strongly.

While studying a family of redstarts that lived in a gray birch some
twelve feet above the ground, the hen and one nestling disappeared.
Across the hayfield from the grove of the birds that I was observing
was a bit of woodland to which both redstarts resorted frequently,
presumably for feed. Here was the nest of a redstart containing four
fresh eggs. That day I arranged with a care to lower the nest a number
of feet. The birds deserted. On examining the nest I found that one egg
has been cracked. Whether this nest belonged to the redstarts of the
grove and the female left her young in the care of the cock while she
constructed a third nest, I cannot say. Exactly what became of the
mother remained a mystery.

It was with grave concern that I watched the gayly dressed little
songster for an entire day to see if he would take upon himself the
duties of the mother-bird. Nothing could have been more touching than
to note the faithfulness with which he performed all the work of two
birds save brooding the young. The following morning the nest was
empty, but I found the father-bird in a coppice feeding the little
family. Evidently he had undertaken the entire care of his small flock.

One nest of redstarts that I studied from the egg stage was on the wing
on the tenth day. As the nest was but five feet from the ground, within
reach, and as I called there nearly every day, it is not surprising
that the old bird tolled the young from the nest as soon as they were
able to fly. At this age redstart nestlings preen vigorously and fly
short distances.

The nest of the redstarts, when vacated, was immaculate, save for the
quill and pin feather cases that filled the interstices.

[Illustration]

The bird seems to raise a second brood, at least some years, as nearly
all the dates at which I have discovered the bird nesting are later
than those I find recorded. Redstarts were completing a nest June 13,
1908; a male and female were feeding four young five or six days old
July 13, 1907; a bird was ready to incubate four fresh eggs the same
day, and still another redstart was incubating four eggs July 5, 1910;
these were not hatched until nine days later.

If the birds feed two broods during the summer, then they are nearly
twice as useful as they have been generally supposed to be. The
redstart is the most active of the active warblers, and the number of
gnats, flies, caterpillars, moths, other insects and their eggs