84 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 15-No. (3 



specimens, in others thinly scattered spots and 

 blotches of two or three shades of brown and 

 lilac." One brood only is reared in one season. 

 The stomach of one of these birds which I 

 opened contained a great qnantity of small 

 bugs. 



271. Baltimore Oriole. Common. Breeds. 

 Is a late arrival, making its appearance abont 

 the sixth of May, sometimes later. This 

 beantiful bird seems to desire the society of 

 mankind, and its nest may be found swinging 

 high above his head in the maple, elm and 

 willow trees. It is a very ingenious bird, and 

 takes great care in constructing its nest, which 

 is composed of strings and rags, and is lined 

 with horse hair. Tlie eggs, four to five in num- 

 ber, are of a bluisii tinge blotched and scrawled 

 with lavender and different shades of brown. 

 This bird departs about August 30th. 



278. Purple Grackle or Crow Blackbird. 

 Common. Arrives in large flocks about the 

 middle of March. About the last of April 

 nest building commences. This is placed in a 

 pine or evergreen tree. It is rudely composed 

 of dried grass, strings and rags, and is lined 

 with fine roots. The dimensions of the nest 

 are 3 3-4 in. wide and 3 3-4 deep. The eggs, 

 usually four or five in number, are of a light 

 blue color spotted and scrawled with dark 

 brown and obscure lines and spots of different 

 shades of brown. As the first week in October 

 draws near these birds congregate in immense 

 flocks and leave for the south, sometimes in 

 in company with Redwing Blackbirds. 



282. Common Crow. Common. Some of 

 them stay with us the entire year but the ma- 

 jority migrate. They inhabit the dense woods 

 and build about the first of May. The nest is 

 placed on a horizontal limb, but generally in 

 the crotch of a pine or spruce tree. I have 

 found them as near the ground as fifteen or 

 twenty feet. The eggs are usually four in 

 number; their color is a light green covered 

 with blotches and spots of different shades of 

 brown. They vary greatly in size; a set of 

 four in my collection measure 1 5-8 in. by 1 1-8 

 in., 1 3-4 in. by 1 1-8 in., 1 3-4 in. by 1 1-8 in., 

 1 5-S in. by 1 1-8 in. The food of these birds 

 consists of larvai, small young birds and eggs. 

 During the winter the pangs of hunger press 

 them to the outskirts of the towns and villages. 



289. Blue Jay. Common. They are found 

 in the wooded districts. Their fiight is regu- 

 lar and they stay with us the entire winter, 

 living on acorns which tliey have stored away 

 for winter use. 



304. Kingbird or Bee Martin. Common. 

 Breeds. The food of this bird consists of 

 insects and great numbers of bees. The nest 

 is usually built near some telegraph or tele- 

 phone line where the birds sit and watch for 

 their prey. It is composed of wool, weeds and 

 small roots, and is lined with small roots. The 

 eggs, usually four in number, are yellowish- 

 white with a rosy tinge, and are spotted and 

 blotched with light brown. This bird arrives 

 from the south about the first week in May, and 

 departs about the last of September. They are 

 very pugnacious and soon drive away any hawk 

 or Crow that comes near. 



312. Great-crested Flycatcher. Common. 

 Found in the wooded districts. 



315. Phoebe. Common. Arrives in pairs 

 or singly about the first of April and lives on 

 bugs and insects. About the thii-d week in 

 April nest building commences. The nest is 

 very compact and deeply hollowed, being 

 placed under the eaves of a barn or house, in a 

 shed, under bridges or culverts, etc. It is com- 

 posed of moss and mud, being lined with 

 horse iiair, small, dried grass and otliei- soft 

 materials. The eggs are usually four in num- 

 ber, and are of a pure white color, some of 

 them being spotted with light brown, mostly 

 at the larger end. The eggs commonly meas- 

 ure 3-4 in. by 4-1(5 in. 



320. Wood Pewee. Common. Found both 

 in the dense woods and arcnind the shade tree 

 in the villages. Tlie nest is placed on a dead, 

 horizontal limb, and is composed of stringy 

 lichens and fine grasses, wound on with cob- 

 webs. It is lined with stringy lichens. Mr. 

 Samuels, in his Birds of Nc^w Enyland and 

 Adjacent States says, "The eggs are generally 

 four in number. They are very beautiful, 

 being of a delicate cream color with blotches 

 and spots of lilac and brown around the larger 

 end. There are two shades of brown, one 

 obscure, the other decided, even a lavender. 

 Tiie eggs are generally oval in shape and 

 but little larger at one end than at the otlier. 

 Length from .72 to .78 in., breadth from .54 to 

 .56 in. But one brood is reared in the season 

 in New England. The jjeriod of incubation is 

 fourteen days." 



335. Iluby-throated Hummer. Common. 

 Found around the marshy and swampy ])laces. 

 One nest which I found was placed on a hori- 

 zontal limb of a small maple in the woods. It 

 is composed of downy substances and is cov- 

 ered with bits of lichens wound on with 

 cobwebs. It is deeply hollowed. Tlie meas- 

 urement of the nest is 7-8 in. wide, 5-8 in. 



