WILD FRUIT. 59 



During- May cedar birds and crow blackbirds also relished them, and 

 the robin, when hard pressed on its arrival, during the last of Feb- 

 ruary, was seen to eat them eagerly. 



Mulberries. — The first wild fruit that offei's a freshl}^ ripened supply 

 at Marshall Hall is the mulberr}^ and it lasts from the end of May 

 until the end of eTune. On May 29, 1896, observations were made of 

 birds feeding' in a large mulberry tree in the wooded gully of the hog 

 lot. A pair of downy woodpeckers that bred in a willow stub near 

 by were twice noted eating- the berries. A Baltimore oriole, probably 

 a late migrant, fed on them eagerh^ Several pairs of orchard orioles 

 and kingbirds which nested together near the house came to the tree 

 at frequent intervals. The kingbirds would balance themselves on the 

 topmost sprays and pluck the berries as gingerl}- as if they had been 

 insects. Two pairs of red-eyed vireos and a pair of white-eyed vireos 

 haunted the mulberr3^and adjacent trees, now" and then taking a berry, 

 but most of the time apparently eating insects. A cardinal that 

 nested on the shore of the calamus swamp, 200 yards distant, made one 

 trip to the tree, but was accidentally frightened out of any subsequent 

 visits. Crows came from the woods 25 rods away and three blue jays 

 journeyed at least a quarter of a mile for the fruit. Song sparrows 

 frequentl}^ hopped about on the ground beneath the tree and picked 

 up fallen fruit. A flock of eight cedar birds fairly gorged themselves. 

 At intervals the}" would repair to cedar trees on the brink of the 

 gully and sit as motionless as if they were literally stuffed, until diges- 

 tion relieved their repletion. Then the}" would apparently wake up, 

 preen their pretty plumage, and, regaining activity one after another, 

 would presently with one accord fly back to the berries with renewed 

 appetite. They appeared to spend their whole time alternately feast- 

 ing and napping. The catbirds were about as gluttonous, but nof.so 

 lazy. They came to the tree from the neighborhood, from the house, 

 and from the river bluft'. Hardly a j^eriod of five minutes passed in 

 which not one was among the branches, and three or four were often 

 present at once. They were so tame that it was possible to see just 

 how they fed. One would pluck a berry, sometimes an inch long, bolt 

 it whole, and then stand almost choking, with mouth wide open, while 

 the berry, which made a great lump in its gullet, slowly passed into its 

 stomach. Then with evident relief it would hop about and perhaps 

 sing a few bars of song. There was no luxurious idleness among 

 the catbirds. As soon as they had eaten they either sang or flew 

 away to resume nest building, incubation, or the feeding of their 

 young. Mulberries formed at this season the greater part of their 

 food. 



A list follows of the birds that were observed feeding on this fruit 

 or that were found by examination to have eaten it. 



