Nesting Time, 



in the top of some convenient cypress 

 tree, bowing, bobbing and scraping be- 

 fore the objects of their devotion, have 

 settled down to housekeeping, and have 

 made their bulky nests either in a tall 

 pine or cypress tree, or, perhaps, in 

 some low bushes in a swampy patch. 

 Their four or fivQ eggs are dull greenish 

 in color, usually heavily spotted and 

 blotched with brown. 



The male bird is a wonderfully fine 

 fellow in his superb black attire, which 

 shimmers with iridescent reflections of 

 purple, blue and green. The white or 

 pale straw color of the eye is very 

 noticeable in contrast to the black sur- 

 rounding it. While courting, the male 

 bird utters an apology for a song — a sort 

 of sputtering address — to the female, 

 which I have attempted to translate into 

 the following syllables: tuck-tuck-qsi' I 

 tuck-tuck-qsi ! The female, which is 

 brownish black in color and without the 

 brilliant iridescence, seems to enjoy this 

 effort at bird music, however grotesque 

 207 



