AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



113 



Near their nesting locality though, 

 is where their song is the merriest. 

 They nest in colonies in old 

 extensive swamps • where the 

 trees are covered with long droop- 

 moss. Hundreds of them sometimes 

 occupy the same swamp. Little 

 outbursts of song are heard on every 

 hand. 



The birds 

 turn up the 

 end of a long 

 piece of moss 

 so that it 

 forms a sort 

 of pocket in 

 which they 

 deposit their 

 eggs. Al- 

 though there 

 may be many 

 nests close by, 

 they are diffi- 

 cult to find as 

 the moss that 

 contains the 

 nest does not 

 look any dif- 

 ferent from 

 the thousands 

 of other pieces 



hanging near by. 



Another necessary adjunct to 

 studying these birds at home is a 

 pair of rubber boots. The moss 

 covered floor of the swamp is treach- 

 erous in places, and any step you 

 find yourself in water from two 

 inches to two feet in depth. By 

 way of variety for bird notes you 

 may frequently hear that of the 

 Olive-sided Flycatcher, who builds 

 in the same locality. His is a very 



loud voice, and you are aware of 

 his presence long before you reach 

 the swamp. 



An Odd Nest. 

 Mr. A. E. Van Vleck, of Lansing- 

 burgh, N. Y., has kindly sent us for 

 inspection a nest of a Chipping Spar- 

 row, that is a curiosity. It shows 

 the ingenuity 

 and patience 

 that some of 

 our birds 

 h'ave. The 

 outside is 

 made entirely 

 of fine wire 

 (about num- 

 ber thirty). 

 This is twist- 

 ed and inter- 

 wove n in a 

 manner that 

 would do cred- 

 it to a weaver. 

 The next lay- 

 er is made up 

 of strings and 

 threads wov- 

 en in with fine 

 grasses. The 

 inside is as usual made of horsehair. 

 Mr. Van Vleck says "1 found the 

 nest in a plum tree. This is a great 

 place for brush manufacturing, and 

 the drawers throw the waste in the 

 yard. This is what the wire part is 

 composed of. I read of a nest that 

 was found in Switzerland made of 

 watch springs. 1 think this is fully 

 as curious a nest, considering the 

 size of the bird and the work re- 

 quired to bend all the wires." 



