174 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 85 



The position assumed in brooding depended on its pur- 

 pose. In protecting the nestlings from rain or cold the posi- 

 tions were the same. The female settled down on the nest 

 until it was completely covered and the feathers of the breast 

 were well down over the young. It was also noted that she 

 generally faced the wind. In brooding as a protection from 

 the heat, she stood on the edge of the nest, with her back to 

 the sun, wings spread, feathers of the breast ruffled and 

 mouth open. From this study the brooding time seems to 

 depend on three factors, viz. — temperature, rainfall, and age 

 of the young. The temperature factor will of course be mod- 

 ified by the length of time the nest is shaded by the sur- 

 rounding vegetation. As the young become older the brood- 

 ing becomes less intense for heat or cold but remains about 

 the same as a protection against rain. 



Feeding. 

 Few feeding records were obtained from nest B as the par- 

 ents were very shy and finally deserted the nest. Altogether 

 only six feedings were recorded and in but three of these 

 was the food determined. In these three feedings 1 larva, 1 

 fly, and 1 bug were fed. The parents both approached the 

 nest at various times with food but either ate it themselves 

 or went away still carrying it in their beaks. 



NEST A. 



During the study of nest A which was under observation 

 twenty-five hours and twenty minutes, on June 30 and July 

 1, 206 feedings were recorded. On twelve of these feedings 

 two nestlings were fed making a total of 218 in which 241 

 morsels of food were given. The fact that the undergrowth 

 was so dense prevented accurate determination of the sex of 

 the parent feeding. For this reason no attempt is made to 

 state the amount of feeding by each parent. It is known 

 that both assisted in this work as on several occasions they 

 came to the nest together with food. 



An examination of table II reveals two interesting facts. 



