290 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



The movements of the Louisiana Water Thrush as he stands upon 

 some pinnacle in song, or runs the length of a moss covered log at the 

 brink of a marsh are easily confused with those of the Spotted Sand- 

 piper. There is that same bobbing and tilting of tail common to the 

 "Tip Up." 



As the period of nidification draws nigh, the sweet song that has 

 made the wooded glen a place of oft retreat and delight to the lover of 

 Gods' out of doors dies away and we now hear the plain cheat, cheat, 

 cheat only, which generally issues from, or near the site which has been 

 chosen for a summer home. Nesting season usually begins with March, 

 though it is not uncommon to find nests containing fresh eggs in May. 



The upturned roots or a fallen tree, or the moss and fern covered 

 slope overlooking some secluded stream is an ideal nesting site. The 

 nest is generally in close proximity to flowing water, and it is not un- 

 common to find one under the drip of a fern covered craig, or snugly 

 tucked away under a water-soaked log. The nest is composed of root- 

 lets and grass stems upon a massive foundation of leaves plastered to- 

 gether with mud. 



Near my home in East Tennessee were a number of deep ravines 

 which were chosen from year to year by these birds as a desirable sum- 

 mer home. I returned to my home in the summer of 1900 after an ab- 

 sence of a couple of years, and directed a lover of bird lore to a place 

 where he might go in order to locate the nest of a Louisiana Water 

 Thrush. After a very careful search of an area not to exceed eight feet 

 square on an almost perpindicular bank of a little stream he returned 

 without locating a nest. The following day I happened to wend my 

 up this shaded glen, and glanced into what had so often proven a home 

 site of this species. Standing in the tracks made by my friend on the 

 previous day, I began to raise the overhanging ferns one by one soon 

 to disclose Mrs. Water Thrush peeping out though her latticed door. 

 Within were five mottled eggs. So completely was this nest concealed 

 that without first shifting the position of the overhanging ferns no trace 

 of it could possibly be seen. 



I have known two nests of this specie which contained abnormal 

 eggs. One contained a full and slightly incubated set of perfectly 

 white eggs. The incubating bird was so indisposed to leave her nest 

 that I approached and stretched forth my hand and laid it over the nest 

 without so much as disturbing the bird. Upon the removal of my hand 

 she fluttered down into the nearby stream and across to the other side. 

 Another nest contained three-soft shell eggs. These were perfectly 

 shaped and apparently an incomplete set. 



