THE RED-BELLIED NUTHATCH. 189 
“JT found it building its nest near Eastport, in Maine, on the 
19th of May, before the Blue-bird had made its appearance there, 
and while much ice still remained on the northern exposures. The 
nest is dug in a low, dead stump, seldom more than four feet from 
the ground; both the male and the female working by turns until 
they have got to the depth of about fourteen inches. The eggs, 
four in number, are small, and of a white color, tinged with a deep 
blush, and sprinkled with reddish dots. They raise, I believe, 
only one brood in the season.” 
Although I found a pair on Nantucket in June, 1866, 
which had young without doubt, the only other occurrence 
of this bird’s breeding in New England that has come to 
my knowledge was in West Roxbury, Mass., in June, 1866, 
when a nest was found in an old stump by my young friend, 
William Minot, jun. The eges were four in number, and 
were of the description given above. 
