Method of Bird Study and Photography 25 



In only four or five cases when the nest with its supports has 

 been displaced (Nos. 8, 20, 21, 35) have the young come to 

 grief, in the course of five years' work. In addition, a young 

 Cowbird was, as I supposed, stolen by a cat. These accidents 

 were due, moreover, in all but possibly two cases, to preventible 

 causes. A nest of Cedar Waxwings, though fed by both birds 

 and shielded almost constantly, were overcome by the heat and 

 humidity. Some Bluebirds and Robins, both of which fed their 

 young, were interfered with by hay-makers and workers in the 

 field. A brood of Song Sparrows also succumbed to the heat on 

 a day which the Weather Bureau in New England reported as 

 the hottest ever recorded. In addition to this, their nest, 

 which was moved to the open, happened to be placed in the 

 crotch of a dead sapling, so that the birds were exposed on all 



