YELLOW-THROATED VIREO 279 



branches at right angles to the trunk, or to a hirge upright fork 

 thereof. At the point of attachment to the supporting branch, the 

 nests were within from 12 to 20 inches of the trunk or fork. Except 

 in two instances of comparatively low nests, they were built in 

 rather large oaks or, once, in a wild cherry. One low nest was in a 

 small oak, the other in an apple tree. Four nests were placed near, 

 or directly above, the roof of some cottage or outbuilding near the 

 shore of Hess Lake. All the nests found were not far from the lake, 

 and some were in the woods, apart from man-made structures. 



"An unusual circumstance was the use of a repaired and redeco- 

 rated nest of the previous year. This brought forth a brood in the 

 first part of June. One pair was observed to carry nesting material 

 to two separate sites, about 20 yards apart. On the second day work 

 ceased at one site, near a building, but was continued at the other 

 until the nest was completed. Like other vireos, this species is 

 strongly attached to the nest. One bird that I attempted to remove by 

 lifting it from the nest was so obdurate that I gave up, fearful of 

 damaging the contents." 



A. Dawes Du Bois writes to me : "In 1933, while selecting a spot for 

 planting some wild anemones, I chanced to see a yellow-throated vireo 

 at work on a nest in a basswood tree near the corner of our house. 

 The nest could be seen from the bathroom window, which was about 

 on a level with it and only 25 feet away. The nest seemed about in the 

 midstage of construction. Both birds were working industriously; 

 sometimes one would come before the other left. The procedure was 

 of three kinds: (1) to place material inside of the nest; (2) to work 

 from outside the nest, pulling material upward and outward over 

 the rim and over the supporting twigs; (3) to get inside the nest and 

 work with the feet, shaping and enlarging the nest, and stretching it 

 to greater depth. The last action shovv^ed plainly fi-om tlie outside, as 

 the bird pushed the nest out into humps in various parts of the 

 bottom. 



"The vireos worked all the next day (May 20) . They chased invad- 

 ing birds away with a vim. On two occasions, when a bird was 

 working inside the nest, I observed that its body was in practically a 

 vertical position, head in bottom of nest, tail approximately straight 

 up. They continued to work at the nest on the 21st. Once I saw her 

 carrying a large patch of white cocoon material. 



"I did not see them doing any work on the 22d. On the 23d the 

 wind blew a gale all day, bringing a dust storm in the afternoon. 

 Twice, in the afternoon, I saw one of the birds working at the rim 

 of the nest, where it was attached to the branchlet, probably repair- 

 ing damage. The next morning the nest was pretty badly wrecked ; 

 and the wind continued. When I returned in the afternoon it had 



