i3v 

 Crow Blackbird. 



BIRDS'-NESTS. 



How alert and vigilant the birds are, eve* wkua 

 absorbed in building their nests ! In an open space 

 in the woods I see a pair of cedar-birds collecting 

 moss from the top of a dead tree. Following the di- 

 rection in which they fly, I soon discover the nest 

 placed in the fork of a small soft- maple, which stands 

 amid a thick growth of wild cherry-trees and young 

 beeches. Carefully concealing myself beneath it 

 without any fear that the workmen will hit me with 

 a chip or let fall a tool, I await the return of the busy 

 pair. Presently I hear the well-known note, and the 

 female sweeps down and settles unsuspectingly into 

 the half-finished structure. Hardly have her wings 

 rested before her eye has penetrated my screen, and 

 with a hurried movement of alarm she darts away. 

 In a moment th^. male, with a tuft of «-ool in hif 



