23

1916.

7. Brown Thrasher. A male singing in our neighborhood from
May 2 [May 2, 1916] to June 7 [June 7, 1916], usually near the foot of the lane in Cedar
Park, sometimes at the rear of the old farm, up to the close of May.
Twice before that, what was presumably the self-same bird
was heard at the Ritchie place and once he sang in Howe's pasture
across the road from there, where I saw him last on June 15.
Perhaps it was also the same individual that I heard in the
Grain Field on June 6 [June 6, 1916] & 7 [June 7, 1916]. The only other noted by me anywhere
was a male singing near Dr. Cheeney's house at Concord on
the latter date [June 7, 1916]. Mr. Dexter heard but one other this season
- somewhere in Waden woods [Walden woods].

8.� Bluebird. Present in normal numbers throughout most of
Concord Region. Only one pair bred in our neighborhood. 
Their first nest must have been somewhere beyond my ken.
The second, begun on May 17 [May 17, 1916], was in a box on a pole, about
15 ft. above the ground, well out in the field in front of our
house. On May 28 [May 28, 1916] I saw both birds flitting about or perched on
it quietly at 8 A.M. but at 5 P.M. found the shells of five
apparently fresh eggs lying close together on the ground directly
beneath it while the smooth surface of the barkless pole was
scored here and there all the way up to the box by claw
marks so fine and near together that they must have been made
by some mammal considerably smaller than a cat and perhaps
by the Lesser Brown Weasel seen often of late in neighboring
stone walls although it is possible that a Squirrel may
have been the marauder. After losing this set of eggs the
birds nested in a box on the poultry house where I saw 
two full fledged young looking out at the entrance hole
on June 28 [June 28, 1916].