Lake George 
It was to be expected that at least some of 
the eggs would contain partly developed chicks, 
which would make it difficult or impossible to 
obtain a full set. But, on taking the five eggs 
from the vacant nests, I found, to my great sur- 
prise, in blowing them, that they all were sim- 
ply addled, so that they gave me no difficulty. 
Also my fear that the shells were permanently 
discolored proved groundless ; for I found that 
the dark tint came from the yolk showing 
through the thin, transparent shell; and, as the 
contents were gradually expelled, the shell re- 
sumed its normal color. In the great majority 
of eggs, the shells are sprinkled with dark spots, 
but those of the phoebe are commonly immacu- 
late. Ithus secured a perfect and beautifully 
constructed nest, and, by combining the leavings 
of two nests, a full set of eggs. The nest is more 
artistic than that of many of the song birds, 
which are said tostand higher in the scale of 
intelligence, for poor phoebe is only a songless 
flycatcher. Its broad foundation of mud and 
small sticks was overlaid with mosses, that were 
still green when I took it, and the cavity was 
delicately lined with thread-like strips of inner 
bark of a tree and horse-hair. There are few 
nests more elegant than a fine specimen of a 
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