GREEN, GREENISH GRAY, AND OLIVE 435 
horizontal limb on which it is saddled that a hard shake 
will not loosen it. You cannot see it from below, but 
the nervous little builders are sure to betray its location 
if you venture near. With tails wagging excitedly and 
bills snapping with sharp clicks, all the while uttering a 
shrill ‘ pip-pip-pip,” they protest against your presence 
in their wood. About the middle of June, were you so 
unmindful of their wishes as to persist in climbing sixty 
feet to see, you would find three creamy eggs beautifully 
wreathed with brownish spots in the pretty green nest ; 
but you would meet a warm reception from the furious 
parents. Were they half as dangerous as they are bold, 
you would never climb to a second nest. 
They are equally intolerant of feathered intruders, espe- 
cially if they be of their own species. ach pair seems to 
preémpt a certain range from a fourth to a half mile in 
extent near the shore of a lake or along a stream, and 
on these preserves they allow no poaching. I believe 
they confine all their excursions to this territory so long 
as they remain in the same region. Only two things 
seem to be required in their breeding-ground, — conifer- 
ous trees and water. They are extravagantly fond of 
their morning bath, and are at it when the water is cold 
almost to freezing. ‘To witness this one must rise with, 
if not ahead of the sun, for it is the first act of their 
waking hours. The young also are taught to enjoy a 
splash almost as soon as they learn to fly. 
Only one brood is reared in a season, for they come 
north very late and leave again by the last of August 
to winter in the tropics. Incubation lasts about fourteen 
