162 NORTH AMKRICAN lilHDS. . 



or even on the ground. In one instance, in an island on the marshes of 

 Essex Tliver, Mr. Mayiuud found llie.se nests jdaced in trees twenty feet 

 from the ground. One nest was huilt on a slender .sapling at the distance of 

 fourteen feet from the ground. Tlie nest was pensile, like that of tlie 

 ])altiniore Oriole. It was woven <jf bleached eel-grass. 



When huilt in a bush, tlie outer, basket-like frame of the nest is carefully 

 and strongly interwoven with, or fastened around, the adjacent twigs, and, 

 thou<ih somewhat rudclv put together, is wcnen finnlv and compactlv. 

 Within this is i)acked a mass of coarse materials, Avith an inner nest of 

 sedges and u;ra.sses. The outer framework is usuallv made of rushes and 

 strong leaves of the iris. 'Hw male bird is a very atti'utive and watchful 

 parent, con.stantly (m the lookout for the approach of danger, and promi>t 

 to do all in his ])ower to avert it, api)r(»aching close to the intruder, and 

 earnestly remonstmting against the aggression. If the ne.st is i)illaged, 

 for several days he evinces great distress, and makes frecpient lamentations, 

 l)ut soon }>repares to remedy the disaster. So tenacious are they of a se- 

 lected locality, that I have known the same pair to build three nests with- 

 in as many weeks in the same bush, after having been robbed twice. The 

 third time the pair succeeded in raising their brood. 



In New England these birds have but one brood in a season. Farther 

 south they are said to have three or more. In August they begin to collect 

 in small tlocks largely composed of young birds. The latter do not reach 

 their full plumage until their third summer, but breed in their innnature 

 plumage the summer following their a})pearance. When the Indian corn is 

 in the milk, these birds are said to collect in numbers, and to connnit great 

 depredations upon it. As soon, however, as the corn hardens, they desist 

 from these attacks, and seek t)tlier food. In the grain-growing States they 

 gather in immense swarms and commit great havoc, and although they are 

 shot in immense numbers, and though their ranks are thinned by the at- 

 tacks of hawks, it seems to have but little effect upon the survivors. These 

 scenes of pillage are, for the most part, confined to the low sections, near 

 the sea-coast, and only last during a short period, whe i '.^ corn is in a con- 

 dition to be eaten. 



On the other hand, these IJlackbirds more than con.pensate the farmer for 

 these brief episodes of mi.schief, by the immense benefits they confer in the 

 destruction of grub-worms, caterpillars, and various kinds of larvie, the 

 secret and deadly enemies of vegetation. During the months of March, 

 A})ril, May, June, and July, their food is almost wholly insects, and during 

 that period the amount of their insect food, all of it of the most noxious 

 kinds, is perfectly enormous. These they both consume themselves and 

 feed to their voung. Wilson estimated the number of insects destroved 

 by these birds in a single season, in the United States, at twelve thousand 

 millions. 



The notes of this bird are very various and indescribable. The most 



