A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
677 
inland breeding-habits in his “ Summer Birds in an Ohio 
Marsh ” : “ The little floating island of decaying vegetation, 
held together by mud and moss, which constitutes the nest 
of this species, is a veritable ornithological curiosity. Imagine 
a ‘ pancake ’ of what appears to be mud, measuring twelve or 
fifteen inches in diameter, and rising two or three inches above 
the water, which may be from one to three feet in depth; 
anchor it to the bottom with a few concealed blades of ‘ saw 
grass/ in a little open bay, leaving its circumference entirely 
free; remove a mass of wet muck from its rounded top, an 
vou expose seven or eight soiled, brownish white eggs, resting 
in a depression, the bottom of which is less than an inch from 
the water ; the whole mass is constantly damp. This is the nest 
of the Dabchick, who is out foraging in the marsh, or, perhaps, 
is anxiously watching us from some safe corner near by. . . • 
TWO NOTABLE WANDERERS SEEN OCCASIONALLY IN 
CONNECTICUT. 
The Cardinal: Cardinalis cardinalis 
Cardinal Grosbeak, Virginia Nightingale 
Length: 8-9 inches. , , , 
Male: Magnificent red, conspicuously crested; black throat and ban 
around beak. Wings at some seasons washed with gray. Dill 
light red; feet brown. 
Female: Brownish yellow; crest, wings, and tail reddis • 
Song: A full, rich whistle, Cheo-cheo-chehoo-cheo 1 Female 
also sings. , 
Season: A notable bird of the Southern States, straggling as far north 
as Massachusetts. 
Breeds: Through its range. , . „ 
Nest: Bulky and loosely made of bark, leaves, and grass placed in a 
Eggs- Pale gray, marked with brown, varying from red to chocolate. 
Range: Eastern United States, north to New Jersey and the Ohio 
Valley (casually farther), west to the Plains. 
As a cage bird the Cardinal has been familiar to nearly 
every one; although in confinement he soon loses the brilliancy 
of his plumage, he often keeps his full song. He is regarded 
as a semi-tropical species, yet in the breeding season he strays 
into the New England states, and I have seen them here in 
Fairfield Conn., in early December, backgrounded by ever- 
greens and snow. Now the law forbids the caging of the Car- 
dinal and the species may once more become familiar in its 
haunts. 
