132 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



five one-hundredths ; tail, four and ten one-hundredths ; tarsus, eighty-five one- 

 hundredths. 



Hab. — Eastern North America to the Missouri, and south to Eastern Texas (not 

 yet observed further west). 



This species is a rare summer inhabitant of New England. 

 It arrives from the South about the 10th of May in the lati- 

 tude of Massachusetts, — that is, so far as so irregular a 

 visitor may be said to arrive, — and spreads throughout 

 these States. It is less rare in the southern districts than 

 in the middle, and hardly penetrates as far north as the 

 latitude of the middle of Maine. It has been ascertained 

 to breed in all these States ; and two nests, with their con- 

 tents, are before me. One of these was found in a hollow 

 tree in Plymouth, Mass., on the 10th of June ; the other 

 was found in Middleton, Mass., on the 4th of June. These 

 nests are composed of straws, leaves, feathers, and the cast- 

 off skins of snakes ; and it seems a distinguishing character- 

 istic of the nests of this species to have the skins of one or 

 more snakes woven into the other materials. The first 

 of these nests had five eggs ; the other, three. These are of 

 a beautiful creamy-buff, and covered with irregular scratches 

 and lines of different shades of purple. Wilson says of these 

 eggs, " The female lays four eggs of a dull cream-color, 

 thickly scratched with purple lines of various tints, as if 

 done with a pen." Dimensions of eggs vary from .95 by .78 

 inches to 1 by .80 inch. 



As this species is quite rare in these States, I have had 

 but very few chances for observing its habits. It appears 

 to be equally courageous and quarrelsome with the King- 

 bird, and has many of the peculiarities of that bird. Its 

 food consists of insects, which it captures while on the wing, 

 after the manner of the other species. Wlien the young 

 leave the nest, they feed on berries and caterpillars, and are 

 fond of crickets and grasshoppers. By the middle of Sep- 

 tember, the whole family leave for the South. 



