322 THE BIRDS 
Manitoba, central Ontario, southern Quebec, and Nova 
Seotia south to northeastern Oregon, northern Utah, 
northeastern New Mexico, eastern Texas and northern 
Florida; resident in Bermuda; winters from Southern 
States to the Bahamas and Cuba and through Mexico to 
Panama; casual in winter north to the Middle States; 
accidental on the Farallon Islands and in Europe. 
This bird is very common over our whole area, but 
does not winter with us, arriving about April 4th from 
the south. It is generally some weeks before they start 
nest building after arrival, during which time every bush 
and clump of vines is inspected by them for a suitable. 
nesting site, all the while they are mocking or mimicking 
notes of some other common species. A second-growth 
bush, clump of briars, or honeysuckle, is a favorite loca- 
tion, from four to eight feet up. Nest composed of twigs, 
bark fiber, and lined with fine rootlets. Sometimes nests 
have bits of paper, string and rags as additional nesting 
material. Eggs bluish-green, unmarked, three to five in 
number. Size, .96x.70. Fresh eggs May 15th to June 
1st. Occasionally a second setting. During the berry 
season they do quite a little damage to strawberries, 
currants, raspberries (both black and red), blackberries 
and dewberries, but the good they do around the place 
far offsets the harm done. They seem particularly fond 
of the wild fox and muscadine grapes in the early fall, 
which are nearly ripe just before migration, large numbers 
passing southward around September 27th. Their 
earliest date of arrival is March 3rd, but this is an 
unusual case. Aside from the fruit eaten, they destroy 
a large amount of insects and their larve. Like the 
Mockingbird, they are very fond of the poke berry, while 
they also eat the dogwood and black-gum berries. They 
