MAINE OUNITllULOlilSl AND OULUGIST. 



Some of the birds of low a. 



B\ (»i u IOWA «:uui;i:sroxb 

 {Continued'^ 



The Nuthatch's nest is composed of; 



fciitUers. leaves, bits of biirk etc. I 



j 



The number of ^'fCgs is usually eight,! 

 and thov are ota rosy white color spot- | 

 ted with shades i.f brown, mostly at the I 

 larger end. Ajull .">th. while restingj 

 unde*" a large tree, my attention was at- j 

 traded bv a pair uf Nuihatcirs, wliicli : 

 were flyingto and from a hole in the top I 

 of a tree, 1 watched them a long while ' 

 and'at last concluded to go up and see! 

 how uear their nest was to completion, j 

 1 touud the h.'le to be about C inches I 

 and rhe bottom covered with pieces olj 

 b.i'k. I did not visit that woods ag;iin I 

 until May lOlh., wiien I again climbed j 

 the tree and found eightyouig Nuthatch- j 

 es. 



A nest containing .seven fresh eggs 

 was f<mnd ne;;r here April llSth. The 

 average size of the seven was .78x.o8 

 inches. 



The Robin {Tardus ^ligratorions.)-- 

 Although the Robin is one of our most 

 <'ominon birds, it is a ve^v interestinir 

 on*». The American robin is an en- | 

 tirely distinct species of thrush from the I 

 European bird from whi"h it is named ; I 

 it is a larger and moreuumerous species. 

 Robins arrive from the south as soon hs j 

 the weather begins to show sin<:s of re- 

 tiirr.iiig spring and frequently they come 

 among us in the January thaws, only to 

 bj driven off again with the return of 

 orl ler weather. 



A larije floch of Robins was seen here 

 Dec. 2i)t\\. hSlH). and or.'ier fiock^ wtr,. 

 .s»^o.n iluring the latter part of .lanuaiy. 

 Tbt» first nest is usuallv ciuumcnci'd 

 earlv in 'April, deciduo'is trees being 

 at that time leafless The nest is a 

 bulky strui-ture composed o\' leaves, 

 twigs, roots find grass lined with mud 

 and grass. Thev usuallv lav ftmr some- 

 times five eggs and rai-e as many ns 

 three broods in favorable seasons. 



Among the curious places where I 

 have found nests was on the rafters of 

 a milroad bridge. Two nesis were 

 found on one bridge, one contained two 

 and the other four eggs. The bridge 

 was passed over by train several times a 

 dixy. The eggs are greenish-V)lue in 

 color and are very rarely spotted wi^h 

 brown. Two eggs found April 27 '00. 

 had a few fine spots of brown on the 

 larger end. 



The average size of two sets of four 

 eggs collected ^lav 2nd, '90 was 1.14 

 by S2 inches. The food of the Robins 

 consists, in summer, of insects, giiib- 

 worms, cherries and strawberries. 



The number of insects destroyed by 

 these birds more than pays for the few 

 cherries and strawberries they eat. 



A nest containing three young birds 

 was found near here Sept. 4th. This 

 was probiibly a third nest. 



The robins leave for the south in 

 tlocl'.s during Octvd>er. 



<*»»» 



WANTED.— Arban's CornetMeth- 

 od, best edition. Will give in ex- 

 change, sea curiosities of all kinds^ 

 TiiKGLADiiS Box 78, N. Situate. M*ass, 



