OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 143 



inhabited, and more than a single pair of birds in the vicinity, 

 led our author to suppose that they were designed for the 

 accommodation of the young after quitting the nest. These 

 holes most generally occupy the same side of a tree, and are 

 placed one above the other ; but instances were met with 

 where the entire trunk was perforated at irregular distances. 



Although these nests were situated very high, the average 

 elevation being about 40 feet, and often much higher, a 

 single nest was discovered not over S feet above the water, 

 which occupied a notably exceptional site. This was con- 

 structed in a large poplar-tree at a point where a limb had 

 rotted out. The boring was irregularly carried into the 

 heart of the tree through the partially decayed wood, thence 

 proceeded downwards to a depth of 12 inches, being bound- 

 ed on all sides by healthy wood with an average thickness 

 of 6 inches. 



After the hatching of the young, the habits of this species 

 suffer a most marked alteration. No longer a delver after 

 worms, it rises above such comparative degradation, assumes 

 the dignity of a Flycatcher, and captures its prey upon the 

 wing with equal dexterity. Perched upon the summit of a 

 tall stub, it makes a series of attacks upon its numerous 

 victims, and with bill and mouth crammed with its trophies, 

 which consist mainly of the larger diptera, repairs to the 

 nest to feed the hungry brood. Both parents thus labor 

 unremittingly for the well-being of their progeny. The 

 young retire from the nest in July, but remain together fora 

 long while, receiving food from their parents. They are 

 exceedingly playful creatures, and may be seen sporting about 

 the trunks of trees, or chasing each other. Both young 

 and old frequently utter a low snarling cry, which closely 

 resembles the well-known mew of ^limtis caroUnensis. 

 In addition to the last, and the one already mentioned as 

 being heard when opposite sexes meet, the adults utter, in 

 the spring, a clear ringing cleur, which is repeated five or six 

 times in succession. 



