330 
INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 
or dissected. To these materials usually succeeds a stra»* 
turn of strips of grape-vine or red cedar bark, and with 
them I have once seen a piece of old tape, collected prob- 
ably from the vicinity of some cottage ; over the whole is 
piled a mass of coarse root-fibres, often of a dark color, and 
the finishing lining is made of a finer layer of the same. 
The eggs, never exceeding 5, are thickly and very ele- 
gantly sprinkled all over with minute spots of palish 
brown, on a greenish white ground. In the Middle 
States they have probably two broods in the season ; here 
seldom more than one. They display the most ardent 
affection for their young ; attacking snakes, dogs, and 
cats in their defence. One of the parents, usually the 
male, seems almost continually occupied, in guarding 
against any dangerous intruder. The cat is attacked 
commonly at a considerable distance from the young, 
and the w r oods echo with his plaintive ye-6iv, ye-dw , and 
the low, guttural, angry ’tsh J tsh ’tsh ’tsh. The enemy is 
thus pursued off the field, commonly with success, . as 
guilty grimalkin appears to understand the threatening 
gestures and complaints with which she is so incessant- 
ly assailed. Towards their more insidious enemies of 
the human species, when approaching the helpless or 
unfledged young, every art is displayed ; threats, en- 
treaties, and reproaches, the most pathetic and power- 
ful, are tried in no equivocal strain ; they dart at the 
ravisher in wild despair, and lament, in the most touch- 
ing strains of sorrow, the bereavement they suffer. I 
know of nothing equal to the burst of grief manifested 
by these affectionate parents, excepting the afflicting 
accents of suffering humanity. 
Their food consists of worms and insects generally ; 
also caterpillars, beetles, and other coleopterous tribes, 
as well as various kinds of berries. In the month of 
