NESTING HABITS OF HERMIT THRUSH 

 Table l—Juhj 31 



General Remarks un Tahh I 



Observations were made between the hours of 7 :00 and 9 :S0 

 A. M. and -1:00 and 5:22 p. ii., a total period of four horns and 

 fifty-two minutes, during which the young were fed twelve 

 times. 



At 8 :39 A. M. the brooding female partly arose from the ncst 

 and picked up an excreta sac which had been deposited by one 

 of the young. While in most cases the parent was on the look- 

 out at the time the excreta sac was voided, this was not invar- 

 iably true. After feeding a nestling the parent bird sometimes 

 waited for from several seconds to a minute at the edge .if the 

 nest to see if the excreta sac would be voided. Whenever it was 

 expelled the adult ordinarily immediately swallowed it before 

 it fell. As near as could be ascertained this excreta sac was 

 swallowed by the parent at the nest until about noon on August 

 3, when the adult was first seen to carry the sac away. 



The excreta sac was not always voided by a U'^stling immedi- 

 ately after it had been fed as is indicated in numerous instances 

 in the tables. Usually when the young voided ''^^ excrement 

 both the head and the vent were raised, although on some oc- 

 casions the head was lowered in this act. The excrement ap- 



