. The Oölogist for the student of birds, their nests and eggs . The blue-gray gnat-catcher is a tiny bluish-gray bird, hav-ing a long tail and a rather slim general habits it is said to resem-ble the kinglets. During the pasttwelve years it has been my pleasureto study a number of these little birds,and in this time many—upwards of 80—nests have come under my observa-tion. The gnatcatcher arrives in southernPennsylvania usually by April 15,varying, of course, according to theweather conditions of the Inwarm springs I have generally seenthe birds by April 12, while in the cool-
. The Oölogist for the student of birds, their nests and eggs . The blue-gray gnat-catcher is a tiny bluish-gray bird, hav-ing a long tail and a rather slim general habits it is said to resem-ble the kinglets. During the pasttwelve years it has been my pleasureto study a number of these little birds,and in this time many—upwards of 80—nests have come under my observa-tion. The gnatcatcher arrives in southernPennsylvania usually by April 15,varying, of course, according to theweather conditions of the Inwarm springs I have generally seenthe birds by April 12, while in the cool-er seasons they arrived considerablylater. The birds remain with us untilSeptember when they depart for theSouth. Upon their arrival here these bits ofbird life repair to a chasm section ofsome woods, and a place once selectedis resorted to year after year. I notedone pair of gnatcatchers which nestedin the very same crotch for severalconsecutive seasons. The largerwoods,—several acres in extent,—maycontain as many as five or six pairs 68 THE OOLOGIST. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers nest showing preparation for cabinetspecimens —Prepared and photographed by S. S. Dickey THE OOLOGIST 69 of the birds—during the past seasonI noticed fully six pairs in a woods ofsome ten acres. Not always are thebirds found in woods but frequentlyresort to groves of oaks, hickories,etc.; small clusters of trees or sap-lings; and rarely to apple times I have known the birds tomake their homes in rather isolatedtrees, standing some distance fromeither wood, grove, or thicket. Priorto nest building the gnatcatchers flitabout the higher branches of the treeswhere they secure the bulk of their in-sect food. At times they descend tothe lower branches and the under-brush, where they glean harmful in-sects from the foliage. THE SONG: Gnatcatchers are notincessant singers; however, they fre-quently utter a faint sweet song, re-sembling more the song of some in-sect than that of a bird,—th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidologistf, booksubjectbirds
