WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



of pliant stems and blades of yellowish-green grass, 

 often with the ripe heads left on, giving a some- 

 what rough appearance in many cases to the out- 

 side of the nest. This grass is woven into a firm 

 basket, the stems being as closely interlaced as if 

 done with a needle. Sometimes there is a lining 

 of thistle and cottonwood blossoms, the downy 

 breast feathers of ducks, etc., forming a soft mat 

 at the bottom. 



The leaves growing about the nest are often 

 carefully arranged — apparently by the provident 

 skill of the bird — to shed the rain, shade the sitting 

 mother, and conceal the domicile. The last in- 

 tention certainly is so well accomplished that the 

 nest is difficult to discover, no matter how familiar 

 you may be with the orchard or grove in which 

 you are certain it must be situated, since its color 

 harmonizes closely with its surroundings. 



While this is the customary type of nest in the 

 interior of the country, and one remarkable for its 

 uniformity over a wide region, interesting varia- 

 tions occur on the seaboard. Thus, in the pine 

 woods of southern New Jersey these birds build 

 homes of a quite different character, placing at the 

 extremities of upper branches of pine-trees nests 

 which are not pensile in any sense, but are sup- 

 ^8 273 



