AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 27 



sun has been able to shoot his first finger of light into the sky above, 

 the Merle awakens from his slumbers with a perfect flood of melody. 



Perched in some near by tree, he prefaces his song with a few sharp 

 shrill whistles as if to command silence from the other feathered song- 

 sters and then, as a master leader, he pours forth his sweet strains, 

 awakening the stillness into life. His hours of song are not confined 

 to the morning, but all through the day and late into the night his voice 

 may be heard as he sits hidden somewhere in the densest foliage of the 

 tree, trying to outdo himself in an ecstacy of song. 



The habits of this specie are very similar to the American Robin. 

 The food consists largely of worms and larvae which are taken from 

 the ground. With drooping wings this bird may be seen stealthily 

 creeping along or at other times imitating our old friend the robin, as 

 he will run a little way and straighten himself up, but all the time he is 

 intently listening for the unsuspecting larva or insect which is to make 

 his meal. As is common with most birds of this class, he also feeds 

 on berries and fruits in their season and seems to enjoy them immensely. 



The nest of the Merle is placed in a vertical fork or perhaps, on a 

 horizontal limb at a distance of from ten to forty feet from the ground 

 and is composed of grass, leaves and vegetable fibres, lined with root- 

 lets. This nest is very deeply cupped. The eggs are a pale olive 

 green spotted, marked and blotched with various shades of brown, 



blue and burnt umber. 



Ernest B. Caldwell. 



[Although this magazine is especially devoted to our own birds, we 

 are glad to have received the above article on the Asiatic form of our 

 Robin, coming as it does from an American who is well acquainted 

 with our birds, especially those of Tenessee, where he formerly re- 

 sided. He has also favored us with an article comparing the bird life 

 in far off China to that of this country. This we shall use a little later. 



Mr. Harry R. Caldwell, well known to ornithologists in the U. S., 

 and who has been in China the past year writes: — I am very much in- 

 terested in China and find it one of the most beautiful countries in 

 the world. The southern portion of it is a little Eden, a land of fruit 

 and flowers. I doubt that God and Nature ever joined hands in the 

 production of a drama more beautiful, or a country more "in tune with 

 the Infinite" than this great country." During the fifteen or more 

 years spent by Mr. 'Caldwell with the birds of Tenessee, he has made 

 many notes on their habits and we hope to draw from these from time 

 to time. Ed.] 



