FIRST-COMERS. 39 
fore they are suited; for the woodpeckers have been there 
years before them, chiselling out many holes for themselves 
which are now left vacant; or the snapping off of some old 
limb has opened the way to a snug cavity in its hollow 
interior. Any kind of a cranny seems to serve in a pinch. 
I have known them to build in a broken tin water-spout 
under the eaves of a house for want of a better place; al- 
though, no doubt, the birds exercise a decided choice when 
they can. The tenement determined upon, the furnishing 
of it does not require much labor or contrivance. The birds 
bring enough of a peculiar kind of soft grass which turns 
reddish brown when it dries, sometimes mix with it a little 
hair, and thus thickly carpet the bottom of the cavity. That 
is all. The eggs are laid by the second week in April, and 
the young are hatched about ten days after. The eggs are 
five in number, and are light blue, without spots. Once, in 
Northern Ohio, I found a nestful of pearly-white eggs, and 
one other similar case has come to my knowledge. They 
were just as well worth sitting on, however, as five blue 
egos would have been. 
The bluebird is also a true bird of the garden, taking the 
place of England’s robin-redbreast more nearly than any 
other bird in America. It is no trouble to have them twit- 
tering about the house the whole summer through. The 
