308 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



liiirities of voice, inaniiors, and liahits than this very singular bird. It is 

 somewhat tern'striai in its life, ti'U(|iienting tangled liiiekets of vines, In-iers, 

 and brambles, and keeping itself very carefully concealed. It i.s noisy and 

 vociferous, constantly changing its position and moving from place to place. 



It is not abundant north of I'enn.sylvania, where it arrives early in May 

 and leaves the last of August. The males are said always to arrive three or 

 four days before their mates. 



Tliis s]tecies is described by Wilson as very much attached to certain 

 localities wliere they have once taken up their residence, a])])earing very 

 jealous, and offended at the least intrusion They scold vehemently at 

 every t)ne who a])i)roaches or even passes by their ])laces of I'etreat, giving 

 utterance to a great variety of odd and uncouth soiuids. AVilson states that 

 these sounds may be easily imitated, so as to deceive the bird itself, and to 

 draw it alter one ; the bird following repeating its cries, but never permit- 

 ting itself to be seen. Such responses he describes as con.stant and nijiid, 

 and strongly expressive both of anger and anxiety, tlnnr voice, as it shifts, 

 unseen, from place to place, seeming to be mcn-e like that of a s]»irit than a 

 bird. These sounds Wilson compares to the whistling of the wings of a 

 duck, being re])etitions of short notes, beginning louil and rapid, and fall- 

 ing lower and lower. Again a succession of other notes, said to closely 

 resendjle the barking of young pupjiies, is follovjd by a variety of hollow, 

 guttural sounds, each eight or ten times repeated, at times resembling the 

 mewing of a cat, only hoarser, — all of these, as he states, uttered with 

 great vehemence, in dill'erent keys and with jieculiar modulations, now as if 

 at a considerable distance, and the next moment as if close by your side ; 

 so that, l)y these tricks of ventrihxjuism, one is utterly at a loss to ascertain 

 from what particular ([uarter they ])roceed. In mild weatlier this strange 

 melody of sounds is kejjt up throughout the night during the first of the 

 pairing-season, but ceases as soon as incubation commences. 



They con.struct their nest about the middle of May. These are placed 

 within a few feet of the ground, in the midst of low brambles, vines, and 

 bu.shes, generally in a tangled tliicket. They build a rude but strongly woven 

 nest, the outer portions more loo.sely made of dry leaves ; within these are 

 interwoven thin strips of the bark of the wild grape, fibrous roots, and fine 

 dry grasses. 



Tiie eggs, four or five in number, are usually hatched out within twelve 

 day.s, and in alxtut as many more the young are ready to leave their nest. 



While the female is sitting, and still more after the young are hatched, the 

 cries of the male are loud and incessant whim his nest is a])proached. He 

 no longer seeks to conceal hini.self, lait ri.ses in the air, his legs dangling in a 

 peculiar manner, ascending and descending in sudden jerks that betray his 

 great irritation. 



Tlie food of this bird consists chiefly of beetles and other in.sects, and 

 of different kinds of berries and small fruit, and it said to be especially fond 

 of wild strawberries. 



