooding the young, a fact which is

borne out by Mr. C. O. Tracey {Ornithologist and Oologist, Vol. X.

p. 37) where writing from Vermont he says [see “ Foreign Birds

for Cage and Aviary,” Part I., p. 141, Butler]:—“The sexes

“arrive together. The male is at once conspicuous, both by his

“ beautiful plumage and melodious song. While essentially a

“ forest bird—and one must see and hear him in his forest home

“ to see his full beauty and hear him in his happiest song—they

“ often come into the orchard and shade-trees about our homes.

“Along the lightly timbered river banks and roadsides they

“find their favourite breeding places, but these must be at 110

“great distance from the more heavily timbered forest. The

“ forked top of a sapling is usually selected for a resting place.

“ Sometimes, however, the horizontal branch of a large forest

“ tree is chosen. The nest is a frail structure, made of fine dry

“twigs and a few grass or weed stalks. Sometimes only twigs

“ are used, and these are nearly always hemlock. It is seldom

“ less than eight or more than twenty feet from the ground. The

“ full complement of eggs is usually four, sometimes but three.

“ Dimensions vary from .1 by .75 to .90 by .70 of an inch : colour

“ greenish-blue, spotted with different shades of brown.


“ Both sexes incubate, the male performing his full share of

“ this important duty. My records show that where I have made

“observations in thirty-four cases, the nests were occupied by

“males twenty-three times and females eleven.”


I want to especially draw attention to these records of Mr.



