THE AUDUBON WARBLER. 



i8s 



\Mien tlie nest was presumed to be ripe. I ascended. It was found settled 

 into the foliage and steadied by di\-erging twigs at a i)(jint some six or seven 

 feet out along the limb. None of the branches in the vicinity were individuallv 

 safe, but Ijy dint of standing on one, sitting on another, and clinging to a third, 

 I made an ecjuitable distribution of avoirdupois and grasped the treasure. 

 Perhaps in justice the supporting branches should have Ijroken just here, but 

 hiiw could you enjoy the rare beauty of this handsome structure unless we 

 brought it to you ? 



The nest is deeply 

 cup-shaped, with a 

 brim slightly turned 

 in, composed exter- 

 nally of fir twigs, 

 weed - tops, flower- 

 pedicels, rootlets, cat- 

 kins, etc., while the 

 interior is heavily 

 lined with feathers 

 which in turn are 

 bound and held in 

 place by an inner- 

 most lining of horse- 

 hairs. One feather 

 was left to curl dain- 

 tily over the edge, 

 and so jiartially con- 

 ceal the eggs, — four 

 spotted beauties. 



These Warblers 

 are connoisseurs in 

 feathers, and if one 

 had all their nests submitted to him, he could make a rough assignment of 

 locality for each according to whether feathers of Oregon Ruffed Grouse, 

 Franklin Grouse, Ptarmigan, or domestic fowls were used. 



In the wet region the birds appear to nest in fir trees only, and they are 

 as likely to use the lowermost limb as any. There is little attempt at conceal- 

 ment, and Bowles reports a nest only ten feet high over a path used daily by 

 hundreds of people in Tacoma. On the dry side of the mountains the \\'arblers 

 avail themselves freely of deciduous trees and bushes for nesting sites. A nest 

 on Cannon Hill in Spokane was placed at the lowermost a\-ailable crotch of a 

 young elm tree near the sidewalk and not ten feet up — as bold as a Robin! 



Taken in Tacoma. Photo by the Author. 



NEST AND EGGS OF AUDUBON WARBLER. 



