290 



I liiclly iih'ikIow s, l(t'\v liiiids iiiid phavcd fields. On the 

 ;i|>|/i(»;i(li <if iiiiihl llicv ('(dlcct ill hir^c iimiihcrs in 

 some favorite roosting place, sueli as cedar- or pine 

 t rees, thick woods or dense thickets. 



THE NKST AND EliGS. 



Nest-building- is usually begun about the middle of 

 April, although on two or three occasions I have found 

 nests, with full complements of eggs, as early as the 

 first week in April. 



In colonies of from ten to twenty, seldom more, they 

 locate themselves for the purpose of niditi cation and 

 reproduction. In this locality (Chester county) their 

 favorite breeding resorts are apple orchards, the fruit 

 and other trees commonly about the habitations of 

 man. The nest is bulky and rudely constructed exter- 

 nally of rootlets, small twigs, dry plants, bits of corn- 

 blades, etc., somewhat loosely but quite firmly bound 

 together. Mud or mudded materials frequently enter 

 into the construction of the nest, but this is not always 

 tlie case; the interior is lined usually with fine grasses; 

 occasionally I have seen leaves and feathers constitut- 

 ing the internal lamina. The construction of the nest 

 occupies about one week; both sexes engage in its erec- 

 tion. It is built at the junction of two or more large- 

 si/.ed linihs. or ;iiiion,<; the sprouts and matted twigs. 

 The nests vary somewhat in size, but the one now be- 

 fore me — about the average — gives the following di- 

 mensions: Height (3^ inches; diameter; 7 7-S inches; 

 depth of cavity, 3 inches. Gentry observes that the 

 female begins to deposit her eggs, one ovum per day, 

 the day following the completion of the nest. Such 

 may be the case, but my observation has been that 

 oviposition does not often take place until three or 



