Vol "i9i9 XVI ] Mousley, The Singing Tree. 339 



The sound to which the Grouse gave instant and invariable 

 attention was the alarm note of the Blue Jay. To the scolding 

 of Robins and even to the cawing of Crows he turned a deaf ear, 

 but the protesting voice of a Jay hushed the sound of the drum 

 note, and a period of silent waiting ensued, during which interval 

 he was evidently at some pains to discover the cause of the Jay's 

 displeasure. 



There was a time, when the spring drumming of the Grouse 

 thundered from a hundred hills, woke the echoes like the throbbing 

 tom-toms of tribes upon the war-path and sent the blood sap 

 pulsing quicker along the veins; but laws are useless where they 

 are not enforced, and unless the Ruffed Grouse is given a greater 

 measure of protection, the woods will no longer hear his footfall 

 that might for years have thrilled to the vigorous ardor of his wings. 



"THE SINGING TREE," OR HOW NEAR TO THE NEST 

 DO THE MALE BIRDS SING? l 



BY H. MOUSLEY. 



My attention was first drawn to this interesting subject by my 

 inability to find the nesting sites of warblers, although regarding 

 other species I was more than ordinarily successful. I must admit 

 I was discouraged but not surprised, for to find the nests of these 

 interesting little gems has always been more or less of a gamble to 

 the students of the family Mniotiltidoe. Of course there are red 

 letter days when by accident one sees a female with building 

 material fly direct to the nesting site, but these are generally few 

 and far between, and in my experience one hardly ever sees the 

 females until the nests are discovered. It is the males that are 

 always in evidence, not only during the nesting season, but also 

 at migration times, and I can well remember the day when the 



1 Read before the Nuttall Ornithological Club by Dr. Chas. W. Townsend for the Au- 

 thor, Oct. 21, 1918. 



