Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 May 1875 — Thrushes as Architects. [ARTICLE]

Thrushes as Architects.

The male is a gay, careless songster and seems to lure his mate into the same thriftless habits, so that house-building is often postponed until within a few hours of actual need, when haste and rapid work are very manifest. All through May I noticed a pair of brown thrushes flitting about the grove. The male was a splendid performer, fairly entrancing me with his song. Seated upon the topmost branch of some swaying tree, he seemed to drown all the other choristers of the grove; in fact, they too seemed entranced, and soon were silent listeners. All the other feathered inhabitants of the grove had already commenced housekeeping, or were making active preparations, while this lord of song seemed to have no care or thought of the future. It was The bird was trilling his loudest note when right in the midst of his song was a pause. His mate had stopped the grand performance. He flew with her to the shrubbery, where they flitted about from bush to bush a few moments, finally selecting a place for building in a rosebush, which was supported by a trellis. The foundation of the nest was laid partly upon the trellis. I took a garden chair, drew my hat pretty well over my face—birds are'good observers, and we must manage with care or we shall alarm them —and watched their proceedings. The female was evidently the master workman, and kept a watchful eye upon the mate, who came every few moments with such crooked, branched twigs that she often could do nothing with them but to throw them down in a spiteful ay; her own selections were much better, and almost invariably used. If she was away when the mate arrived he at once proceeded to place his crooked stick; he evidently did not believe in Wasting material in such a reckless way; but this hindered the completion of the domicile, for when the fair partner arrived she was obliged to lay down her stick and try to arrange his in some sort of shape; failing in this, down it went to the ground, when, turn ing to her own, it was soon arranged to her’ satisfaction. Several times the mate attempted to shirk, flew to a tree, and commenced his song, but this the energetic housewife would not allow; she always brought him back and set him to work, even if he did hinder more than help. His partner was probably an experienced architectress, and the mate may havp been an apprentice, for certainly some of the males of this species seem to be as good architects as the females. The nfc&t yas completed during the day, and on the following morning an

egg was left in it. The mate, now relieved from work, resumed his joyous song, but he always ceased the moment I < entered the shrubbery, and gave a quick note of alarm, when she would fly from the nest; but in a few days she became so tame that'she would allow me to cut roses frop the bush without leaving her place. Of course great care was necessary; I alkrays drew my hat down so that she could not catch my eye, and apparently paid no attention to her. A few years ago I was acquainted with a pair of brown thrushes, much more thriftless than the pair above mentioned, who did not even attempt to build a domicile in the usual way, but simply scratched up a kind of nest on the ground, in a strawberry bed, much after the fashion of a domestic hen, where they reared their young without any accident. When nearly full fledged they sprawled about on the ground, all semblance of a nest having disappeared. Only a few rods from this careless, improvident family resided another family of thrushes in quite an elaborately designed structure. A peck measure would hardly have contained the sticks used in the construction of this domicile. It was built upon a rail fence adjoining a gate, through which cows were driven every morning and evening to and from pasture. Horses were also kept in this field, so that the gate was used more or less during every day, yet the family were reared in perfect safety, and became quite tame. ; Were these poor, hastily-constructed domiciles the work of inexperienced architects, or the work of thriftless, improvident individuals? In either case it looks as if birds were capable of improv ing in architecture, or the nests of the same species would all be of one pattern — Mrs. Mary Treat , in Harper's Magazine for June.