BIRD&-NESTS. 161 



and the wolf. How I have delighted from 

 boyhood to spend a summer-day in this re- 

 treat or take refuge there from a sudden 

 shower ! Always the freshness and coolness, 

 and always the delicate mossy nest of the 

 phoabe-bird ! The bird keeps her place till 

 you are within a few feet of her, when she 

 flits to a near branch, and, with many oscil- 

 lations of her tail, observes you anxiously. 

 Since the country has become settled, this 

 pewee has fallen into the strange practice of 

 occasionally placing its nest under a bridge, 

 hay-shed, or other artificial structure, where 

 it is subject to all kinds of interruptions 

 and annoyances. When placed thus, the 

 nest is larger and coarser. I know a hay- 

 loft beneath which a pair has regularly 

 placed its nest for several successive seasons. 

 Arranged along on a single pole, which sags 

 down a few inches from the flooring it was 

 intended to help support, are three of these 

 structures, marking the number of years the 

 birds have nested there. The foundation is 

 of mud with a superstructure of moss, elab- 

 orately lined with hair and feathers. Noth- 

 ing can be more perfect and exquisite than 

 the interior of one of these nests, yet a new 

 one is built every season. Three broods, how- 

 ever, are frequently reared in it. 



