190 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 81. 



day." One is pretty certain to be in sight on the topmost 

 twig' of one of the tallest trees pouring- forth his full-throated 

 joy. Perhaps one reason for our fondness for him is because 

 he seems so glad to get home, and another, because he makes 

 the yard his summer home in the fullest sense of the word; 

 there having been seasons when the Brown Thrasher has 

 been seen on the place every day from its arrival in the 

 spring until its departure in late September. 



Sometimes the male comes first, at other times the pair 

 arrive together, and the merry, rollicking spirit they show 

 suggests the home-coming of children from school ; but play 

 and song are of short duration, and the pair settle down to 

 the serious business of the summer season. One is forced 

 to admire the sane, broadminded views taken by the male 

 Brown Thrasher. He believes in and asserts his rights to 

 claim an equal share in the affairs of life. He does his half 

 in the building of the nest, in the incubation of the eggs, in 

 the brooding and feeding of the young, and caring for them 

 after leaving the nest. 



If it be true that actions speak louder than words, then 

 our Brown Thrashers are among the loudest speaking of 

 birds. Some of their first plain talk relates to the selection 

 of the nest site. As they slip in and out of a certain crotch 

 in some tree, .they have told us plainly on several occasions, 

 that this was their choice of nest site before a single twig 

 was laid; and to convince ourselves that we had judged 

 rightly we have visited the tree, and have been scolded 

 roundly for the intrusion by at least one of the Brown 

 Thrashers. The first nest is usually built before any foliage 

 appears on the trees, consequently the operations of nest- 

 building are as much in evidence as it is possible for them 

 to be. Often the nest is plainly visible until some time after 

 the young leave it. Once there was chosen a dead plum tree 

 that blew over a few days after the young had left the nest. 

 These remarks refer more particularly to nests in our yard, 

 which mo.st frequently are built in plum trees ; when placed in 

 other trees or in bushes they are not so conspicuous. .A. 



