138 ^^ESTS AND EGGS OF BIRDS. 



mence another nest before we pass here on our way back, and the male will 

 be singing as joyously as ever in an hour or two. Birds' grief, like their aver- 

 age lives, is short, though apparently intense for the time. It is only the end, 

 however, that can ever justify the destruction of a nest, and unthinking per- 

 sons might, in many cases, be benefited by contemplating a little more closely 



the suffering which they inflict Be careful how you shake that 



branch; for I would have you take a good long look ere we disturb her. See 

 how her dark little eye glistens, and note the rapid pulsating motion of her 

 back. Underneath those puffed-up feathers a poor little heart is beating 

 wildly with fear and apprehension; but still she sits bravely on her trust. She 

 would say, if she could, with the Roman mother, " These are my jewels," and 

 would entreat us to spare them. Now I will advance my hand cautiously. 

 See! I almost touch her tail with my finger-tips; but the next instant she is 

 gone. How quietly at the last moment she slid over the edge of the nest, 

 barely eluding my grasp ! A faint cry or two, and there comes the male; but 

 he, gaudy little braggart, is far better at singing brave deeds than performing 

 them, and will not trust himself very near, though he keeps up a constant 

 chipping. His mate, however, is bold enough for both, and in her anxiety 

 almost comes within reach of our hands. 



In regard to the eggs I certainly cannot do better than continue 

 to quote Mr. Brewster's exhaustive essay : 



The time of laying with this species varies, in relation to the season, from 

 June 8 to June 15. Four eggs commonly constitute a set, though in some 

 cases but three are laid; and I know of an instance where five were found in 

 one nest. They measure .62 of an inch in length by .50 in breadth. The 

 usual shape is a rounded oval, and the ground-color almost invariably creamy 

 white after the removal of the contents. The markings are most commonly 

 blotches of rich, warm umber, with smaller dottings of pale lilac or brown, 

 disposed about the larger end. Some specimens are, however, thickly 

 sprinkled over their entire surface with fine brownish spots. One set of four 

 eggs differs from any of the others in having a decided tinge of bluish in the 

 ground-color; while upon the large patches of umber which encircle the 

 greater ends are drawn numerous wavy lines of black, precisely like the char- 

 acteristic pen-markings of some of the oriole's eggs. With an extensive series 

 of specimens before me, I am led to the inevitable conviction that eggs of 

 D. maculosa are in many cases indistinguishable from those of D. virens, 

 D. pennsylvanica, and D. discolur : and an examination of an equal number 

 of authentic eggs of the other Dendroecce wou'd, I am satisfied, result in add- 

 ing many more to this list. In the eggs of each of the above-named species 

 there is an almost endless variation, and many sets are consequently quite 



