THE OSPEEY. 



SOME SPRING NESTS. 

 l?v Enc.AK Ma(;n):ss. Redlands. Cal. 



After the Iluiumiiii;" Bird, the daintiest builder 

 is perhaps the CioldHiich. In Kedlands I i)b- 

 served a tiest with its full complement <>f five 

 creamy white ef;-,i;"s on April 2(ith. It was placed 

 in the t<ii) of a youni;- orani^e tree near a house, 

 some 10 feet from the f;round. It was composed 

 of half-dried weeds (which I saw the female 

 g-athering- bv the I'oadside for another nest), and 

 lined with tine feathers. 



The plain little mother was very i^entle. and 

 left her place only when I beyan to climb into 

 the lower branches for closer scrutiny. 



As usual, the male does not assist in the build- 

 ing-, but accompanies his busy mate very punc- 

 tiliously, with many pretty poses and sibilant 

 whisperingfs of commendation. 



Bullock's Oriole {Icterus biiUocki) has the 

 cleanest and most ing-enious nest I have ever 

 seen. Here it is made entirely of Palmetto 

 shi"eds, woven into a willow-like basket. This 

 is lined with Cottonwood down, often brought 

 from a great distance, as no substitute suits this 

 sybaritic architect. 



Tlie one I (observed ])articularly was sewed to 

 the underside of a Palmetto leaf 20 feet up. 

 Two holes are pierced in the leaf, into which 

 threads are stretched, and these main supports 

 are braced by other longer threads, hitched to 

 other parts of the branch. The nest is thus 

 protected from the fierce heat of this latitude, 

 which sometimes reaches 110° in April, and the 

 rain and sand storms as well. The purely or- 

 namental })art of the nest is a long- plume of the 

 same material, pendant from the bottom which 

 sways gracefully in the slig-htest breeze. A 

 beautiful cradle certainU' — the young- waking- 

 to a berceuse of the wind blowing- resonantly 

 throug-h dipping- Palmetto leaves. 



On April 27th, I took a nest of the Cactus 

 Wren {Campylorhynclnis hruiDieicapillus) which 

 from the g-reen weed stems in its composition 

 must have been lately vacated. It was the 

 usual elaborate affair, made of twig-s. lined with 

 rabbit fur and feathers, and hung- in a cane 

 Cactus 4 feet up. It was found on the Santa 

 Ana Desert or Wash, two miles from the citv. 



NESTING OF THE WARBLING VIREO. 

 Bv J. P. Pakkek, Columbus. Ohio. 



The last week of May. 1898. I spent with E. B. 

 Williamson and R. C. Osburn collecting- near 

 my old home, at Danville, Oliio. On the 23rd 

 we discovered a Vireo's nest in an apple tree, 

 and took for granted that it was the nest 

 of the Red-eyed Vireo, which breeds abund- 

 antly in that vicinity. There was no bird upon 

 the nest, and we did not disturb it. As we were 

 passing through the same orchard on the 26th. 

 our attention was attracted by the song- of the 

 Warbling- Vireo in the vicinity of the nest we had 

 previously located, and we began to suspect that 

 the nest belonged to it. Williamson ascended the 

 tree, and secured the eg-gs, which appeared too 

 small to be those of the Red-ej^ed Vireo, and he 

 advised us to secure the bird, which he had just 

 scar<'d from off the nest. 



We began at f)nce with our "flippers," and in 

 a short time Osburn wounded the bird, but 

 darkness coming on, she escaped. I returned 

 with a gun next morning, and fortunately se- 

 cured the wounded bird, which proved to be a 

 female Warbling Vireo. This was a pleasant 

 discovery to us as neither of us was aware that 

 this Vireo nested in that part of the state. The 

 set contained three stightU' incubated eggs. 



On the 27th a second nest was secured from 

 the top of a little sj-camore overleaning a small 

 creek. It contained two fresh eggs. On the 

 28th a complete set of four was taken from a 

 nest in a sj'camore by the same stream. Four 

 nests were secured on the 31st. The first, taken 

 from a willow, contained two badly incubated 

 eggs. The second, also taken from a willow, 

 was empt}-; whether it had been plundered or 



had not 3'et been occupied, I cannot say. The 

 bird, however, was still sing-ing near the nest. 

 The third, taken from an apple tree, contained 

 four eggs so badly incubated as to defy all at- 

 tempts at blowing- them. The fourth nest con- 

 tained three slightly incubated eggfs, was taken 

 from a sycamore standing- by the road-side, the 

 nest being placed about fifteen feet from the 

 ground, and directl3' over the road. I went 

 early in the morning- to secure this nest, which 

 had been located the evening- before, and found 

 one bird sitting- upon the nest, and the other 

 (the male I presume) sing-ing in the top of the 

 tree. While I was pondering- how I might best 

 secure the nest, the bird upon it left it, and '^ 

 perching near uttered a call note or two. The 

 one in the top of the tree came down, settled 

 itself in the nest, and the other flew away, and 

 began feeding-. From this it would appear that 

 the birds share the labor of incubation. 



Of the seven nests, five were built upon trees 

 on or near the bank of the creek, and two were 

 in orchards a half mile from the stream, the 

 heights of the nests varying- from ten to thirty 

 feet. In structure and appearance the nest of 

 the Warbling- Vireo is like that of the Red-eyed 

 in all save that it is a trifle smaller. The lining 

 of one nest — the first taken — was composed al- 

 most entirely of horsehair. This is the only 

 Vireo nest I have ever seen thus lined; but I 

 think this lining- can be accounted for by the 

 fact that the nest was placed in an apple tree 

 quite close to a barn-yard where sucli material 

 could be readily obtained. 



