BIRDS OF NEW YORK STATE 13 



Blackbird, Red-winged (continued) 



Call no. 

 Nu B124 The Beginning of a Nest. Renwick marsh, near Ithaca. 

 (May 21, 1910) Allen 



Note how these first fibers are woven in and out among the 

 sedges. How does the bird get these fibers? Of what advantage 

 are they? 



Nu B125 Nest with Five Eggs in Clump of Green Arrow Arum 

 (Peltandra virginka). Renwick marsh, near Ithaca. (June 

 8, 1907) Allen 



Note date. Nests btiilt late in the season are often placed in 

 the softer vegetation about ponds and streams, because the cat- 

 tails and sedges have then become very harsh. The nesting 

 season is short. 



Nu B13 Nest Turned onto One Side by Growth of Part of Vegeta- 

 tion to Which It Is Attached. Renwick marsh, near 

 Ithaca. (Alay 19, 1910) Allen 



One side of the nest is attached to dead stubs of cat-tails, the 

 other to rapidly growing leaves. Many nests are capsized 

 this way. \\''hat may have happened to the rest of the eggs? 



Nu B132 Nest and Broken Eggs in Reeds. Oneida lake. (May 

 1908) Bailey 



The eggs in this nest have been pierced, probably by the long- 

 billed marsh wren. In swamps, where red-winged blackbirds 

 and long-billed marsh wrens nest side by side, it is not unusual 

 to find the eggs of the blackbirds destroyed in this way. The 

 last two pictures indicate some of the agencies through which 

 the increase of bird life is retarded. 



Nu B136 Female Incubating, Nest in Coarse Bog Grass. Arcade. 

 (1909) Beehe 



The bird has its mouth open on account of the heat, the grass 

 around it ha\'ing been pressed down for the purpose of photo- 

 graphing. This nest is much nearer the ground than is cus- 

 tomary. 



Nu B138 Four Pictures Showing Growth: Young Bird Hatching; 

 Birds Five Days Old; Bird Nine Days Old; Bird 10 Days 

 Old. Renwick. (May and June 1910) Allen 



(1) Contains two eggs and one young bird not able to raise 

 his head, blind, helpless, with only a little down along the prin- 



