A Myrtle Warbler Nest 



By WILLIAM PEPPER, Philadelphia 

 With photographs by the author 



'T^^HE discovery of a bird's-nest close to one's house is always a treat to 

 I any bird lover; but when it turns out to be that of a bird with whose 

 nesting-habits we are unfamiliar, it should be reckoned as one of the 

 choicest events of the bird year. One day, about the middle of July, at North 

 East Harbor, Maine, after watching from our porch two Myrtle Warblers 

 that seemed to show a great partiality to a large spruce tree near the house, I 

 was delightfully surprised to see their nest just showing between two of the 

 branches of the tree and on the side toward the house. On going to the attic 

 and opening the window, the nest could be seen seven feet away and just 

 a little below the level of the window-sill. True, the nest could not be plainly 

 seen on account of an overhanging branch; but, when the young birds stirred 



MYRTLE WARBLER NEAR NEST, A PART OF WHICH MAY BE SEEN SLIGHTLY 

 TO THE LEFT, AND THREE-FOURTHS OF AN INCH BELOW THE BIRD 



in the nest, I could see something move, and, when the wind blew, feathers 

 around the edge of the nest could be made out, weaving back and forth. I sub- 

 sequently found that the nest had quite a number of feathers incorporated 

 in it. 



Our house had been occupied since May 27, and so, I suppose, the nest had 

 been built while various members of the family were coming and going under 

 the tree every day. It was not possible accurately to count the number of 

 young birds in the nest, Init i)rol)ably there were three. Both the male and 



('5) 



