SPIZA AMERICANA : BLACK-THROATED BUNTING. 28l 



speaks of two instances of finding the nests, given by 

 Dr. Brewer, and himself adds a third, that of a nest 

 which he found, with fresh eggs, at Canton, early in 

 June. "It was in a dry grassy field, near cultivated 

 land, and such a place as these birds are said usually 

 to inhabit. The female left her nest on my approach, 

 and after running through the grass, perched on a 

 low fence, from which she, together with the male, 

 watched me silently." 



In the Nuttall Bulletin for 1878, p. 45, Mr. H. A. 

 Purdie speaks of a nest with four eggs found by Mr. 

 F. E. Bean at Medford, Mass., June 9, 1877, at which 

 date the eggs were fresh. This nest was in a bush, 

 about a foot from the ground, supported by the stem 

 of the bush and the blades of the grass-clump in which 

 it rested. Toward the end of June the same observer 

 found a second nest, in another locality, with four 

 young. This was in a field by the roadside ; the song 

 of the male, perched upon the fence, attracted atten- 

 tion, and both parents were soon seen feeding their 

 young. Still other pairs had been in the same vicin- 

 ity, as Mr. Bean heard other birds in this and previous 

 years. 



In the same Bulletin for 1878, p. 190, Dr. Brewer 

 presents an interesting record, stating that in 1833 

 and 1834 tn i s Bunting was by no means uncommon in 

 Cambridge, in all the then unoccupied ground around 

 the Botanic Garden and thence to West Cambridge 

 and Charlestown. He also says that it may now be 

 found every summer on the high promontory at the 

 northeast corner of Hingham. To verify the fact of 

 its breeding there, he visited the place on the 3Oth of 

 June, 1878. "We found one pair with young, which 



