10 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



that these birds try to see how very odd they can be. 

 They are common in eastern Pennsylvania during 

 the breeding season, and their strange homes are the 

 wonder of those who find them. These nests are 

 built with dry blossoms of the hickory tree, and also 

 of long strips of the inner bark of different trees. 

 They are sometimes modelled into a compactly 

 built, cup-like cavity, from which hangs a gradu- 

 ally tapering mass so shaped and trimmed with 

 small twigs as to appear like coiled moss, wound by 

 the wind. This interesting tassel of ornament is 

 from seven to nine inches in length. 



The long-billed marsh wren delights in spherical 

 nests. In early May, Mr. and Mrs. Wren seek a 

 suitable, low bush, and here amid the brackish 

 marshes of the seashore, away from the haunts of 

 man, they weave out of dry grasses the most ex- 

 quisite little nest, just out of reach of the tides. Its 

 form is globular, and it is artistically seamed with 

 brown, yellow, and grey cottony down. A delicate 

 curtain of reddish brown surrounds the entrance; 

 and inside the nest is a downy lining which the most 

 fastidious decorator might envy. 



Man could never make with all the appliances at 

 his command a thing so graceful, so fairy-like, as 

 the delicate lace hammock of the Parula warbler. 

 It is often seen swinging over a stream from the 



