54 Harvey, Diary of a CardinaVs Ncsf. \^^n 



THE DIARY OF A CARDINAL'S NEST. 



BY GERTRUDE FAY HARVEY. 



P/aie I. 



The Cardinal {Cardinalis cardinalis) is a common bird here 

 in southwestern Ohio, and is with us throughout the year. There 

 is one pair which seems never to leave our neighborhood nor to 

 separate, staying together the year round. Every winter we feed 

 these birds to keep them from want, and every summer we con- 

 tinue to feed them because we hate to stop. 



For three years they have built in our garden, the successful 

 nests being in a heavy honeysuckle vine at a little distance from 

 the house. Twice they built the nest close to the porch, but both 

 times they deserted it before the eggs were laid. So, when the 

 birds made a tour of inspection in the conservatory this spring, 

 we had little hope of their settling in so conspicuous a place, or, 

 at least, of their staying to raise their young. The Cardinal has 

 the reputation of deserting his nest for slight reasons. 



The Cardinals were first seen in the conservatory on the 13th 

 of April, having entered by an open ventilator in the roof, as all 

 the other windows were closed at that season . Birds often come 

 by accident into the greenhouse, but usually when once inside 

 they make wild efforts to get out, dashing against the glass and 

 flying frantically about. The Cardinals seemed to have come in 

 deliberately, and they showed their superior intelligence by the 

 manner in which they grasped the situation. Walls of glass did 

 not delude them in the least. When their inspection was finished 

 they calmly departed by the little opening through which they had 

 come in. 



The next day they came again, and a few days later were 

 noticed to have twigs in their beaks, as though planning a nest. 

 On the 20th of April they selected the site — a fork in a Marechal 

 Neil rose vine, and they began to bring in a great amount of 

 material, which did not take definite shape until the 26th. 

 Throughout the process of building the female gathered the 

 material and did all the work, the male keeping close at her side, 



