Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States / Illustrated

by Thomas G. Gentry

The nest is from three to four days in building, through the steady, persevering efforts of the architects. In texture it is rather loose, and is made almost exclusively of strips of bark, dry leaves and stems of grasses. In some instances the ribbons of bark are from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in width, and nearly nine inches in length. Such being the exterior fabric, the inner is composed of a thick lining of roots, rather compactly interwoven, and gradually diminishing in size towards the centre. There is a difference in the composing substances observable in nests from the most diverse localities. Some are built of leaves on the outside, loosely aggregated and held together by the small and nearly vertical branches between which they are placed. Within, there is a profusion of grape-vine bark, small sticks, stems of grasses, and a lining of beech-leaves. In external diameter the nest varies from four and a half to five inches, and has a height of about two and a half inches. The cavity is about three inches wide, and the depth one and three-fourths.

Oviposition rapidly succeeds nest-building, and proceeds at the rate of one egg per day. This is followed by incubation, which continues for a period of eleven days, the female performing the whole of the labor. The male seldom forsakes her, save to procure food. He is the most faithful and jealous of husbands, carefully providing her with nourishment, and guarding her from harm. The approach of an enemy is heralded by loud and noisy chatterings between fear and anger, and even frequent attempts are made at repulsion. He is, however, in the height of his glory when by her side, and seeks by many pleasing little ways to relieve the fatigue and monotony of her task. His song at this time is more loud and incessant than ever. Braving concealment, he mounts into the air almost perpendicularly to the height of thirty or forty feet, with his may be pleased to style it, that favorably compares with the whistling of the wings of a duck. Again, he produces, with wonderful exactness, the bark of puppies; and, as if to show his skill further, closes with the mew of a cat, only hoarser. These notes are produced with wonderful vehemence in several keys, and with peculiar modifications. As the voice apparently shifts from place to place, the possessor being unseen, it seems to be more like that of a spirit than of a bird. Near you one moment, the next it comes from a distance, so that by these tricks, it is not always possible to locate with any degree of certainty the astute ventriloquist. To convey in human characters this song exactly, is beyond the power of mortals.

Such herculean efforts as the foregoing are certainly deserving of success. Events justify the thought. A few hours at most, and his song receives a response. Aroused from her absorption, his true love appears. The scenes now enacted are ludicrous in the extreme. He flies about her, utters a few syllables of affection, and at length settles down by her side. His whole expression is one of intense delight. While her lord is thus fairly beside himself with joy, she is of a passive disposition. To one who is not experienced in matters pertaining to bird-life, her conduct would seem to betoken lukewarmness. But it is only the coyness of a modest female. Having won his prize, the happy husband leads the way into some secluded spot, where he lays before her his plans for the future. She immediately assents to them, and soon the pair are found beating in and out of the bushes for a home-spot. As many as two days are often spent in these delightful pilgrimages. At length, one is discovered which combines the essentialities, and a house is erected. In woods that are seldom desecrated by the polluting touch of wicked man, there is manifest but little tendency to concealment. Not so in fields which adjoin his retreats. Here the greatest caution is observed, the nest being built in some almost impenetrable bramble-patch, and so placed as to be out of reach of the keenest vigilance. If discovered in such a place, it is ble that man's endeavors could succeed any better; perhaps, not so well. A full-fledged bird might accustom itself to the aviary, and become quite an agreeable pet, but the species has not excited sufficient interest in fanciers to induce them to make the attempt.

As shown in the Plate, the Chat is bright olive-green above. Below, excepting the abdominal region which ends abruptly with white, the color is a bright golden-yellow. The lore is black, and separates the white under eyelid from a superciliary line of the same color above, and also a short maxillary one below. The wings and tail are unmarked, and glossed with olive, while the bill and feet are blue-black. The length varies from seven to seven and a half inches; the wing is about three, and the tail three and a quarter. From the male, the female differs in being smaller, and in the indistinctness of her markings.

