In some sections of the country these birds are said to nest in low bushes, but we have invariably found them in tall trees, at heights varying from fifty to sixty feet. In the second volume of the "American Naturalist," a nest is described by a writer residing in Newark, N. J., which was built inside the spire of a church, and also another which was placed in a martin-house from which the lawful owners had been expelled. Wilson tells us that in his day it was quite a common occurrence for these birds to nidificate in the interstices of the nests of the Fish Hawk, when the latter builds in localities which they frequent. Several pairs are said to occupy at the same time one of these structures, and the most perfect harmony to exist between them and their royal cousin. Audubon claims to have found nests of the Grackle in hollow trees, which has also been the experience of William Brewster, Esq., in Northern Maine, but it is highly probable that these accounts refer to the Bronzed Grackle.
The nest is usually placed in a crotch close to the main axis of the tree in which it is built, sometimes on a branch at some distance therefrom, and is held _in situ_ by others. It is a bulky affair, irregular in shape, and has no claims to architectural beauty. It is coarsely but firmly built of twigs, dry plants and other substances, interwoven with strong stems of grasses which have been picked up from pools of mud, considerable quantities of which being still adherent. This mud renders them exceedingly weighty, and besides serving to keep them in position, also tends to agglutinate the elements of composition more compactly together. Internally, a few fine grasses are found, which make a rather cosy chamber. The external diameter measures seven inches, and the height about six, while the cavity, which is very shallow considering the size of the birds, is four inches in width, and but two in depth.
When the eggs are hatched the event is hailed with demonstrations of joy, and the parents watch over their helpless charges with more than ordinary solicitude. Such vigorous feeders are they, that both the male and the female are frequently compelled to be absent from the nest simultaneously in the procurement of food. Grubs, earthworms, caterpillars, and berries of various kinds, form a considerable part of their diet. It is only when the birds dwell in communities that both sexes are absent together. Where the pairs dwell singly, the one sex alternates with the other. When sixteen days old the young quit the nest, but are still cared for by the parents for an additional period of ten days, when they are forced to seek their own livelihood. Both young and old continue together in the old haunts until the close of September, or the advent of October, when the changes which are everywhere visible throughout the domain of Nature, warn them that it is time to take their departure for milder regions. Accordingly, the small flocks which are everywhere to be seen, gather into larger ones, and, as by a given signal, with many an expression of sorrow and regret, wend their way leisurely southward. Arriving in their winter-homes, these bodies do not immediately break up into smaller parties, but maintain themselves intact. How long they thus continue, we are unable to say. Wilson met with one of these vast armies on the banks of the Roanoke River, on the twentieth of January. When surprised it rose from the surrounding fields with a noise like thunder, and when settled down upon the road and fences, which they literally covered, gave everything the appearance of being invested with a mantle of black; and when they again rose and descended upon the skirts of high-timbered thickets whole trees from their summits to the lowermost branches seemed draped as with mourning, while their notes and screaming resounded like the far-off murmurings of a huge cataract, but with a more musical cadence. In the autumn, according to some authorities, and also at the approach of winter, numerous flocks, which have been foraging in the distance during the day, may be seen returning to their homes in the reeds to roost. As each detachment nears its station, in straggling, scattering groups, it is observed to sweep round the marsh in circling flight, until the note of the leader, who has been sent to reconnoitre the ground, is heard, when they all descend and take their stations.