278 BULLETIN 197, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



have been tightly drawn over them and covered with lichens; the 

 whole body of tlie nest is almost completely covered with small bits 

 of variously colored tree lichens, all held securely in place by numer- 

 ous fine strands of spider silk ; the deep cup, with its thick walls and 

 incurving rim above it, is neatly lined with fine grass tops. It meas- 

 ures approximately 3 inches in outside diameter and about 2i/^ inches 

 in outside depth; internally the cup is about 2 inches in diameter at 

 the top and II/2 inches deep ; the bulging sides make the inner cavity 

 wider below the rim, thus giving the eggs or young more security as 

 the nest is swayed in the wind. 



The nests of the yellow-throated vireo are placed in a variety of 

 deciduous trees, but rarely in conifers. The height from the ground 

 varies from 3 feet to 60 feet; apparently most of them are over 20 

 feet up. A nest was built in a tuliptree close to my house, about 20 

 feet above the ground, attached to a forked twig that projected from 

 a horizontal branch in the middle of the large tree, and within a few 

 yards of my dressing-room window. The nest, now in my collec- 

 tion, is beautifully decorated with the egg cases of spiders and green 

 and gray tree lichens, firmly secured with spider silk and lined with 

 fine, dry needles of the white pine. I have found a number of nests 

 in old, neglected apple orchards; these were also fully camouflaged 

 with lichens picked from the branches and trunks of the old lichen- 

 covered trees, so that they blended beautifully with their surroundings 

 and were easily overlooked. 



Dr. Brewer (Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, 1874) writes: 



All of its nests that I have ever met with have been built in gardens and 

 orchards, and in close proximity to dwellings, and they have also been exclu- 

 sively in comparatively low positions. In one of the most recent instances a 

 pair of these bii'ds built one of their beautiful moss-covered nosts in a low 

 branch of an apple tree that overhung the croquet ground, within a few rods of 

 my house. It was first noticed in consequence of its bold little builder flying in 

 my face whenever I approached too near, even before its nest contained any 

 eggs. The grounds were in frequent use, and the pair were at first a good deal 

 disturbed by these constant intrusions, but they soon became reconciled to 

 their company, and would not leave their position, even though the game was 

 contested immediately under their nest, which was thus often brought within 

 a foot of the heads of the players. Before this nest was quite finished, the female 

 began her duties of incubation. Her assiduous mate was constantly engaged 

 at first in completing the external ornamentation of the nest with lichens and 

 mosses, and then with a renewal of his interrupted concerts of song. These 

 duties be varied by frequent captures of insects, winged and creeping, most of 

 which he duly carried to his mate. 



Edward R. Ford sends me the following notes : "Of 14 nests of the 

 yellow-throated vireo, found in Newaygo County, Mich., my notes 

 lack desirable detail because of the height at which they were placed, 

 25 to 40 feet from the ground. However, all nests had this in com- 

 mon : They were placed within the crown of the tree on small, sturdy 



