AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 39 



summer, as they seemed familiar with the grounds and quite tame. 

 Later they began gathering material for a nest. The latter part of 

 June, three young thrushes were hopping and flying about the yard. 

 We had not succeeded in locating the nest. 



At times both birds would appear greatly excited, and fiercely chatter 

 and scold. Generally a cat could be found prowling about. When it 

 "was driven away they became quiet. About four o'clock one morning, 

 the scolding was heard, and later, one of the young birds was found 

 •dead, where it had been dropped by a cat. At one time they were 

 fiercely scolding in an apple tree which stood in the same yard, inves- 

 tigation proved that it was on account of an owl, which was found 

 -sitting on a limb of this tree. 



As soon as the owl was driven away they became quiet. July 7th 

 the old birds were seen feeding the first hatch; for the last time. A 

 new nest had been built in the same dwarf apple tree where they had 

 nested in 1901, but some four feet higher, near this apple tree stood a 

 shrub, in which a pair of catbirds had built a nest. The thrushes and 

 •catbirds seemed to be on very friendly terms; but whenever the cat- 

 l)irds tried to eat curdled milk from a dish that was set out for them, 

 the thrushes seemed to take pleasure in driving them away, just for 

 fun. A catbird would light on the edge of the dish, get all ready to 

 take a mouthful of the curd, and down would dart the thrushes, never 

 striking the catbird, but coming just near enough to frighten it away 

 from the dish. The thrush would fly back on the tree and await the 

 ■catbirds return, and the same thing would happen over again. You 

 ■could almost see laughter in the eyes of the thrush. The thrushes 

 never ate the curd. July 14th, the male thrush stopped singing about 

 the yard, A little later, the song of a thrush could be heard at times 

 in the distance. July 27th, three young birds left tne second nest. 

 During this season the old birds had become so tame, that they would 

 ieed about within two or three feet of members of the family. They 

 would come to the foot of the stairs leading up to the veranda, when 

 ■called ''Brownie, Brownie" and pick up the crumbs as thrown to them. 



One day the male bird brought all three of the little ones to the foot 

 of the stairs, and fed them by turns, as food was thrown to them. At 

 ■other times, the young birds would be scattered, and the old birds 

 would go back and forth carrying food to them. It was a habit of the 

 old birds to come daily to the foot of the stairs for a part of their food. 

 Early in August the second trio of young birds were missed, and a day 

 or two after the old birds disappeared. We are wondering if they will 

 •come back next season, and nest in the same yard. 



Leroy B. Noble, Cromwell, Conn. 



