NESTING HABITS OF BIRDS. 157 



with the feathered tribe, to fashion the nest of such 

 materials as to make it inconspicuous, and harmonize 

 with the neutral tints of the female . bird. The scarlet 

 tanager, that so delights us with his brilliant plumage 

 of scarlet trimmed with black, has a pretty wife dressed 

 in pale green, and the nest is also placed amid a thicket 

 or bunch of green leaves, so that neither it nor the sit- 

 ting bird will attract the attention of the passer-by. 



The humming bird saddles its delicate little house on 

 the upper side of a mossy limb, and then covers the out- 

 side with little patches of moss, just the color of the limb 

 and bird, making it very difficult to detect it, except- 

 ing by the closest observation or merest accident. The 

 marsh wren builds in a tuft of marsh grass, making the 

 structure partially of dried grass and interlining it with 

 many growing spears of the same, thus leaving the 

 rather bulky nest the least possible conspicuous, so 

 that although they are very plentiful in certain locali- 

 ties, especially on Strawberry Island, Niagara Eiver, 

 few are found until the grass becomes dead and thin. 

 Most of the birds that nest on the ground use materials 

 that harmonize with the earth, and also with the dusky 

 color of the eggs, whereas those that build out of reach 

 of enemies take no such precaution. The oriole uses 

 light, attractive substances, and flaunts the exquisite 

 structure in plain sight of man and all other enemies, 

 relying for safety on its inaccessible situation. The 

 swallow, guided by the same instinct or reason, fear- 

 lessly approaches and leaves its nest, regardless of the 

 presence of man. 



8 



