Three Tame Hermit Thrushes 65 



still remained on the feathers, and much natal down still 

 clung to the tips of the feathers. I decided that they were 

 about eight days old. 



Although my examination of the dwelling place of these 

 little Thrushes had been so cursory, I saw that the founda- 

 tion of the nest was made almost entirely of sphagnum moss 

 (Sphagnum acutifolinm), which had been gathered and mod- 

 elled while wet. The nest when dry was almost as firm and 

 brittle as the mud cup of the Robin. The lining consisted of 

 the orange setae of hair cap moss (Polytrichum coniinune) 

 and hair cap mioss itself, and yet a white pine grew within 

 three or four yards of the nest ; this was the first structure 

 made by a Hermit Thrush that I had ever found without white 

 pine needles in its lining. By 11 a. m. I was at home with 

 the Thrush family. The birds took readily to ants' eggs, and 

 bread and milk, as Avell as grasshoppers. They required a 

 great deal more water than the Olive-backed Thrush would 

 take. 



The same large packing box that I used for the Olive- 

 backed Thrush served as a bird house. In one end soft cot- 

 ton wadding afforded a comfortable bed, in the other, a lilac 

 branch met the requirements of a perch, and still a corner 

 large enough was left to contain a fresh garden of earth and 

 plants in a platter. 



The birds were still in the nest stage and preferred to snug- 

 gle in a heap on the soft batting to sitting on a branch. They 

 could not perch or stand for any length of time. They soon 

 became so accustomed to the house that my footsteps on the 

 hard floor did not awaken them. 



The second day, at 4:30 a. m., the Thrushes called for 

 food for the first time. I gave them a fresh linen towel to 

 nestle on. Toward night they seemed nearly as active as the 

 Olive-backed Thrush when ten days old. One lifted his foot 

 and scratched his ear twice. 



On the third day, when the little Hermits were really ten 

 days old, they began to perch and fly. They also began to 

 raise and lower their little stub-like tails. 



