Vol. XXII 

 1 905 



Stockard, Nesting Habits of Mississippi Birds. 283 



logs and weatherboarding of cabins, and strangest of all in the seat of an 

 old pair of hunting trousers that hung on the wall of a farmhouse gal- 

 lery. The nest was also found in brush piles. The birds -were very con- 

 spicuous on account of their loud song, but the nest was often difficult to 

 locate even when one was sure of its approximate position. These birds 

 will often lay as many as three sets during one season, and they usually 

 rear two broods within the summer. They are commonly termed in this 

 section ' House Wren,' but of course are not confounded with the true 

 House Wren. April 17 and June iS are the extreme dates of observing 

 sets. The set number was almost always five, rarely six. 



77. Sitta pusilla. Brown-headed Nuthatch. — In the old pine dead- 

 enings of Adams County this small bird was found nesting in consider- 

 able numbers. They dug their own burrow but it was a badly botched 

 affair, nothing about it suggesting the even smoothness of a woodpeck- 

 er's hollow. The Nuthatch makes a small entrance through the bark 

 of a dead snag, then usually, rather than burrow into the stump itself, 

 they scooped out an irregular cavity by removing the soft wood that 

 generally lies just under the bark. This burrow ran a crooked course 

 but generally extended ten or fifteen inches below the entrance. In this 

 cavity they placed a nest of soft fibers, moss, feathers, cotton, and wool. 

 The burrows were usually only a few feet from the ground but one was 

 found twelve feet up. The nests were best located by pulling the bark 

 from pine stumps in a deadening where the birds were seen to be plenti- 

 ful, unless one chanced to see them building or entering their burrow. 

 On one occasion when the bark was pulled away exposing a nest while 

 the female sat upon it, she could not be made to leave until pushed off 

 with my finger. 



These tiny birds are early layers, nesting at the time when the hawks, 

 owls, and crows do. March 17, 1902, the earliest set was taken and the 

 latest eggs were found on April 19. Sets consisted of five eggs. 



78. Parus bicolor. Tufted Titmouse. — Around the edges of woods, 

 in deadenings, and often in groves the Tufted Titmouse was a common 

 bird. The nests were found in natural cavities and in the deserted bur- 

 rows of woodpeckers. This species, the Brown-headed Nuthatch, and 

 Carolina Chickadee were often found nesting in the same vicinity, prob- 

 ably because they all select similar trees and stumps as homes. In the 

 nest building of the Titmouse were used such materials as leaves, moss, 

 fibrous bark, feathers and hair. The sets were composed of five and six 

 eggs. On April 20, 1901, the earliest set was taken, and May 22, 1903, 

 was the latest date on which eggs were found. 



79. Parus carolinensis. Carolina Chickadee. — This bird nested in 

 natural cavities and in the burrows of the smaller woodpeckers. The 

 favorite sites were old fence posts which so often contain hollows. By 

 walking along a line of posts in the country districts one seldom fails to 

 find a Chickadee's nest. They also nested in deadenings where hollows 

 were plentiful. All of the nests were composed partly of green moss, 



