588 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



ing, and occasionally the female also sings, though not as loudly 

 and lustily as the male. 



Nest building is interrupted by frequent spells of love-mak- 

 ing, flirtations, family quarrels in which the mated couple 

 fight outrageously for a short time (doubtless over some differ- 

 ence of opinion regarding nest building,) but much of the time 

 is also taken up in "regulating" such other birds and animals 

 as come near the scene of activity. Nest building however 

 progresses rapidly in spite of the energy used up in twitching 

 tails, fluttering wings, hopping along the fences and from perch 

 to perch, chattering and other diversions. 



The average nest takes about a week from its beginning 

 until it contains eggs, and nest building not infrequently con- 

 tinues for quite a period after the eggs are laid. Some nests 

 are entirely completed for several days before eggs are laid, 

 and rarely I have found an egg in a nest which was only 

 started four days previously. In brief, the time from the begin- 

 ning of a nest to the laying of the first egg may range from 

 four to fifteen days. Occasionally nests are built which are 

 never laid in, though no obvious reason of this was known. 

 An egg is usually laid daily until the set is complete. 



Both birds aid in the incubation, but the female does the 

 most of it, only occasionally being relieved by the male; in 

 some cases he even sings on the nest. Though lacking any 

 very exact data as to the incubation period I am able to 

 state that it is not less than eleven nor more than thirteen 

 days, rather nearer the former period I think. Both birds 

 tend the young, feeding them and carrying out their excrement 

 in their mouths, and when at the end of about fourteen days 

 these have left the nest a second, and sometimes later on even 

 a third brood may be reared in the same nest. They are 

 inclined to return to the very same nesting site and locality 

 season after season. Their food consists of spiders, flies, small 

 caterpillars, grubs, beetles and similar small insects. 



