Phoebe WESTERN BIRDS 



Linnets took possession, the female patching the nest 

 up and laying her eggs in it. This did not meet with 

 the approval of the Phoebe family and they both told 

 the Linnets so in as harsh language as they could use, 

 Madam Phoebe even pulling Madam Linnet's shoulder, 

 but to no avail. Madam Linnet was there to stay, and 

 so the rightful owners built in another place. As soon, 

 however, as the baby Linnets had left the nest, the 

 Phoebes again took possession. Five times the fly- 

 catchers used this nest, and twice the finches. Once 

 this popular place was taken by Cliff Swallows. 



One March, on the fourth, I found a Black Phoebe 

 building in what seemed a most peculiar place. There 

 were numerous brackets under eaves which she might 

 have chosen, but instead she had selected the top of a 

 window ledge a few feet below the gable, and in plain 

 sight of every passer-by. This ledge was only about 

 an inch and a half wide, making me wonder how the 

 nest was going to be fastened securely to so narrow a 

 place. However, nothing daunted, the female was busy 

 at work, having already laid a good foundation of mud 

 and grasses. In an hour's watching I saw her make 

 ten trips to the nest, taking a white thread, dry weeds, a 

 tuft of soft material, and fine fibers. These she de- 

 posited and worked over, without shaping. Twice she 

 took away a bit of straw and grasses which were evi- 

 dently not quite to her liking. As she worked, another 

 Phoebe, which I took to be the male, caught flies from a 

 neighboring roof. He did none of the building. 



The next morning I watched at the nest for fifty min- 

 utes. During this time twenty-eight trips were made 

 with material, frequently being only one-half minute 

 apart, the longest interval being six and one-half minutes. 

 This time things were reversed, for instead of taking 

 fibers exclusively she made seventeen trips with mud. 

 This she got about half a block away from a dripping 



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