OF VIRGINIA 177 
tree on my frout lawn, the other pair in a pine tree just out- 
side my yard fence. In both instances they have occupied 
the same branch each season for four consecutive summers, 
sometimes starting their new nest on top of the remains 
of the old last year’s one. The nest is a well-made 
structure of weed stems, fine grass, rootlets and fiber, lined 
with hair, finer rootlets or fibers. Often the nest is well 
adorned with strings, rags and bits of paper. They seem 
to show little preference for a nesting site in this section, 
from a pine tree forty feet up, down to a lower limb of 
an orchard tree, four feet up, being used. Three to four 
eges is a full set with us here, generally three, a creamy- 
white ground color, spotted or blotched with reddish-brown 
or lilac. Size, .95x.70. Fresh ezes June 15th to July 
sth. They are quite abundantly distributed over the 
whole area, even on most of the islands off our coast. where 
they also breed. The fall migration of local birds begins 
about August 25th, while the more northern birds pass 
through in large flocks during the following two weeks. 
Sometimes two broods are raised during one season, Thev 
are a most beneficial bird: beetles, caterpillars, grass- 
hoppers, crickets, small butterflies and moths, hornets and 
wasps. being their chief articles of food. They are very 
fond of our native June bug (Lachnosterna), the catching 
of which, while on the wing, is a most interesting sight. 
They also eat numerous wild berries, such as dogwood. 
chokeberry, black-gum, and pokeberry. 
