508 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



is a "chip" or a "check," uttered sometimes on the wing, but 

 more often while busily engaged in seeking for insects from 

 twig to twig. But about the time nest building begins the 

 male perches near the top of some small evergreen tree and 

 utters a pleasing song, consisting of a succession of some 

 twelve to fifteen clear and musically warbled notes much like 

 "swee swee swee swee." The song is very distinct and character- 

 istic of the species, though at least occasionally another differ- 

 ent but still characteristic song, a soft, low warble, is heard. 



During migration the species may be found in the trees of 

 the city streets, in gardens, on the roofs of houses, and along 

 highways and through the woods, hopping from place to place. 

 As soon as nest building begins, the favorite locality selected 

 is a thicket of evergreen trees near the highway, some open 

 pasture containing a few clumps of scattered evergreens, small 

 thickets of evergreen along the banks of some stream or river 

 or about the shore of a pond or lake, or a row of trees about 

 some country dwelling or in an orchard. In the vast majority 

 of cases an evergreen tree is selected as a nesting site, though 

 occasionally some hardwood tree, such as maple, apple or 

 birch, may be taken. A majority of nests seem to be placed 

 in cedar trees, with fir and spruce following as close second 

 choices. The nest may be placed against the trunk, supported 

 on some small branch extending therefrom, or in a fork made 

 by three or more branches or on top of a limb at some distance 

 from the trunk and even near the extremity of the limb. The 

 height of the nest may be as low as four feet from the ground 

 or as high as twenty-five feet, eight to ten feet up being a fair 

 average. 



The foundation of the nest consists of spruce, fir or hemlock 

 twigs from which the spills have fallen. A number of these 

 twigs are arranged and compactly criss-crossed and rounded. 

 Next comes a superstructure, often composed of fine plant 

 fibres and grass stems, and then comes a lining of horsehair 

 and feathers. In some nests the lining is simply hair, but in 



