icTi:rm).K-Tiii-: nuroij-x 205 



Til tlie District nf ( 'Mliiiii1»iii, I>». Cmu's toiind tlit* iJiisty rJraklc an alnni- 

 (lant ami stri( tly ;,'h'uMri<>us winter nsiiU'iit, aiiiviii'j; llu'iv llic tiiinl wi-ck in 

 OctolnT ami rtMiiainiiiL; until April, an<l ttnnul <liitliy in M\vani}»y localilies, 

 but ocra iionally also in ])lou^iuMl tultls. 



Mr. AutlulMtn louml thuse l»ihls tlminiL^' tin; winter niontlis, as far snutii as 

 Florida ami Lower Louisiana, arrivin;^' liiere in small lloeks, comim; in « <.in- 

 l»any with the L'eilwiuLrs and Cowhirils. aiul reniainin;^' assiM-iated with them 

 until the snriuL'. At this season thev art* also found in nearlv all the South- 

 i'rn and Western States. They appear I'ond of the conipany of cattle, and 

 are to Ije seen with them, hoth in the pasture and in tin* farm-yard. They 

 seoin less shy than the niher species. They also friMjuent moist places, 

 where they feed upon aipiatic insects ami small snails, for which they search 

 among the reeds and sedges, climliing them with great agility. 



In their haliits they are said to resendde the Iletlwings, and, being equally 

 fond of the vicinity (»f water, they eonstruct their nests in low trees and 

 bushes in moist places. Their nests are said to be similarly constructed, 

 Lut smaller than those of the Iledwings. In Labrador Mr. Audubon found 

 thom lined with njosses instead of glasses. In Maine they begin to lay 

 about the first of June, and in Labrador aluait the -Utli, and raise only one 

 brood in a season. 



The young when first able to fly, are of a nearlv uniform brown color. 

 Their nests, according to Audubon, are also occasionally found in marshes 

 of tall reetls of tlie 7///'/<<^ to the stalks of which they are firmly attached 

 by interweaving the leaves of the jdant with gm.sses and tine strips of bark. 

 A friend of tlui same writer, residing in New Orleans, found one of these 

 birds, in fnll jdumage and slightly wounded, near the city, lie took it 

 home, and ]>ut it in a cage with some Tainted lUmtings. It made no at- 

 tempt to molest his com]»anions, and they soon became good friends. It 

 sang during its confinement, but the notes were less sonorous than "when 

 a* Mberty. It was fed entirely on rice. 



The momoramla of Mr. MacFarlane show that these birds are by no means 

 uncommon near Fort Anderson. A nest, found rlune 12, on the branch of a 

 sjnuce, next to the trunk, was eight feet from the ground. Another nest, 

 containing one egg and a young bird, was in the mid.st of a branch of a pine, 

 fiye feet from the ground. The ]»arents endeavored to draw him fnun their 

 nest, and to turn his attention to themselves. A third, found June '2'2, con- 

 tained four eggs, {ind was similarly situated. The eggs contained large 

 endtryos. ^Ir. ^lacFarlane states that whenever a nest of this species is 

 a])]»roached, both parents evince great uneasiness, and do all in their ])ower, 

 by flying from tree to tree in its vicinity, to attract one from the sj)ot. They 

 are spoken of as moderately abundant at Fort Anderson, and as having been 

 met with as far east as the Ilorton liiver. He was also informed by the 

 Eskimos that they exte-d along the banks of the Lower Anderson to the 

 very borders of the ^voods. 



