OF VIRGINIA 197 
thus rob the hogs of a great amount of food, while many 
pounds of nuts are taken from the stacks while the peanuts 
are still on the vines drying. It would be a hard matter 
to estimate the actual damage thus done, in hard cash, 
but it must be quite a large item cach year. The nest is 
generally placed in a pine tree, or in the island cedars, 
generally at the extreme, topmost notch, the height vary- 
ing from fifteen to seventy-five feet, according to the 
variety and location of tree. The nest is composed of 
sticks, twigs and bark fiber, lined with finer bark fiber, 
preferably that of the cedar. Four to six eggs is a com- 
plete set, greenish-white, blotched, specked, and spotted 
with lilae or reddish-brown. A series of eggs presents a 
great variation in size, ground color and markings. Size, 
1.45x1.05. Nest building commences early in April, 
from two to three weeks elapsing before any eggs are 
deposited. The season also has much to do with the 
depositing of the eggs. Only one brood a season. My 
earliest record for fresh eggs is May 4th, while my latest 
is May 28th. They remain throughout the year, though 
probably many of the birds wintering with us come from 
further north. Their food in this section consists chiefly 
of insect life, refuse and dead fish cast upon the beaches, 
peanuts, and berries of the dogwood, holly and sassafras. 
It is a much smaller bird than the preceding species, and 
one can easily distinguish it from that species by its notes, 
uttered as though from a stuffed-up sore throat, and 
through the nasal passage. I am still undecided as to 
whether they do more good than harm. 
