388 Stanwood, Nests of the Magnolia Warbler. [oct! 



a fir three feet from the ground. First bits of spider's silk were 

 laid in the shape of the nest on the brush-like needles of the fir. 

 The bird seemed to secure the spider's floss by rubbing it against 

 the twigs with her breast. Later bits of hay or cinquefoil stems 

 were bent in the shape of a loop or swing and secured by the silk. 

 The next step was to bend the material in the shape of a circle 

 around the top, always pressing it into shape with the breast and 

 securing it at intervals with knots of spider's silk. A frame similar 

 to this seems to be constructed by the Magnolias always before 

 filling in the foundation. The birds were three days placing the 

 foundation of hay and cinquefoil, and three days lining the- nest 

 with horsehair. I have seen nests that I thought might have 

 been constructed more quickly, so little material was used either 

 for foundation or lining. 



The other two nests were similar to those I have described 

 except that one was five feet up, and some of the red, hair-like 

 fruit stems of bird-wheat moss were used in the lining. This 

 was placed between the tips of the branches of two low trees. The 

 bird that built the high nest with the colored stems in its lining, 

 laid the smallest eggs I have ever seen in a clutch of this species, 

 and was extremely gentle. Unfortunately crows or squirrels 

 carried off the eggs so that at this point my observations ceased. 

 The small eggs would indicate they were laid by a young bird, 

 and the somewhat exposed site suggest tha tshe was inexperienced. 



In 1909, I found five nests similar to the others, with these slight 

 differences: One was placed seven feet up in the tips of a long 

 spruce branch and lined with coarse dark brown roots such as the 

 Hair-bird uses for the exterior of her nest; another had a middle 

 lining of the fine tips of meadowsweet twigs, which was coarse 

 material for the Magnolia to handle. This latter was placed in 

 the axis of a fir branch two feet from the ground. 



The eggs of this year were much blotched with reddish brown 

 or umber, sometimes in the wreath around the larger end the 

 blotches being confluent; at other times the blotches pretty well 

 covered the larger end or extended far down the sides of the egg. 



On the second day of July, 1909, I came upon parent birds 

 with young. Both old birds flew around me, chirping with con- 

 sternation when I paused to chat with the dainty mite that 



