iioga Oc. N.T. Aldea Loring. 



1. Wood Tllrusli. Common. Found in tlie 

 woods and underbrush. Perolied on some 

 tree or bush the male pours forth his beautiful 

 notes which make the woods ring. The nest 

 of this species is placed in a small bush or on 

 tlie ground, and is coraposvd of dried grass and 

 I pine needles loosely put together, but quite 

 j bulky. The eggs, four in number, are of a 

 ' light blue color and usually measure 7-8 

 j by 5-8 in. 



BirdB Breeding in District of 

 Columbia. 0. W. Richmond. 



98. Turdus mustelinus. Wood Thrush.— Common. Regarding the 

 material composing the nest, Dr. Cones says : "As is well known, the nest 

 of this species is saddled on the bough of a bush, shrub, or low tree, and 

 has mud in its composition" ('Birds of the Northwest,' p. 2). In 'Avifauna 

 Columbiana,' p. 34, he contradicts this statement, and speaks as follows: 

 '•The nest, placed in a bush or sapling, differs from that of the Robin in 

 having no mud in its composition." As far as the writer's experience 

 goes, and it accords with that of other collectors here, the nest of the 

 Wood Thrush does contain considerable mud. The number of eggs found 

 in a nest is usually four, and the nest is placed in a small sapling or tree, 

 ! from four to twenty feet from the ground. 



Wood Thkush.— Is not four an unusti- 

 ally large set of Wood Thrasli? During 

 the past season I have found in all thirty- 

 seven nests, and do not remember to have 

 observed more than three, either eggs or 

 young birds, in any nest. Also, what is the 

 farthest Southern limit that the Wilson's 

 Thrush breeds'? I have not been able to ^ 

 find any nest in Chester County as yet.-^ 

 W. S. McDermond, West Chester, Pa. O' 



/I 



The Number of Eggs in a Set. O 



BY P. L. BURNS, BERWYN, PENN. 



Having read from time to time in the O. and 

 O. the opinion of many collectors on this sub- 

 ject, 1 venture to give my limited experience in 

 this line. I commenced collecting in 1885, and 

 for a time was "cheated" out of many sets, es- 

 pecially of our most common birds, by waiting 

 for the female to lay the number of eggs "bird 

 doctors" stated they did lay. In the mean time 

 the eggs would hatch, or be so hard set as to 

 be worthless. Many young collectors com- 

 plain of this, and now some take the eggs as 

 soon as found, complete set or not, claiming 

 that this is the only sure way. 



For instance, the Wood Thn^, {Hijlocichla 

 mustelina) lays three more often than four eggs, 

 and I have yet to find a set of Ave ; and yet 

 most writers claim the usual set to be four or 

 five eggs. 



Of forty eggs and young of this species 

 found by me the past season, I And to be divid- 

 ed in sots as follows : 



Sets of 2 2 



" "3 8 



" "4 3 



In all eggs incubation had commenced, in 

 many cases advanced. 



The first set was taken May 30th, the last set 

 July 4th, but the majority were taken during 

 the first week in June. 



AQk. Y. Jan, 1888. p. 25 



Birds of Chester County, Penn. 

 Cyrus B.^es^ol, Brcildoun, Pa. 



194. Tardus mustelinus (Gmel.). Wood 

 Thrush. Summer resident; common. Ar- 

 il rives last week in April. Nidificates by the 

 third week in May; eggs, three to five. l)o- 

 I parts the last of October. 



! O.&O. XlV.Sept. 1809 P.130 



In the summer of last year I found a 

 nest which I have never been able to iden- 

 tify, as no bird was near. It was in New 

 Castle Co., Del., and was placed in the cen- 

 tre of a champ of hazel bushes, growing in 

 a swamp, so that I had to wade at least 

 fifty yards before reaching it. It resem- 

 bled a Wood Thrush's i'nest, being built of 

 mud, but was an inch deeper than any 

 nest of that kind I ever saw. The diame- 

 ter was about the same. It was placed 

 about two feet above the water and con- 

 tained four eggs, much like a runt Cat- 

 bird's egg, and of a dark blue color, with a 

 slight greenish cast. The latter is hardly 

 distinguishable when placed beside a Cat- 

 bird's egg. Now can any reader of O. and 

 O. tell me what bird it belongs to f It was 

 not a case of a Catbird laying in an old 

 nest, for I had been through that same 



thicket several times before, and would 

 have seen it. If any one can cite an in- 

 stance of a Catbird bxiilding a mud nest, 

 that may solve the question, and the sUght 

 differences in size, shape and color might 

 be passed over as accidental. 



O.&O. Vlll,Nov.l883.iJ. 



O &0. XII. Oot. 1887 P. //'i? 



