114 Contributions prom the Charleston Museum. 



These nests were built in sycamore trees. Although the birds 

 increased rapidly the majority apparently continued to construct 

 nests in trees, and it was at least four or five years before the 

 Orphan House, Westminster Church, and the Shirras Dispensary 

 were resorted to for the purpose of rearing the young. 



That the House Sparrow drives away the native birds which 

 breed in the city, such as the Orchard Oriole, Nonpareil, and 

 Purple Martin is undeniably true. In rural districts, however, it 

 is restricted to the immediate vicinity of settlements, and the 

 only species which suffers by its competition is the Purple Martin, 

 which is able to retain partial possession of its partitioned box 

 only by continuous fighting. 



Much has been written about the economic relation of this 

 species to agriculture. I have seen hordes of these sparrows eat 

 the cotton caterpillar. The birds are therefore beneficial to the 

 cotton planter in a small degree. While the birds destroy the 

 caterpillars only in close proximity to settlements it saves the 

 planter, nevertheless, many pounds of Paris green, which he uses 

 to destroy the army of worms. 



The breeding season is a long one, beginning in March and end- 

 ing in September, the 21st of the latter month being my latest 

 date. From four to five broods are reared each season, and the 

 number of eggs varies from four to six, five eggs being the rule, 

 while six are rare. 



The nests are constructed of grass, straw, and weed tops, with 

 almost any material for lining that is readily accessible, such as 

 feathers, cotton, wool, hair, and fur. They are placed in bird- 

 boxes, buildings, and holes in trees, as well as on the branches. 

 The eggs are dull white, profusely speckled, and sometimes 

 blotched, with various shades of gray and purplish shell-mark- 

 ings. They measure .86X.72. 



197. Loxia curvirostra minor (Brehm) . Crossbill. 

 In Audubon's Birds of America,* he says: 



The latter [Common Crossbill] has been shot in winter by my son John Wood- 

 house, within a few miles of Charleston in South Carolina, where several were seen, 

 and the specimen he procured there is now in the collection of my friend the 

 Reverend John Bachman. 



Since Audubon wrote, no additional specimens of this species 



had been taken until I found it in great numbers in the winter of 

 _____ 



