MAINK OHMTIIOLOCIS'l AM) OOLOCJIST. 



Some of the birds cf Iowa, 



BY OUU IOWA r.()Ki;Ksr()NI T 

 ( Conciudi'd) 



Our Chickadee is u very nnmeroiis 

 species and einenaiitly jxrcgiaions ; ar.d 

 is fond of tfaveliuL!; in tlie c'()mj)aiiy with 

 the Nuthatches and Cieepers, Ahnost 

 every flock «»f Chickadees has a pair of 

 Nuthatches and one or moreCi'eepei'sin 

 it, wliosiiv into the cliinks of bark, while 

 the Cliickdee's break open the hnnclie.s 

 of dead leaves and catcri)illars ne.-ts foi' 

 the insects they contain. They he<;in to 

 build about thw middle of Apiil, and by 

 tlie middle ()f .May the young are gener- 

 ally Iwitched . 



The nest is compossl of moss, hair 

 Iciives, <Ti-ass etc. and is generally placed 

 in a deserted Woodpeckers hole, a nat- 

 ural cavitv or a liole mad j by theChick- 

 iitle*^. Tiie cgg> are from five to eight in 

 Tiuml»er, most always six. I'iiey are a 

 creamy wiiite, spotted with revldish- 

 l)r)wn. Five eggs <rollected May 3d. 

 1890 measure .5.Sx.48 .58x.47 .60x.47 

 .<iOx 48 .o!)x.4.s. Five nestsfound May 

 17th '90. cont{'ine<l each >ix young about 

 a week Old. I found twf> nests IMay lOtli 

 one ot' vvliich contained se\en frcsli n'^^^ 

 and the oti.er, f< ur young just hatched 

 a-idtwo Q]i]i;' , Tie first nest was in a 

 bole in a stump so near the ground that 

 the n?st was on a level witb the gr(jund. 



Probably no bir 1 does less liai'm tlian 

 the Ciiichadee an 1 it shoul 1 be protect- 

 ed by every one especiallv the fai'mer. 

 for whom it does a great deal of good, bv 

 <lestroyinir numerons insects. 



Whife-bollied Xnthatch ( S'jV^a Cnrnl- 

 tnensts) — This is one of our resident 



birds, being fouml here all the vear. 

 Tlicy are most numerious in the Fall 

 and winter when their queei- "quack'* 

 can be heard most any day. 



Karly in Ai>rilthey begin to nest, 

 and the (lesting place is usually a nat- 

 ural cavity in a' decayed tree. 

 ( To he coiUinn.ed. ) 



The Yellow-breastd Chat. 



WKITTKN FOR TIIK MAINK (). &. O 



This sprightly little bird is quite com- 

 mon here as a aummer resident. They 

 arrive about the second week in May 

 and soon make their presence known by 

 their noisy, yet sweet and m«isical chat- 

 terings, which during the breeding 

 season is heard far into the night. 



The nest is composed outwardly of 

 leaves and weed stems, and lined gen- 

 erally with a certain kind of fi-ietrailing 

 vine of previous growth. 



It is placed in thickets of greenbrierg 

 in pastures, bushes, s vamps or scrub- 

 land and from two to four feet from the 

 ground. The eggs sometimes seem 

 rather large for so small a bird. They 

 vary greatly in size and markings, but 

 a typical egg is glossy white, well mark- 

 ed over its entiiv surface, but mostly at 

 the larger end, with chestnut brown 

 and a few faint splashes of lilac ; size : 

 .94x.70. 



The usual number laid in this local- 

 ity is four, ftud in several years of care- 

 full observance, I have found but three 

 sets of three eggs. They sometimes 

 raise a second br'M)d. as I have found 

 fresh eggs late in June. 



VV. I. CoMSToCK, Nor walk. Conn. 



