"^40 Brewster on the Golden-created Kinglet. [October 



neath rough and broken by ledges whose rugged outlines were 

 more or less softened by a luxuriant covering of moss and rock 

 ferns. The nest was on the south side of the tree about thirty 

 feet above the ground, twelve feet out from the main stem, and 

 five feet from the end of the branch. It was found June 17, 

 when the bird was at work carrying into it what appeared to 

 be the lining. We could not examine it closely without cutting 

 off the branch, so it was left until June 29, when it proved to be 

 empty, evidently deserted, and so dilapidated that at first we 

 were inclined to believe it an old nest. This cannot have been 

 the case, however, for the materials of which it is composed are 

 quite new and fresh. These are essentially the same as in the 

 other two nests, but there is no lining, although the outer edges 

 of the rim as well as much of the upper portions of the exterior 

 are covered with a profusion of feathers (chiefly those of the 

 Rufted Grouse with a few of the Red Crossbill) while others are 

 merely entangled among the surrounding twigs. The probable 

 explanation of this state of aflairs is that the nest was first 

 deserted, and shortly afterwards partially dismantled, either by 

 the owners or by some mischievous squirrel or mouse. Origi- 

 nally, however, it must have had feathers over most of the ex- 

 terior, for many of those now there are firmly attached to, or 

 even woven into, the moss of which it is composed. This nest 

 is larger than either of the others, measuring as follows : greatest 

 external diameter, 4.00; least, 3.10; greatest depth, 3.90 ; least, 

 2.90 inches. The interior is too badly damaged to admit of ac- 

 curate measurements. 



To recapitulate. In position — but not of course in construction 

 — the first nest resembles that of the Baltimore Oriole, being sim- 

 ilarly hung near the ends of long, drooping twigs. The second is 

 built more like a Vireo's, but with this difference, that instead of 

 being suspended by its upper edges only, and between the forks 

 of a single stem, it is supported on every side, and from the top 

 nearly to the bottom, by numerous slender, but stiff', radiating 

 twigs. It is, nevertheless, a distinctly pensile structure. The 

 position of the third nest is different from that of either of the 

 others. Placed nearly midway between two stout branches 

 which in reality are forks of the same branch, one above the 

 other, and at the point in question about six inches apart, it is 

 attached by the sides and upper edges to the twigs which depend 



