358 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



Both birds build the nest and share the task of incubation 

 and feeding the young. Nest building requires from six days 

 to two weeks according to the weather and other circumstances. 

 An egg is laid each day, incubation commences when part of 

 the set has been laid and the eggs hatch in thirteen to sixteen 

 days, the time varying according to the weather, degree of 

 pertinacity with which the bird sits, and other factors. Some 

 birds leave their eggs for hours at a time during the day while 

 others incubate very closely, one relieving the other. 



The parents are very solicitous and noisy when the nests 

 contain young, and resent too close intrusion by noisy chackings 

 and chirrings even when the nest is not completed. Only one 

 brood is reared. Their common call is "chack" or a rasping 

 chirp varying in intensity to indicate alarm or satisfaction. 

 In the mating season it is a very common sight to see a glossy 

 male swell out his breast as if about to burst and with a seem- 

 ingly great effort utter a squeaky call sounding like the 

 squeaking of a heavy ungreased wheel of a dray, and when 

 dozens are competing thus with one another and the "chacks" 

 and "cheeups" of the females are added the volume of sound 

 fills the air. Blackbirds are always noisy when in flocks, but 

 more so in spring seemingly than at any other season. 



When one is alone, seeking food or bent on mischief it is 

 silent. I never see a sleek, glossy Grackle walking silently 

 along the shore of a pond or river, going where there is just 

 space enough to get dry shod between the water's edge and 

 the over hanging bushes without wishing to follow and see 

 what villainy it is concocting. Often they discover some small 

 bird's nest as a Sparrow's in the bushes overhead, and speedily 

 hop up into the bushes and devour the contents, be it eggs 

 or young. At other times they discover worms, insects, craw- 

 fish or other edible articles along the shore which they as 

 eagerly devour. 



The food of the Grackle consists largely of beetles, grubs, 

 cutworms, caterpillars, larvae of various sorts, grasshoppers, 



