BIRDS GF THE UNITED STATES. 
21,7 
diligent searching for a day or two, hut in the case of inexperienced 
individuals, the time may be protracted for nearly a week. Where per- 
mitted to rear their progeny unmolested, a strong attachment is shown for 
the same neighborhood, and instances occur where the same pair dwell 
and breed in some cherished haunt for several years in succession. 
In the construction of a home both birds labor with the utmost dili- 
gence. They are usually about three days thus occupied, each bird takiug 
an equal share in the task. The nest is anything but elaborate in its 
mechanism, and has little to recommend it in artistic design and beauty. 
It is a strong, coarse structure, placed upon a branch over a crotch, some- 
times held in position by adjoining twigs, and is composed of sticks rudely 
and firmly interwoven. Inside there is usually a lining of dark fibrous 
roots. In proportions it is almost equal to the nest of the Purple Grackle. 
The domicile being completed, on the following day, sometimes not so 
soon, the female begins to lay, at the rate of one egg a day, her comple- 
ment of eggs. This is usually five, although nests have been found with 
six, and others more rarely with four. Incubation is closely attendant 
upon oyiposition, and generally dates from the day following the last de- 
posit. This business is the sole labor of the female for about seventeen 
days. While she is thus occupied the male encourages her by his jrresence, 
or when not foraging, guards the spot from intrusion. He is a very 
jealous husband, and will not permit any of the feathered denizens of the 
woods to approach, without resenting it in the most determined manner, 
and inflicting severe punishment. Human interference is greeted with loud 
and angry cries, and the infuriated bird is with diflTiculty beaten off 
In Texas, according to Dr. Lincecum, the nest is built of mud, a 
substance which is rarely utilized in more northern localities. In situations 
contiguous to houses, rags of calico, cotton thread, and other similar mate- 
rials, form a very cosy and suitable lining. Such places are chosen on 
account of the protection against Hawks which they secure. A single 
brood is annually raised, and but four eggs constitute a setting. In tbe 
abdomen of a female which he dissected there were found one hundred 
