92 The Wilson Bxtlletin — No. 79. 



A study of this table will show that on the first day, out 

 of a total of twelve times the nest was cleaned, the excreta 

 was devoured every time ; on the second day, June 24, seven 

 out of nine sacs were devoured; on the 26th only four out 

 of thirty-four were devoured; on the 27th, eight out of fifty- 

 six ; and on the 28th, one out of thirty-six. On the 29th, only 

 two birds were in the nest, and that .only for a short time. 

 This would seem to indicate that the period of devouring the 

 excreta came to an end on the 25th and 26th, for while on 

 the 27th the total number of sacs devoured was as large as 

 on the 24th, yet in proportion to the total it was much 

 smaller. It would seem then that about the eighth or ninth 

 day the old birds ceased devouring the excreta and com- 

 menced to carry it away. There were several occasions when 

 the sac broke in the bird's beak ; when this happened, the old 

 bird devoured the piece retained in the mouth, then picked up 

 the other and flew away with it. These were not counted in the 

 table relating to the dcAOuring of the excreta, as there was 

 no way of determining whether or not it would have been 

 devoured if it had not broken. When the excreta was car- 

 ried from the nest there were several distinct modes of pro- 

 cedure. Several times the parent bird flew to a branch in an 

 oak about twenty feet from the nest and then dropped the sac 

 after alighting; occasionally it was dropped just before the 

 perch was reached ; at other times it was carried to the perch 

 and then devoured, the beak being wiped on the limb after- 

 wards. While not imiversally true, the excreta was gener- 

 ally carried to one of three oak trees in the vicinity of the 

 nest and either devoured or dropped. An attempt was made 

 to determine whether there was any periodicity in the void- 

 ing of the excreta, but the results were not conclusive. The 

 intervals in each young bird varied. from two minutes to over 

 five hours in length, with a majority of intervals from one to 

 one and a quarter hours in duration. The four nestlings 

 seemed to get equal attention in this particular : Green was 

 attended 27 times ; White 38 times ; Blue 25 times ; and Or- 

 ange 22 times. White and Blue were in the nest about 



