Unusual Nesting Site of Kirfgbird 1 — The' fo^lbwi’ng 6 may be of some 
interest to the readers of ‘The Auk.’ It is certainly unique in my expe- 
rience There is a fence post within 50 feet of the Shady Hill Station, 
Bedford, Mass., and within 35 feet of the railroad, and immediately beside 
a road , over which men are travelling back and forth all day long, from 
the office and packing sheds of the Shady Hill Nursery. This post was 
made of an abandoned railroad tie, whose end had been somewhat hol- 
lowed by decay; and in this hollow, in the summer of 1896, a pair of 
Kingbirds ( Tyrannus tyrannus) built their nest and raised four young. 
One would imagine, judging from the usual characteristics of the King- 
birds, that this pair might have been in constant trouble; but Messrs. 
A. H. Kirkland, of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, and 
E. L. Beard, President of the Shady Hill Nursery, to whom I am indebted 
for thi|s information, seem to be under the impression that, all things con- 
sidered, they got on very well. The top of the post was only about four 
feet above the ground, and being immediately beside the road, was, of 
course, a matter of some interest to the passers-by; but as orders had 
been issued by Mr. Beard to his numerous workmen, not to have the 
nest disturbed, the old ones were able to bring them up. 
I have no date except that of June 9, 1896, given me by Mr. Kirkland, 
at which time, he writes me, the nest “contained four young.” 
Mr. Beard is responsible for the information that on days of extreme 
heat, the old birds could often be seen standing over their young, and 
with vibrating wings, sheltering and cooling them.— Fred H. Kennard, 
— Boston , Mass. 
