108 WAKE-ROBIN 



Very few species use the same material uniformly. 

 I have seen the nest of the robin quite destitute of 

 mud. In one instance it was composed mainly of 

 long black horse-hairs, arranged in a circular man- 

 ner, with a lining of fine yellow grass; the whole 

 presenting quite a novel appearance. In another 

 case the nest was chiefly constructed of a species of 

 rock moss. 



The nest for the second brood during the same 

 season is often a mere makeshift. The haste of 

 the female to deposit her eggs as the season advances 

 seems very great, and the structure is ^t to be 

 prematurely finished. I was recently reminded of 

 this fact by happening, about the last of July, to 

 meet with several nests of the wood or bush spar- 

 row in a remote blackberry field. The nests with 

 eggs were far less elaborate and compact than the 

 earlier nests, from which the young had flown. 



Day after day, as I go to a certain piece of 

 woods, I observe a male indigo-bird sitting on pre- 

 cisely the same part of a high branch, and singing 

 in his most vivacious style. As I approach he 

 ceases to sing, and, flirting his tail right and left 

 with marked emphasis, chirps sharply. In a low 

 bush near by, I come upon the object of his solici- 

 tude, — a thick, compact nest composed largely of 

 dry leaves and fine grass, in which a plain brown 

 bird is sitting upon four pale blue eggs. 



The wonder is that a bird will leave the appar- 

 ent security of the treetops to place its nest in the 

 way of the many dangers that walk and crawl upon 



