232 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



The phcEbe nests comparatively early. la central Illi- 

 nois the structure is usually ready for the eggs by the end 

 of the first week of April. The nest is placed oq a beam 

 of a bridge or other similar edifice, or on a projecting rock 

 or nicho in abutments. The liking of the phoebe for the 

 vicinity of bridges has caused it to receive the common 

 name of " bridge bird," and *' bridge pewee." As before 

 mentioned, the familiar habits of the phcebe often lead it 

 to establish its home about the barnyard and outbuildings. 

 Frequently it finds a tempting niche among the stones or 

 bricks in the walls of a well, and there makes a home 

 below the ordinary level. I knew a pair to nest nine feet 

 below the rim of the well-curb, and five feet below the 

 ground level, in a place in the wall from which a brick 

 had fallen. The well was used daily, the water being 

 drawn up by means of buckets attached to a rope passing 

 over a wheel, which was suspended from the middle of a 

 small shed over the well. I was doubtful whether the 

 young birds would be able to flutter out of the well suc- 

 cessfully, but the elders knew their business better than I, 

 and hence I offered them no advice about the matter. I 

 never knew the fate of the brood, though I visited the 

 place frequently to watch developments, for one day I 

 found the nest empty. 



Often the nest is cemented to the perpendicular side 

 of a joist or beam under bridges. In such instances the 

 muddy materials used in the nest adhere to the wood, and 

 on drying support the weight of the nest. In the Oologist 

 for March, 1895, an illustration is given of an unusual nest 

 site of the phcebe, "on a |-inch cotton rope, which was 

 stretched at an angle of 42° by exact measurement;" and 

 an unusually interesting article by Ernest W. Vickers is 

 based on this remarkable nesting site. The usual founda- 

 tion of the nest is mud, with which are mingled fine root- 

 lets and mossy materials, gathered by the birds chiefly 

 while they are on the wing. They dash toward the mate- 

 rial they have selected, hover a moment in gathering it, 

 and then return to the perch to pause a moment before 

 flying to the nest to deposit the substance collected. When 

 the material they are gathering is tougher than usual and 

 does not tear away readily from its place of attachment, 



