1 86 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



breeding, manifest an utter repugnance to general 

 society at this time. 



Nesting ordinarily commences during the last 

 week of May, sometimes as early as the i5th, and 

 as often not before the first week of June. The 

 labor is performed jointly by both sexes, and is 

 prosecuted with considerable diligence until the 

 nest is completed. The time thus spent seldom 

 exceeds a period of six days. 



A nest by our side which was built under an 

 overshoot, and which may be considered a typical 

 structure, is composed externally of ten semi-ellip- 

 tical series of mud pellets, slightly overlapping 

 each other in the manner of tiles, and intercalated 

 with the culms and blades of fine grasses. Simi- 

 lar grasses in small quantity serve to strengthen 

 the pellets, and thus act as girders to bind the 

 elements of the fabric more closely together. In- 

 teriorly^ there is an inner layer of the stems of 

 Phleum pr&tense, another compactly pressed, and 

 succeeded by a softer layer of the leaves oi.Holcus 

 lanatns. The cavity is nearly two and a half inches, 

 longitudinally, and about four, transversly; its 

 depth is hardly an inch. The shallowness is com- 

 pensated for by the greater length in the transverse 

 direction. For a lining, soft feathers take the place 

 of grasses. 



After the lapse of two or three days, oviposition 

 commences, and continues during a period ranging 

 from four to six days' in accordance with the rate 

 of laying which is one per diem. Incubation is 





