142 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



The eggs of the Golden-crowned Thrush are 

 oval in shape, with one end the larger. Their 

 ground-color is a beautiful creamy-white which is 

 marked with dots and blotches of reddish-broWn, 

 lilac, dark purple, and ferruginous, variously inter- 

 mingled. In a few instances, there is noticable 

 around the larger end, a beautiful crown of the 

 above colors, contrasting very markedly with the 

 nearly spotless surface of the residue. 



■ Sciurus noveboracensis, Nutt. 



The Water Thrush or Wagtail as we commonly 

 term this species from its peculiar habits of alter- 

 nately elevating and depressing its tail, cannot be 

 considered either abundant or rare. It makes its 

 appearance in the beginning of May, about the 

 time of the arrival of the subject of the preceding 

 sketch. 



Like its near cousin, it is partial to woodlands 

 with a dense growth of underbrush, or in which 

 running water is a noticeable feature. It rarely 

 visits cultivated; grounds. It is par excellence a 

 hermit. Within its accustomed haunts, it manifests 

 little. dread of man. The fondness which it affects 

 for sequestered retreats, is, doubtless, due to the 

 ready supply of particular food-stuffs which it there 

 fmds. No feature of woodland scenery is more 

 attractive to the Wagtail than running water. Its 

 appreciation is shown by its common tendency to 

 breed inclose contiguity. The small aquatic in- 

 sects, in divers stages, which are denizens of such 



