The Audubon Societies 



339 



When we first found the Verdin's nest, 

 the doorway was a round hole in the side. 

 By getting the light just right, we could 

 look inside. A week later, when we visited 

 the same home, we were surprised not to 

 see a door at all. The birds evidently 



and inaccessibility. An open nest, with the 

 eggs exposed out on a bare branch, would 

 not last long in Arizona. This elaborate 

 home is the result of many generations of 

 Verdin history. Living in a hostile country 

 and surrounded by enemies, the Verdin has 



PLUMBEOUS GNATCATCHERS AT THEIR NEST IN A CHOLLA-CACTUS 



thought we had been too curious, and had 

 built a little roof and porch, sloping it out 

 and straight down, so that I had to get 

 down on my hands and knees and look up 

 to see the doorway, for the entrance was 

 now in the bottom. 



The Verdin's home is an accomplish- 

 ment in nest-building. It has both secrecj' 



learned to choose trees and bushes that 

 are studded with thorns. More than that, 

 it selects and weaves thorns with the webs 

 and fibers of the walls of his home, which 

 thus becomes a fortified house, with a door- 

 way in the bottom so that lizards and 

 snakes cannot enter. The Verdin makes 

 use of his home not only during the sum- 



