TYPES OF NESTS OF BIRDS. 



237 



nests in grass tufts, about eight inclies from ttie ground. The structure 

 is made exteriorly of long pieces of grass stems, interiorly of fine dried 

 grass, rootlets and horsehair. When made in a grass tuft among rank 

 sprouts and small bushes, the nest of Macgillivray's warbler cannot be dis- 

 tinguished from that of the yellowthroat in similar situations. However, 

 the yellowthroat chooses other sites, notably the rushes of ponds and 

 swamps. In such situations the nest material is likely to be taken from 

 that nearest at hand. A nest of the yellowthroat taken from Daphnia 



Fig. 19. Nest and Eggs of Warbling Vireo, Vireo gilvus Vieill. Photo by M.J.E 



pond was made altogether of pieces of dried flag, with a lining of fine 

 grass, thus resembling a cup-shaped basket of irregular weaving. 



Though scarcely constituting a type, the nest of Audubon's warbler is 

 somewhat different from other nests which it resembles. It is rather 

 larger than that of the yellow warbler, and darker in appearance, assimi- 

 lating more closely with its surroundings. Its outer appearance is much 

 like that of the redstart, though it is so much larger that there is no 

 likelihood of confounding the two. This nest is made of dark weed- 

 stems, strips of weed-bark, gossamer, and fine dried grasses, with soft 

 feathers and horsehair as lining material. The use of feathers in the 

 inner wall serves to distinguish this nest from the work of the yellow 

 warbler. 



For neatness of structure and harmony of appearance, the nest of 



