248 



Recent Litci-atjirc. 



Speaking of the Wood Pewee he says : "The assumption of matrimonial 

 relations, however, is not a matter that is entered into without more or 

 less consideration. . . . The ceremony of mating being over — which busi- 

 ness is ordinarily of short continuance, seldom lasting for a greater period 

 than two days — the newly-wedded pair now set out to discover a suitable 

 place for the building of a home. This is a matter of considerable mo- 

 ment, often requiring the performance of long and extended tours of 

 observation and exploration. These reconnoissances generally last for a 

 week, .... The site being mutually agreed upon, the happy pair proceed 

 with all possible dispatch and diligence to construct a domicile : the male 

 to collect and bring in the necessary materials ; the female to fix them in 

 their proper places, . . . Having finished their home, only a day or so inter- 

 venes when oviposition becomes the controlling instinct. The female 

 now proceeds to deposit her complement of four eggs, which she does on 

 consecutive days, at the rate of a single egg daily. This is followed, on 

 the day succeeding the last deposit, by the trying duty of incubation. 

 Upon the female devolves this arduous and irksome labor." 



Of the nesting of the Cat-bird he tells us that "ordinarily a week or ten 

 days are spent in making a choice of locality." 



With the Orchard Oriole "Mating does not occur," he says, till "more 



than two weeks after the advent of the sexes The sexes having come 



together in a wise and business-like way, with little or none of the bluster 

 that is customary on such occasions, a conference ensues, which results in 

 a temporary separation for mutual good; one bird going in one direction 

 and the other in an entirely opposite course. The selection of a suitable 



spot for a home is the vera causa of this divergence In five or six 



days from the time of the assumption of matrimonial relations the nest 

 is started, and through the united eflbrts of both birds for the period of a 

 week is brought to completion." 



Of the Hummingbird he writes, "The sexes, tired as it were, of the 

 riotous and luxurious lives they have been leading, come together bv 

 mutual agreement, and enter into matrimonial relations. This being ac- 

 complished, they separate for a brief period, and each proceeds to scour 

 the country for miles around in quest of a suitable tree in which to locate. 

 When one is selected by either bird the other is summoned to the spot to 

 talk over, in true bird language, the merits thereof. Should the parties 

 differ as to the advantageousness of the site, no quarrelling or bickering 

 is indulged in, but, in the most friendly manner, they separate and renew 

 the search until one is found which gives satisfaction." 



In his biography of the Chewink occurs the following: "The females 

 whollv entranced, yield to the persuasions of their would-be lords, and 



conjugal relations are entered into But the happy couple are not yet 



ready to begin nest building. Thev must needs celebrate the occasion of 

 their marriage. Accordingly they set out on a wedding trip, so to speak, 

 visiting adjoining lots and thickets, and enjoying the delights and scenes 

 around them. This continues for four or five days, when the lovers, 

 thoroughh surfeited, return and ciuietly settle down to pros\- life." 



