° 1910 J Stanwood, Nests of the Magnolia Warbler. 385 



All these nests were composed of similar materials, — hay, 

 stems of cinquefoil, a plant fibre resembling hair, horsehair, plant 

 down and spider's silk, yet each one had a character of its own, 

 due to the greater proportion of one or other of the materials used 

 in the nest, and the way in which the nest was placed in the tree. 



The first nest was the most exquisite Magnolia Warbler's nest 

 I have ever found, and I have been so fortunate as to locate at 

 least twenty-five of them. In this nest some hay and the fine 

 tops of cinquefoil served as a foundation, but the greater part 

 of the small mansion consisted of a fine black vegetable fibre 

 resembling horse-hair. So much of this black, hair-like material 

 was used, that when the edge was covered with down from the 

 willow-pod, a person looking at the dainty abode in its setting of 

 fir twigs could see nothing but the jet-black lining and the fluffy, 

 silvery plant-down around the throat of the nest. The structure 

 was partly pensile, being bound with spider's silk to the two 

 branches at right angles to the main stem. The front part of the 

 bottom was supported by the branches beneath. The interior 

 was modelled by the dainty curves of the mother bird's breast. 

 It was built in a small fir two feet from the ground, surrounded 

 by a growth of fir and gray birches. 



The second nest consisted mostly of cinquefoil stems, with a few 

 strands of hay, a lining of horsehair, and a few dots of plant 

 down fastened over the exterior of the nest with almost micro- 

 scopic meshes of spiders' silk. The cinquefoil stems make a very 

 attractive nest. It is so brittle, it cracks every two or three 

 inches, giving the nest a light, angular appearance which is very 

 different from the effect produced by using hay. The dots of plant 

 down, with the almost imperceptible silk veiling, add also to the 

 effect of lightness, yet a Magnolia Warbler's nest is a very sub- 

 stantial little affair. It was placed close against the stem of a fir 

 where the ascending branches form a partial crotch, and was about 

 three feet from the ground. 



The third and fourth habitations had the appearance of being 

 shallower. They were made of about equal parts of hay and 

 cinquefoil, and lined with black hair-like plant fibre and a few 

 horsehairs. The outside was strengthened with plant down and 

 spider's silk, and it was safely anchored to the surrounding twigs 



