392 Erichsen, Birds of Liberty County, Ga. [j^ 



the shade trees, orchards, and isolated bushes in the vicinity. The nests 

 were composed of twigs, grapevine bark, plant fibre and trash, lined with 

 rootlets. Of the nests noted, sixteen held four eggs each, two held three 

 eggs each, and two contained five eggs each, all in various stages of incu- 

 bation, while four nests contained four young each. The heights ranged 

 from three to nineteen feet, averaging about five feet. My earliest and 

 latest dates when full complements of eggs were noted, are, respectively, 

 April 9, set of four, and July 16, set of three. Well feathered young were 

 observed in the latter nest on August 6. 



35. Toxostoma rufum. Brown Thrasher. — Although fully as 

 abundant in the county as the Mockingbird, the Brown Thrasher is more 

 retiring in habits, showing a preference for secluded localities, and in 

 Liberty County at least, rarely ventures to nest in the immediate vicinity 

 of dwellings. The birds choose as their home environment, brush heaps, 

 thorn thickets and grapevine tangles. They begin nest building slightly 

 earlier than the Mockingbird, as I noted young about one week old on 

 April 18. Eight nests were noted, in widely separated localities. Seven 

 contained four eggs each, and one held three young about one week old, 

 the latter nest being the one noted on April 18, and is my earliest breeding 

 record for the county. My latest date is June 20, when a nest containing 

 four eggs was found. In construction, and materials used, these nests 

 were very similar to those of the Mockingbird, being, however, slightly 

 bulkier and containing more twigs than, the nest of the latter species. 

 Heights varied from two to seven feet, averaging four feet. 



36. Thryothorus ludovicianus ludovicianus. Carolina Wren. — 

 This species is present everywhere in the county, nesting in great abun- 

 dance. They are, however, very secretive in nesting habits, and I am 

 able to record the finding of but three nests. These were built in a variety 

 of situations, the first one being noted on April 15. It was placed four 

 feet from the ground in a natural cavity of an oak stub, and contained five 

 fresh eggs. This nest was constructed entirely of dead pine needles with 

 the exception of the lining, which consisted of a few dried strands of Spanish 

 moss. Another nest, noted May 12, was placed in a depression between 

 two converging roots at the base of a large cypress growing in the heart 

 of a dense swamp. This nest also contained five eggs. The thud nest was 

 built in a burnt out " boxing " of a live pine in a heavily timbered district 

 on St. Catherine's island, and contained an incomplete set of three eggs 

 on June 7, evidently a second laying. The two latter nests were bulky 

 affairs, composed of moss, hay, grasses and leaves, lined with hair and 

 feathers. 



The Carolina Wren is an early breeder in Liberty County. Five seems 

 to constitute the usual complement of eggs of the first laying, the second 

 consisting usually of four. 



37. Telmatodytes palustris griseus. Worthington's Marsh 

 Wren. — The Marsh Wren is ever associated in my mind with wide 

 stretches of marsh and early morning excursions on numerous rivers and 



