But tl«e special incident to which I made al- 
lusion in commencing was the saddest ol' all. 
On the brow of the hill, over which my course 
led within a few feet of the sheep-path, lay a 
browned cedar branch, and, snugly concealed 
beneath it, a C ine win k had built her nest. This 
morning, as I passed the spot, I noticed her 
sitting quietly, half hidden from sight and 
taking no notice of my approach, with closed 
eyes, apparently sleeping, and even upon in- 
tentional disturbance giving no sign of alarm; 
l but I soon discovered that it was the sleep 
which knows no waking, that, stiff and cold 
and dead, she was covering her four fresh eggs 
in a nest all soaking with wet; and the thought 
suggested was, may not this be a common re- 
sult of such extremes of weather upon the 
| female bird, overtaken in the labors of mater- 
nity, and may not these consequences more 
truly explain the apparent greater abundance 
of male birds, instead of the ordinarily accept- 
ed one, that it is only apparent and observed 
because the males are more conspicuous by 
j their gayer plumage and song. 
Saybrook, Conn. 
•John JV. Clark-. 
O.&O. XIV. Mar. 1889 p. 35-36 
"ioro. Birds out of Season-a Tragedy. By Charles Aldrich, Ibid., 
J - , « . . , T 1 7 Jl -7 N -.rrinfor- 
tzllsun j. r 
May 1885 pp. 513, 514.-A Chewink (Pipilo erythrofhthalmus), winter- 
>»« >t »*«*. i»- »“ *»* 
braved a temperature of — 20 0 to — 35 . ■o£ 
• Young Ool. 1523- Chewink, Sora Pail, Cooper's Hawk. By Erd 1 S Bl n 
Ibid., p. 28. y »• BLowmanj.^Qjj, yj 7 
The Oologiflt. IS 80 . Chewink Nests in a Tree. By H. A. Koch. Ibid, p 4.0 A nlr 
1966. The Che-wink; Towhee. By Kynds Jones. ’lou^ XU" Jan 28 €> 0 . T3. VJ 
Nesting habits. TtE. © Oologist’e Benil annual, Voi. 1. HCo. Z - 
)?l 
