24 PHEVO. & (O2SEMIPANINEAIE: 
Cowbirds eggs in company with those of this species. The nest is 
sometimes so flimsy that every egg may be seen from below; then 
again, some of them make very compact homes in which to rear | 
their young. 
The Rose-breast feeds on seeds and young buds, and gives a de- 
cided preference to buds of the cherry tree. It is about eight inches 
long ; the bill is slightly arched ; the general color above is shining 
black, with the breast and under wing coverts a soft rose color. The 
lower parts, rump, upper tail coverts and under wing coverts are pure 
white. There is also a small patch of white on the end of the three 
outer tail-feathers. The female is brownish above, with yellowish 
marks and tinges. 
The males assist in incubation, and when their nest is being 
pillaged, both continue around the thief, and not until the depredator 
has left their sight do they discontinue their scolding. 
Its song, although rather simple, is soft and very pleasing to the 
ear. 
It breeds from the Middle States northward, and from the New 
England States to the Missouri. 
BREATHING THROUGH BROKEN BONES. 
BY C. C. MAXFIELD, WILLARD, N. Y. 
A recent article in the Ornithologist and Oologist has led me to 
give an experience of mine in relation to the breathing of birds 
through broken bones. 
In the year 1883, while hunting Snipe on the Onieda River, my 
brother shot a large Great Blue Heron, breaking the bone of the right 
wing. The bird fell into the water and we went out for him in a 
boat. He was partly submerged in the water and I thought a good 
way to dispatch him would be to hold his head under water and 
drown him. The boat was pulled up so that by using an oar I man- 
aged to grasp his neck in my hand and forced his head under water, 
in the operation getting an ugly cut from his beak. I grasped the 
neck near the head and pushed it under water and held it there for 
some little time. Supposing that he was drowned, I let go the neck 
