Life Hlitoi'y of tJie Protlumotary Warbler. 25 



of moss, or climbing a wild grape-vine with the view ol 

 getting a strip of bark, but always failing to bring it 

 home. However, we must not censure him too severely, 

 for he apparently takes great interest in the construction 

 of the nest, watching for the return of his mate and ac- 

 companying her to the entrance of their domicile, perhaps 

 following her within — but here we are intruding upon their 

 private affairs. If the cavity be deep, it is filled up 

 to within a few inches of the entrance before the nest 

 proper is begun. The materials used for this purpose 

 are various, probably those most convenient or accessible. 

 In one case, I took from under the nest proper a quart, 

 or more, of moss which had been utilized in filling a cavity 

 nearly a foot deep. The foundation of a typical nest is 

 composed largelj^ of green moss, intermixed with pieces 

 of dead leaves and rubbish. A few nests that I found 

 had a foundation made entirely of large burrs and a little 

 moss. A female was once timed to ascertain the speed 

 she made in gathering material from a moss-covered tree 

 trunk some seventy-five or a hundred feet distant from 

 the cavity in which she was building. She was very active, 

 and evidently desired to get the cavity filled as quickly as 

 possible. No time was wasted in idle loafing or wandering, 

 for she went from tree trunk to stump, carrying huge 

 bunches of green moss, depositing them in the cavity, 

 and returning within a minute. Frequently she made it 

 in less time. On every trip, she would alight on a small 

 limb of an adjacent tree before entering the hole, and 

 utter a tcldp now and then, even though her bill was 

 full of moss. Almost immediately after her entrance, she 

 would reappear, apparently only dumping the moss on 

 the bottom, as she seldom remained within long enough 

 to arrange it. Very unsuspicious of us, she worked 

 steadily for the half hour we remained. Where her hus- 

 band was, I am unable to say, for we saw nothing of 

 him during our sojourn. 



The materials in the nest proper are various. Bark 

 strips, fibrous roots, pieces of dried grass, small weed 

 stems, bits of decayed wood, a few wisps of straw, in fact 



