112 



THE DSPREY 



YOUNG WILLOW WARBLERS. 

 !'Hoto(;kahhed in Scotland by chas. 



eggs on April 27, near Mt. Carmel, 111. He con- positions, is that they are due to the receding water, 



siders this an exceptionally early date The greater A low position is preferred by the birds, but if one is 



portion of the nests Mr. Brewster found in the same chosen, a sudden inundation often causes the destruc- 



locality between May 8 and 12, contained fresh eggs, tion of the nest. I have frequently found submerged, 



(Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, Vol. Ill, (1878), p. 158). or partly submerged nests, with the distressed parent 



I find that the precise time of nest-building along the birds flying around. The birds seem indifferent as 



Illinois River depends 

 upon the water level, 

 the bird being seriously 

 delayed some seasons. 

 The few cavities that 

 are not submerged are 

 quickly taken, and birds 

 not so fortunate are 

 compelled to wait for 

 the receding water, un- 

 less, perchance, they 

 steal a site from another 

 pair. 



A typical nesting site 

 is in the cavity of an old 

 water-soaked stump, 

 either standing i n or 

 projecting over the wa- 

 ter. Occasionally 

 stumps containing nests 

 are found on compara- 

 tively dry land, but in 

 these instances the nests 

 were probably built at 

 high water, which, upon 

 receding, left the stumps 

 high and dry. The 

 stump selected is gen- 

 erally a short, smooth 

 one, rotten, and so wa- 



AN EXCITED SCREECH OWL. 



PHOTOGRAPH BY D. I. ALBERTSON. 



to the condition, depth, 

 or shape of the cavity. 

 Every conceivable kind 

 of a hole or crevice to 

 be found in stumps, 

 stubs, or snags, from a 

 rent in the side of a 

 stump to a deserted 

 woodpecker's hole, is 

 acceptable Generally, 

 however, the selection is 

 a cavity once occupied 

 by a chickadee or small 

 woodpecker, but now 

 long forgotten by its 

 previous owner, and 

 open to any tenant 

 chancing along. 



In the construction of 

 the nest, the female bird 

 works alone. I have 

 never yet seen a male 

 really aiding in this task. 

 He frequently accom- 

 panies his mate on trips 

 after building material, 

 hunting here and there 

 for choice pieces of 

 moss, or climbing a wild 

 grape-vine with the 



ter-soaked that it can easily be torn asunder with the view of getting a strip of bark, but always failing to 



fingers. The heights of the cavities vary from a few bring it home. However, we must not censure him 



inches to twenty-five feet or more, the extremes being too severely, for he apparently takes great interest in 



exceedingly rare. In fact, nests more than ten feet the construction of the nest, watching for the return 



above the water must be considered exceptional. The of his mate and accompanying her to the entrance of 



only reasonable conjecture I can offer for the high their domicile, perhaps following her within— but 



