426 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



with a low, sweet, whistled song. In the fall they are more 

 silent, the songs not being heard, only a " chuck " or a "chick- 

 a-sit " being uttered as they fly a short distance and alight in 

 a bush or among the leaves. I have never seen very large 

 flocks in the fall, and a majority, all save the few that winter, 

 have gone by November twenty-fourth. 



The nests are always situated on the ground in the woods, 

 pastures or clearings. A very favored nesting site in some 

 localities is near the top of a low bank or " slide " along a 

 railroad or woodland road, where at the top under an over- 

 hanging sod they place their nest. Again in the woods or 

 thickets they nest at the side of a log, under upturned roots or 

 in a tuft of bushes or shoots on the ground. Often the stubby 

 growth in the middle of a deserted wood road is selected as a 

 nesting site. 



The nests are made of dry grasses, lined with finer grasses 

 and with hair when this is available. With us the wilder por- 

 tions of northern, western and eastern Maine and the wooded 

 islands along the coast are their breeding grounds, in other 

 words they are birds of the Canadian fauna. In sections where 

 they breed at all they are generally common. 



A typical nest taken at Katahdin Iron Works, June 29, 1903, 

 was situated under an overhanging sod at the top of a slight 

 bank beside the road. This nest was two and a half inches 

 high outside by one and a half inside, and the diameter was 

 four externally by two and a quarter inches internally. The 

 four eggs measure 0.78 x 0.50, 0.78 x 0.50, 0.78 x 0.51, 0.78 x 

 0.50. Usually four or five but sometimes only three eggs ai'e 

 laid, the first set about the middle of May, sometimes as early 

 as May first, while the second offering of eggs may be found in 

 late June. The males help feed the young but I do not know 

 more regarding the aid they give nor regarding the time 

 required for incubation. 



The young birds are fed on small beetles, worms, ants, grubs, 

 and similar insects, the softer kind of insects being given to the 



