14 



UNUSUAL NESTING SITE OF THE PEWEE OR 

 PHCEBE — SAYORNIS PHCEBE (Lath.) 



BY ERNEST W. VICKERS, ELLSWORTH, O. 



What I regarded as an unusual nesting site of the 

 Phoebe was a nest found in a sugar-house, built upon f inch 

 cotton rope which was suspended at an angle of 42° (by 

 exact measurement.) To meet the requirements of its un- 

 usual position, it was built out of the ordinary shape and man- 

 ner. To serve as a basis of comparison the following meas- 

 urements of an ordinar}' nest are given : Depth of cavity 

 If inches, width 6 inches, height 3^ inches. The nest in 

 question was 4^ inches wide, cavity 1 inch deep, 7^ inches 

 in height at highest place, which was at the bottom in front 

 where the rope entered the nest; at the back where the rope 

 came out it was 6 inches high ; at the top where the bulkiest 

 part of the nest was, it was built ^ inch more to one side of 

 the rope, while below from within 2 inches of the bottom, was 

 2^ inches of the bulk on the other side. Thus the nest was 

 perfectly balanced. You could take the rope between the 

 thumb and fore finger twirling it considerably, yet it would 

 not swing rapidly nor through a large enough portion of a 

 circle to spill the contents. It would quickly regain its 

 equilibrium. The alighting of the female upon it scarcely 

 agitated it. The rope upon which it was built was about ten 

 feet long and the nest was twelve feet from the ground. The 

 top of the nest was perfectly level so far as the eye could 

 tell. The nest is so nice a piece of work that it would be- 

 come a very "bone of contention" between parties who are 

 wont to discuss " Rea.son versus Instinct." The structure 

 as it was built, on the rope, is to be seen in the writer's 

 museum. 



