126 SIXDS'-NESTS. 



their beaks still loaded, they move around 

 with a frightened look, and refuse to ap- 

 proach the nest till I have moved off and 

 lain down behind a log. Then one of them 

 ventures to alight upon the nest, but, still 

 suspecting all is not right, quickly darts 

 away again. Then they both together come, 

 and after much peeping and spying about, 

 and apparently much anxious consultation, 

 cautiously proceed to work. In less than 

 half an hour, it would seem that wool enough 

 has been brought to supply the whole fam- 

 ily, real and prospective, with socks, if nee- 

 dles and fingers could be found fine enough 

 to knit it up. In less than a week, the fe- 

 male has begun to deposit her eggs, four 

 of them in as many days, white tinged 

 with purple, with black spots on the larger 

 end. After two weeks of incubation, the 

 young are out. 



Excepting the American goldfinch, this 

 bird builds later in the spring than any 

 other, its nest, in our northern climate, sel- 

 dom being undertaken till July. As with 

 the goldfinch, the reason is, probably, that 

 suitable food for the young cannot be had at 

 an earlier period. 



Like most of our common species, as the 



