PROTHONOTARY WARBLER 21 



stumps, the warblers have been known to excavate partially or to 

 enlarge a cavity. 



The nests built by the males in early spring, referred to above, are 

 probably rarely used as brood nests and might be classed as dummy 

 nests. The family nest is built almost entirely by the female, with 

 encouragement and a little help from her mate, who accompanies her 

 to and from the nest and in the search for material ; much of the soft, 

 green moss used extensively in the nest is often obtainable from fallen 

 logs and stumps in the vicinity. 



Brewster (1878a) mentions a nest taken from a deep cavity that 

 "when removed presents the appearance of a compact mass of moss 

 five or six inches in height by three or four in diameter. When the 

 cavity is shallow, it is often only scantily lined with moss and a few 

 fine roots. The deeper nests are of course the more elaborate ones. 

 One of the finest specimens before me is composed of moss, dry leaves, 

 and cypress twigs. The cavity for the eggs is a neatly rounded, cup- 

 shaped hollow, two inches in diameter by one and a half in depth, 

 smoothly lined with fine roots and a few wing-feathers of some small 

 bird." 



In Dr. Walkinshaw's (1938) Michigan nests, "moss constituted the 

 bulk of the nesting material in nearly all cases, completely filling the 

 nest space whether it was large or small. On top of this the nest 

 proper was shaped and a rough lining of coarse grape-bark, dead 

 leaves, black rootlets procured from the river-banks, and poison-ivy 

 tendrils was added. Above this a lining of much finer rootlets, leaf- 

 stems, and very fine grasses was used." 



In addition to the materials listed above Meyer and Nevius (1943) 

 mention hackberry leaves, hairs, pine needles, horsehair, and cedar 

 bark in their Tennessee nests. They say that from 6 to 10 days were 

 required for nest construction, and that from 3 to 5 days more elapsed 

 before the first eggs were laid. Their four nests were all in bird- 

 boxes; one was in an orchard over plowed ground, one over a lotus 

 pond in a wooded ravine, and two were over lily pools near buildings. 



Dr. Walkinshaw (1938) publishes a map showing the location of 

 21 nesting boxes along the winding banks of the Battle Creek River, 

 in Calhoun County, Mich., and writes : "Of the 28 nests found during 

 1937, 19 were in bird-houses over running water, 6 were in stubs over 

 water (2 of which were over running water), and the other 3 were 

 in natural holes back from the river bank. Of -44: nests found from 1930 

 through 1937, excluding the 21 in bird-houses, six were over running 

 water in old woodpecker holes, one in a bridge-support in a slight 

 depression, and nine in natural holes over standing water. Seven 



981873—53- 



