56 THE COLUMBIAN RED-WING. 
to courteous expostulations, as they flutter wildly around the intruder’s 
head. ‘To the mischievous boy the chance of calling out these frantic atten- 
tions is very alluring, even when no harm is intended. 
I have said that the Red-wing prefers cat-tails for nesting; there is 
probably no undisturbed area of cat-tails in eastern Washington which does 
not harbor Columbian Red-wings; yet, even so, the cover does not suffice and 
they are impelled to occupy the extensive tulé beds which border the larger 
lakes. For the second nesting, which occurs in June, the Blackbirds are likely 
Taken 4 eae Ry bRee Photo by 
: F. S. Merrill. 
near Spokane. 3 
NEST AND EGGS OF THE COLUMBIAN REDWING. 
to try the willows, now covered with foliage; or, in default of these, may 
venture into any coarse vegetation which lines the swamp. 
Four or five eggs are commonly laid and sets of six are very rare. 
On the 18th of May, 1896, I took a set of eight eggs, all believed to be the 
product of one female, from a nest in Okanogan County, and this set is now 
in the Oberlin College Museum. 
Of the economic value of the Red-wing there can be no question. The 
bird is chiefly insectivorous and destroys an immense amount of insect life, 
