OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 307 



when not administering to her wants is ever on 

 the alert for intruders. His affection for his mate 

 and young is so strong, that he will even risk his 

 own life in their behalf. During incubation he 

 occasionally relieves his partner. 



When the young are hatched they are alternately 

 fed by the parents upon the larvae of various kinds 

 of insects, particularly upon the caterpillars of 

 Anisopteryx vernata, A. fomctaria, Zercne catena- 

 ria, Gortyna zecz, Pieris rapcc, Colias pkilodice, En- 

 nomjs subsigmwia, Chcerodes transvcrsata, Hyber- 

 nia tiliaria, besides earthworms, Aphis rjs&, A. 

 mali, and the common house-fly. 



The young leave the nest in about 1 2 days after 

 being hatched, and in eight or nine days more, 

 are fitted to take care of themselves, which is 

 usually the case during the last of June or the 

 beginning of July. The parents now busy them- 

 selves about a second brood which is also matured 

 in due time. 



A normal nest is composed externally of weeds 

 and grasses, loosely aggregated and adjusted so 

 as to project beyond the rim, which, as Dr. Brewer 

 says, gives it the appearance "of an enclosure of 

 palisades." The interior is lined with horse-hairs. 

 It has a diameter of six inches and a depth of 

 three inches. The mouth at the margin is two 

 and a half inches wide, and the cavity has a depth 

 of one and three-quarter inches. Nests built 

 within bushes are composed of similar materials, and 

 are of a more rigid character and closer texture. 



