the desired height. I am thus explicit because, in this case, 1 did what Professor Herrick did not do, i. e., alter the immediate surroundings of the nest, and this alteration may have affected the result. All the morn- ing an interested group watched the little Chebec, and marveled at her activity. For it soon became evident that the female alone was bringing up the second brood. The male may have strayed off with the first brood ; at any rate only one bird busied herself with these three young ones. She was not able to economize time as the Cedarbirds had done, by bringing a square meal for all at one trip ; she brought each separate insect as fast as she caught it. Often she was back again within half a minute, and in one period of fifteen minutes, she made twelve trips to the nest. When night came, I was disturbed to find that the little bird was apparently not intending to brood the young. Even when it was quite dark, I found that they were not covered by her. Whether this was because of the new crotch, I do not know. I am now convinced that the proper way to meet such a contingency would be to return the nest at once to the old site. This I have since done in cases where the old birds either could not find the new site or did not choose to come to it. That evening, however, thinking that the old bird knew what she was about, I left the nest in its new site. In the night a violent thunder- storm came up, and before I could get the birds into shelter one had already died. I kept the others warm, and the next morning fed them with flies, learning incidentally some interesting facts about the available stimuli for making young birds open their mouths. When the storm passed, I replaced the nest and had the satisfaction of seeing the old bird return to feed the survivors. If the nest had been a mile from my house, as it easily might have been, I could not have reached it in time to save any of the birds. I have been led to give the above details, partly because several of the circumstances connected with the rearing of this second brood are interesting. My particular object in telling the story, however, is to warn any one who thinks of trying Professor Herrick's method against a danger, of which he, I believe, does not speak. The danger to young birds from violent thunderstorms must, under any circumstances, be great, but the birds should certainly have the benefit of as much shelter as pos- sible, and the old site will, from the nature of things, be more leafy than the new one which we choose. I have, in another instance, naileil a Vireo's nest into tlie tree again, when a storm threatened, and I suggest that this plan should be promptly resorted to whenever the oKl birds are slow to take to the new site. Professor Herrick's warning against keep- ing the old birds too long from the nest gains strength when we remem- ber how often the young Chebecs were feil. A long fast probably lessens their power of resistance more than that of other species.
