248 
Recent Literature. 
Speaking of the Wood Pewee he says : “The assumption of matrimonial 
relations, however, is not a matter that is entered into without more or 
less consideration. . . . The ceremony of mating being over — which busi- 
ness is ordinarily of short continuance, seldom lasting for a greater period 
than two days — the newly-wedded pair now set out to discover a suitable 
place for the building of a home. This is a matter of considerable mo- 
ment, often requiring the performance of long and extended tours of 
observation and exploration. These reconnoissances generally last for a 
week, .... The site being mutually agreed upon, the happy pair proceed 
with all possible dispatch and diligence to construct a domicile : the male 
to collect and bring in the necessary materials ; the female to fix them in 
their proper places, . . . Having finished their home, only a day or so inter- 
venes when oviposition becomes the controlling instinct. The female 
now proceeds to deposit her complement of four eggs, w'hich she does on 
consecutive days, at the rate of a single egg daily. This is followed, on 
the day succeeding the last deposit, by the trying duty of incubation. 
Upon the female devolves this arduous and irksome labor/’ 
Of the nesting of the Cat-bird he tells us that “ordinarily a week or ten 
days are spent in making a choice of locality.” 
With the Orchard Oriole “Mating does not occur,” he says, till “more 
than two weeks after the advent of the sexes The sexes having come 
together in a wise and business-like way, with little or none of the bluster 
that is customary on such occasions, a conference ensues, which results in 
a temporary separation for mutual good ; one bird going in one direction 
and the other in an entirely opposite course. The selection of a suitable 
spot for a home is the vera causa of this divergence In five or six 
days from the time of the assumption of matrimonial relations the nest 
is started, and through the united efforts of both birds for the period of a 
week is brought to completion.” 
Of the Hummingbird he writes, “The sexes, tired as it were, of the 
riotous and luxurious lives they have been leading, come together by 
mutual agreement, and enter into matrimonial relations. This being ac- 
complished, they separate for a brief period, and each proceeds to scour 
the country for miles around in quest of a suitable tree in which to locate. 
When one is selected by either bird the other is summoned to the spot to 
talk over, in true bird language, the merits thereof, Should the parties 
differ as to the advantageousness of the site, no quarrelling or bickering 
is indulged in, but, in the most friendly manner, they separate and renew 
the search until one is found which gives satisfaction.” 
In his biography of the Chewink occurs the following: “The females 
wholly entranced, yield to the persuasions of their would-be lords, and 
conjugal relations are entered into But the happy couple are not yet 
ready to begin nest building. They must needs celebrate the occasion of 
their marriage. Accordingly they set out on a wedding trip, so to speak, 
.visiting adjoining lots and thickets, and enjoying the delights and scenes 
around them. This continues for four or five days, when the lovers, 
thoroughly surfeited, return and quietly settle down to prosy life.” 
