Vol. XXII 

 1905 



Stockard, Nesting Habits of Mississippi Birds. 28 I 



five fresh eggs. The site was a wooded valley near the foot of a hill in 

 Lowndes County. 



71. Geothlypis trichas. Maryland Yellow-throat. — This was by 

 far the commonest of the few warblers found nesting in the State. 

 Almost every marshy stream had its Yellow-throats. In the tussocks of 

 grasses and rushes its nests were often seen. The nest of grass blades 

 and small straws was tucked down into the center of these tussocks or 

 placed on the ground at the base of such a clump. Many sets were 

 found, all consisting of four eggs, and some were beautifully lined while 

 others were speckled. April 28, 1S96, was the earliest date of finding a 

 nest, and in 1900 one was taken as late as May 26 containing a fresh set 

 of four. 



72. Icteria virens. Yellow-breasted Chat. — Nests of this bird are 

 often found in the edges of sparse woods, along lake banks, and in the 

 bushes of groves. The birds build in blackberry vines or small heavily 

 leaved bushes, and the nest is composed of leaves and grass lined with 

 fine grass straw. All complete sets consisted of four eggs. 



In 1900 I noted a very interesting feat on the part of this bird ; a simi- 

 lar performance was recorded above for the Blue Grosbeak. May 17 a 

 nest containing four fresh eggs of the Yellow-breasted Chat was found 

 in a hawthorn bush which stood near the edge of a small wood. The 

 nest and set were taken from the bush and added to my collection. On 

 May 26, only nine days later, strange as it may seem, while passing again 

 along this wood border and looking toward the bush that had favored me 

 on the 17th my surprise was to see a chat slide from her nest that now 

 occupied the identical spot from which the other had been removed. 

 This nest also contained a set of four fresh eggs, and it seems as certain 

 as anything could be under the conditions that the same female built both 

 nests and laid both sets. The eggs of the two sets when placed together 

 were indistinguishable, and most observers appreciate the fact that a 

 slight set difference exists among nearly all sets that are laid by different 

 females. 



92. Mimus polyglottos. Mockingbird. — No farmyard, garden, or 

 meadow is complete without its pair of these master singers. The 

 Mockingbird is also present in the towns and villages. On summer 

 nights while the moon shines these birds seem to overflow with song, and 

 their vocal performances often continue through almost the entire night; 

 they may also be occasionally heard on perfectly dark nights. 



In Mississippi the Mockingbird is sedentary, being present during the 

 entire year. They seem strongly inclined to remain near a nesting site 

 when it has been once chosen, and will often build year after year in the 

 same bush or vine, although none have been found to use a nest for the 

 second season. Six nests of the Mockingbird were once counted in a 

 single large hawthorn bush ; one of them contained eggs and the others 

 were in different degrees of dilapidation ; they were all probably the work 

 of a single pair. This bird will nest in the vines shading a door or win- 



