JOURNAL OF MAINK ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 31 



ing the nest, the bird came up on the other side of the young and 

 remained for a few minutes facing in the same direction as the nest 

 lings, then flew directly from the nest. After the nest was vacated, 

 I found that the lining and soft wood beneath was full of large grubs. 

 I think that the bird was removing these from the nest, as the young 

 Titmice were very restless before the old bird cleansed the nest, but 

 afterward settled down for a nap. 



That evening the most precocious nestling was still in the tree 

 above the stump. As it was cold and damp and the bird within 

 arm's reach, I attempted to return it to the nest. Twice it escaped 

 from me with a hiss. The third time I succeeded in bringing it to 

 the nest-side. It immediately turned as if in disgust, and, seemingly 

 choosing the lesser of two evils, hopped to my finger. Its claws 

 were so sharp it was painful to have the mite grasp my finger so 

 firmly. I put it in the nest again, but it scrambled like a flash up 

 the piece of loose bark into a dead tree. After resting and feeding 

 twice, it ran up an almost branchless trunk, flew to another naked 

 trunk and ran up that to the thick branches above. When it es- 

 caped from me the second time, it flew easily from twelve to fifteen 

 feet. 



The morning of June 30, the rain fell in sheets, but I put on 

 overshoes, and, taking an umbrella, hurried to the woods. The nest 

 was empty but dry. The young birds were chirping in the treetops, 

 and the old birds were feeding them. I regretted that they had 

 such a wet day on which to celebrate their fifteenth birthday, but 

 they seemed strong, happy and hungry. 



I turned over the lining of the nest. It was three inches deep 

 and contained plant down, rabbit's hair and moss. It was literally 

 permeated with grubs one-half inch long by one-eighth to one-fourth 

 of an inch in diameter. The odor of the nest this damp morning 

 was most offensive. I have found this to be true of five other nests 

 I have examined. The gray birch stump was excavated to the 

 depth of twelve inches. The stump was three inches in diameter. 

 A vertical section of the nest would represent a hollow cylinder with 

 rounded base. (Fig. 1.) 



