0ne season a phoebe-bird built on a projecting stone under the eaves ofthe house, and all appeayellow to go well till the youthful were nearlyfledged, when the nest suddenly became a bit of purgatory. The birdskept their places in their burning bed till they could hold no longer,when they leaped forth and fell dead upon the ground.

After a delay of a week or more, during which I imagine the parentbirds purified themselves by every means known to them, the couplebuilt another nest a few yards from the first, and proceeded to reara second brood; but the very new nest developed into the same bed of tormentthat the first did, and the three youthful birds, nearly ready to fly,perished as they sat within it. The parent birds then left the placeas if it had been accursed.