172 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 85 



Brooding. 

 The parents did no brooding during the time nest A was 

 under observation. This study was made during the last two 

 days of the nest life and the young birds were well feathered 

 out. The weather was bright and warm, eliminating brood- 

 ing as a protection from cold and rain and the nest was also 

 well shaded thruout the day, likewise doing away with brood- 

 ing as a protection from the direct rays of the sun. The 

 study of nest B was too brief to obtain any data on brood- 

 ing. Table I will show the time spent in brooding while 

 nest C was under observation. 



TABLE I. 



Brooding Time Each Day. Nest C. 



Per cent 

 Date Brooding Time Total Time of Brooding 



July 21 5 hr. 53 min. 7 hr. 35 min. 77.58 



July 22 11 hr. 2 min. 15 hr. 50 min. 69.68 



July 23 6 hr. 51 min. 13 hr. 40 min. 50.11 



July 24 8 hr. 49 min. 15 hr. 30 min. 56.88 



July 25 12 hr. 4 min. 15 hr. 80.04 



July 26 5 hr. 14 hr. 35 min. 34.28 



July 27 7 hr. 26 min. 15 hr. 40 min. 47.44 



July 28 4 hr. 50 min. 15 hr. 15 min. 31.69 



July 29 4 hr. 55 min. 15 hr. 20 min. 32.17 



July 30 5 hr. 54 min. 14 hr. 45 min. 40. 



Total 72 hr. 44 min. 143 hr. 10 min. 50.80 



This table shows a tendency for the brooding time to de- 

 crease each day until it becomes about 30% of the observa- 

 tion time at which point it seems to reach the minimum. To 

 warrant any conclusions in regard to this point it would be 

 necessary to have practically the same weather and tempera- 

 ture conditions thruout the study. On two days, the twenty- 

 second and twenty-fifth it rained, steadily for several hours 

 and the brooding time was proportionately increased, as the 

 young were brooded most of this time. On the twenty- 

 second it rained almost steadily from 11:00 a. m. to 5:20 

 p. M. and during this time the nest was uncovered only four- 

 teen minutes. The absences, which were of short duration, 



