126 BIKDS'-^'ESTS. 



khat abandon their eggs to the sand and the sun m 

 the warmer zones, build a nest and sit in the usual 

 way in Labrador. In Georgia, the Baltimore oriole 

 places its nest upon the north side of the ti'ee ; in 

 the Middle and Eastern States, it fixes it upon the 

 south or east side, and makes it much thicker and 

 warmer. I have seen one from the South that had 

 some kind of coarse reed or sedge woven into it, giv 

 ing it an open work appearance, like a basket. 



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 manner, 

 with a lining of fine yellow grass ; the whole pres- 

 enting 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 make-shift. The haste of the 

 female to deposit her eggs as the season advances 

 seems very great, and the structure is apt to be pre- 

 maturely 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 sparrow 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, 

 .1 observe a male indigo-bird sitting on precisely the 

 lame part of a liigh branch, and singing in his most 