The eggs are usually four in number. Nests, however, are sometimes found with three as a complement, and others with as many as five, though rarely. In configuration they are slightly rounded-oval. The ground-color varies from a clear, snowy-white to one in which a slight tinge of yellow is perceptible, and the markings are chiefly reddish-brown, interspersed with a few of a faint lilac color. In some specimens which we have examined, the spots are pretty uniformly distributed over the egg-surfaces, and this seems to be the rule in the same nest-full. Others have them arranged more especially about the larger half, leaving the smaller almost barren-of them. It is in the latter that the white ground usually prevails. Variations also exist in size, even in the same locality, for we have often met with eggs that measured as much as .94 of an inch in length, and others but .85, and in breadth from .64 to .70. Throughout its entire range the species appears to be single-brooded. In the Middle Atlantic States this is assured beyond a doubt.

But when the young are hatched, he ceases these vocal performances and odd gestures, and unites with his mate to render homage and obeisance to the new comers. From early morning until sunset they are busy scouring the fields and woods for insects, both parents never being absent at the same time on this business. Larvæ of various kinds, smaller lepidoptera, and straw- and blackberries are in much demand, and hunted with great perseverance and industry. With age comes an increase in the quantity and quality of their food. In thirteen days from the time of hatching we find them ready to leave the nest, and a week later, they are old enough to care for themselves.

The breeding season being over, both young and old spend the time until their departure in September, in thick brier-bushes, and within close hedges, occasionally, however, forsaking such places for cultivated grounds. Now the song of the male can be heard at midnight, and so fond does he seem of this sort of diversion, that he frequently continues singing until daybreak. The early departure of the Chat is not due to the paucity of appropriate food-stuffs, but chiefly to its susceptibility to cold.

No attempts, as far as we have been able to ascertain, have ever been made to rear these birds from the nest. Their beauty of plumage, if they had nothing else to commend them, would doubtless compensate for the lack of sweetness in their voices. While they might signally fail in their efforts to charm us with rich, mellifluous notes, they could, at any rate, amuse us by the variety, volubility and strangeness of their utterances. A friend of Wilson's, an amateur in Canary birds, once placed an egg of this species under a Canary. In course of time the bird made its appearance, but died on the second day, notwithstanding the best of care and attention which it received, for the hen Canary was so solicitous to nourish the stranger, that her own eggs, which required a somewhat longer period of incubation, were lost in consequence. This being the case, it is not possible that man's endeavors could succeed any better; perhaps, not so well. A full-fledged bird might accustom itself to the aviary, and become quite an agreeable pet, but the species has not excited sufficient interest in fanciers to induce them to make the attempt.

As shown in the Plate, the Chat is bright olive-green above. Below, excepting the abdominal region which ends abruptly with white, the color is a bright golden-yellow. The lore is black, and separates the white under eyelid from a superciliary line of the same color above, and also a short maxillary one below. The wings and tail are unmarked, and glossed with olive, while the bill and feet are blue-black. The length varies from seven to seven and a half inches; the wing is about three, and the tail three and a quarter. From the male, the female differs in being smaller, and in the indistinctness of her markings.

The eggs are usually four in number. Nests, however, are sometimes found with three as a complement, and others with as many as five, though rarely. In configuration they are slightly rounded-oval. The ground-color varies from a clear, snowy-white to one in which a slight tinge of yellow is perceptible, and the markings are chiefly reddish-brown, interspersed with a few of a faint lilac color. In some specimens which we have examined, the spots are pretty uniformly distributed over the egg-surfaces, and this seems to be the rule in the same nest-full. Others have them arranged more especially about the larger half, leaving the smaller almost barren of them. It is in the latter that the white ground usually prevails. Variations also exist in size, even in the same locality, for we have often met with eggs that measured as much as .94 of an inch in length, and others but .86, and in breadth from .64 to .70. Throughout its entire range the species appears to be single-brooded. In the Middle Atlantic States this is assured beyond a doubt.