2 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



and diptem, mainly. We have detected remains of C 'rafoi/ v- 

 chuscinereus* C. pertinax, Donacia confluent a ^ Hen-pain* . 

 par^ H. carbonari its. d'vniiiidis viriili poinis. R/ivncJuc- 

 strobi* Ptinits hunieralis* Pangns caliginosus, Platy- 

 uus cupripennis, among coleoptera ; the young of CEdipoda 

 nebul0sa,(E. sulphured, Caloptenus femur-rub rum ^ Achc- 

 ta nigra, among orthoptera ; and Tabanus lineola, T.cinc- 

 tus, Musca domestica, Stomoxys calcitrans, and Culcx 

 taeniorhynchus, among diptera. The few moths of the Fam- 

 ily Noctuidce which are common at this season, are eaten 

 with avidity. 



The nest of this species is placed in the fork of a bush, at 

 an elevation of two feet from the ground. It bears an inti- 

 mate resemblance to the nest of the Indigo Bird. Dr. Brewer 

 describes it as being composed, exteriorly, of soft strips of the 

 liber of deciduous trees, loosely interwoven, and lined with 

 the yellow culms of grasses. It was small for the size of 

 the bird, and was rendered conspicuous by the colored mate- 

 rials which immediately betrayed its presence. 



It is evident from what the Doctor says, that the female 

 is remarkably timid, for she instantly slid out of the nest on 

 their approach, and never returned again ; while her partner 

 was more courageous and self-possessed in the midst of con- 

 templated danger. 



Other nests were obtained by the Doctor and his party at 

 Halifax, on the borders of swampy woods, which were built 

 in low bushes, out of stubble. 



As the writer has expressed in the first volume of his work 

 on Birds, the situation of a nest and its height above the 

 ground, depend, in the generality of cases, upon the habits 

 of species while feeding. Birds that frequent low branches 

 of trees and small bushes, in quest of articles of food, almost 

 invariably nidificate in similar situations. Those strictly 

 terrestrial in habits, either build upon low bushes, within 

 tussocks of grasses, or upon the bare ground. While those 

 that visit the tall treetops for this essential purpose, most 



