BIRDS OF THE WEST 39 



The kingbird in late summer is very common and his nest en- 

 tirely exposed. It is a serviceable nest of silver-colored weeds and 

 white wrapping twine and bits of wool, and the four pretty eggs 

 with chestnut blotches are guarded very carefully. If you go near 

 the nest, you will get a fearful scolding for they then become the 

 most demonstrative of birds and trust to defending their nests 

 rather than concealing them. 



PHOEBE. 



A translation into English of their bird notes has given us 

 the names of a few of our birds. The chick-a-dee, the whip-poor- 

 will, the chewink, the cuckoo and the phoebe all pronounce their 

 names for you. 



The phoebe builds a wonderful nest. It is made of mud, ve- 

 neered with moss and lined with feathers and bits of wool. Sure- 

 ly no nest is better calculated to keep the eggs and babies warm. 

 Like many another good thing there is often a drawback. Such 

 a nicely feathered nest is in danger of being converted into a bug 

 house and it is not unusual to find a brood of phoebe 's babies lying 

 dead within their abandoned home, the poor little victims of para- 

 sites. 



Once upon a time they built their nests far from the haunts of 

 men and I have found them on the sides of cliffs near the water, 

 but now they come closer to town and build around old mills and 

 abandoned houses. I am almost sorry that they are doing this, 

 for all animals learn bad habits in town. City culture is an awfully 

 bad thing for them. 



As you drive along country roads you are almost sure to find 

 a phoebe 's nest if you look under the bridges, but do not confuse 

 them with the barn swallow, that also builds his muddy nest be- 

 neath the bridge. There will be little trouble in telling them apart 

 if you are watchful, for the barn swallow always wears his purple 

 swallow-tail coat while phoebe dresses like a Quaker. 



In climbing to reach a phoebe 's nest, I once loosened it so 

 that it would not rest longer in its place, so I set it upon a nearby 

 beam, but the phoebe didn't mind my interference a bit and went 

 on with her household duties. Most birds would have abandoned 

 their nests under such circumstances. 



The cry of the phoebe is a plaintive one. You could easily 



