450 LAND BIRDS 
a dwelling, were less confiding than the first pair, and 
the male tried many little wiles to coax intruders away 
from his nest, though there were as yet no eggs in it. 
The nest-making of the yellow-throated vireo has 
been so finely described by Mr. Hutchins in “ Bird Lore,” 
August, 1902, and so exactly resembles that of the 
Cassin Vireo, that I quote from it: 
“The birds built the rim of their nest stout and 
strong, twisting the web about the twigs over and over 
upon itself where it stretched from twig to twig, till I 
wondered at their patience and ingenuity. Inside and 
outside the little heads would reach, with the prettiest 
turns and curvetings imaginable, till, as the nest grew 
deeper, the work was done more and more from the 
inside. Then it was gathered together at the bottom 
with side joined to side. When this part of the work 
first took place, the nest seemed to be strangely lacking 
in depth, and had an unshapely look altogether. But 
this was the point where the full revelation came to me 
of how the deepest part is shaped. I saw the bird at 
this stage inside the nest raise her wings against the 
upper rim and the twigs which held it, and strain with 
her wings upward and her feet downward till the nest 
grew so thin [ could see through it in places. Then 
they began weaving in more material to thicken and 
strengthen sides and bottom where these had become 
thin and weak through stretching. This was done 
many times until proper depth and thickness were both 
secured.” 
