104 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 



and tapering to a point, bluish lead-colored, two-thirds of 

 an inch in length; head, throat and upper part of the 

 back, black; lower part of the back, rump and whole un- 

 der parts, bright orange, deeper on the breast; the 

 black on the shoulders is divided by a band of orange; 

 wings, black, edged with white; tail, black and orange, 

 slightly forked; legs and feet, light blue or lead color. 

 The female is yellow olive above, the head and back more 

 or less spotted with blackish ; tail and rump, uniform yel- 

 low olive, inclining to orange; wings, dull brown, with 

 whitish edgings ; under surface of body, pale orange, with 

 more or less dull black feathers on the throat and sides of 

 the head. Young like the female, but darker above, and 

 with no black marking on back, head or throat. 



The nest is variable, depending a great deal on whether 

 the bird is breeding near civilization or in the wilderness. 

 It prefers the extreme end of an upper branch of a tree 

 in an orchard, near enough to the house to keep hawks 

 away and with the branch light enoiigh to sway in the 

 wind. The nest hangs from the branch and, when near 

 human habitation, the entrance is near the top, wide 

 open and the nest is long and narrow. When found in 

 the wilderness the opening is said to be often far smaller 

 and the nest is more the shape of a bottle. It is finely 

 woven together, the materials being plant fibre, string, 

 hair, flax, tow. or anything of the kind the bird can get 

 hold of. The eggs are from four to six in number, four- 

 fifths by three-fifths of an inch in size, white with black 

 and brown scrawls. 



The birds breed in the eastern part of the United States, 

 north of Virginia, where they put in an appearance about 

 the first of May. They remain here until about the 

 middle of August and are more numerous in the northern 

 part of the state than in the southern. 



Their song is shrill, but somewhat martial, and they 

 have two song seasons, one during mating and another in 

 August until they leave. 



