62 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 83. 



bird flew to the limb of one of the nearby oak trees and 

 either dropped the sac to the ground or deposited it on the 

 bark of the tree. The bird then wiped the sides of its beak 

 against the hmb. 



Miscellaneous Behavior. 



Throughout the period of observation, the female made 

 close inspections of the nest. She was very careful of the 

 young, through the heat, wind and rains, covering them well 

 and keeping the interior of the nest dry. During the early 

 days, if the young leaned out over the rim of the nest, she 

 pulled them back or pecked them until they moved of their 

 own accord. 



The parent birds were very watchful of the young, and 

 always present at the approach of any intruder. Several 

 birds, such as the cowbirds, blue jay, wren, chickadee, brown 

 thrasher, king bird, and blackbird, came into the neighbor- 

 hood of the nest at different times. They were driven away 

 either by the combined efforts of the male and female, or by 

 one of the parents alone. The only bird which did not seem 

 to arouse the warblers, and which was not driven out, was 

 a catbird. 



On July 8, shortly before noon, the observer in the blind 

 caught sight of a small garter snake crawling along on the 

 tops of the weeds, not more than a foot away from the nest. 

 While the snake seemed to be directing its course aimlessly, 

 yet it came nearer to the nest, and even rubbed against the 

 bush containing the nest, a few inches beneath the latter. At 

 this point the observer interfered, but failed to capture the 

 intruder. In the meantime the parents were very greatly dis- 

 turbed and afraid to return, notwithstanding the calls of the 

 young birds. Five minutes after the snake had been driven 

 away, the female returned to the nest with a miller. The 

 male came almost at the same time with food. 



Later in the same day another snake incident occurred, 

 which terminated in a tragedy. The following account was 



