144 BIKDS'-XESTS. 



woven into it, giving it an open work ap- 

 pearance, like a basket. 



Very few species use the same material 

 uniformly. I have seen the nest of the robin 

 quite destitute of mud. In one instance, it 

 was composed mainly of long, black horse- 

 hairs, arranged in a circular manner, with a 

 lining of fine yellow grass ; the whole pre- 

 senting quite a novel appearance. In an- 

 other case, the nest was chiefly constructed 

 of a species of rock moss. 



The nest for the second brood during the 

 same season is often a mere make-shift. The 

 haste of the female to deposit her eggs as 

 the season advances seems very great, and 

 the structure is apt to be prematurely fin- 

 ished. I was recently reminded of this fact 

 by happening, about the last of July, to 

 meet with several nests of the wood or bush 

 sparrow in a remote blackberry field. The 

 nests with eggs were far less elaborate and 

 compact than the earlier nests, from which 

 the young had flown. 



Day after day, as I go to a certain piece 

 of woods, I observe a male indigo-bird sit- 

 ting on precisely the same part of a high 

 branch, and singing in his most vivacious 

 style. As I approach, he ceases to sing, 



