THE KINGBIRD. 



ance as to 

 quite dis- 

 courage in- 

 v e s t i g a - 

 tion, unless 

 the owner's 

 presence 

 gives the se- 

 cret of its oc- 

 c u p a n c y 

 away. It is 

 placed usu- 

 ally in an up- 

 right or hor- 

 izontal fork 

 of a tree at a 

 height of 

 from three 

 to forty feet. 

 T xv igs, 

 weed - stalks 

 and trash of 

 any kind en- 

 ter into the 

 basal con- 

 st r u c tion. 

 The charac- 

 teristic fea- 

 ture of the 

 nest, how- 

 ever, is the 

 mould, or 

 mat, of vege- 

 table plaster, 

 ground 

 wood, and 



the like, or else compacted wool and cow-hair, which is forced into the inter- 

 stices of the outer structure and left smooth and rounded inside, giving shape 

 to the nest. This in turn is lined with fine grasses, horse-hair, or variously. 

 Occasionally nests are found composed almost entirely of wool. In others 

 string is the principal ingredient. 



Eggs are laid at the rate of one each day. Incubation begins when the 



