12 
BEAUTIETJL BIEDS. 
singly ; they return southward about the middle 
of September, flying high in the air and in loose 
flocks. They resort to the deepest shades of the 
forest, to the borders of solitary swamps, and apple 
orchards. 
A pair of these birds seem to appropriate certain 
tracts to themselves, where they rear their young in 
the midst of peace and plenty. They feed on insects, 
such as caterpillars and butterflies, as well as on 
berries of many kinds, evincing a special predilection 
for the mulberry. In autumn they eat grapes, and I 
have seen them supporting themselves by a momentary 
motion of their wings opposite a bunch, as if selecting 
the ripest, when they would seize it and return to a 
branch, repeating their visits in this manner until 
satiated. They now' and then descend to the ground 
to pick up a w ood-snail or a beetle. 
The nest is simple, flat, composed of a few dry 
sticks and grass, formed much like that of the common 
Dove, and, like it, fastened to a horizontal branch. 
Wilson says that the sticks and twigs of which it is 
composed are intermixed with green w'eeds ajid 
blossoms of the common maple. On this almost flat 
bed the eggs, usually three or four in number, are 
placed ; these are of a uniform greenish-blue colour, 
and of a size proportionable to that of the bird. 
While the female is sitting, the male is generally not 
far distant, and gives the alarm by his notes, when any 
person is approaching. The female precipitates herself 
to the ground, feigning lameness to draw you away 
from the spot, fluttering, trailing her wings, and 
tumbling over in the manner of the Partridge, Wood- 
