Nest-Building 159 



loops caught on a stub and brought him up at a short turn. 

 The situation afforded a good opportunity for the display of 

 intelligence (a good chance, too, for an animal romancer to 

 spin a yarn), and the bird was not wholly wanting. He first 

 tried to force matters by putting his whole weight into a lateral 

 strain, but failing in this he faced about, back to the nest, and 

 pulled with the same result. Then he advanced a step or two, 

 gathered up a little slack, and pulled again, this time losing 

 his hold except on a few strands which were drawn up and in- 

 corporated into the nest. After seven minutes spent in mold- 

 ing he walked out on the branch and picked up another thread 

 of yarn, but the rest was left clinging to the stub, and no further 

 attempt was made to remove it. While a start was made in the 

 right direction, the simple solution of the problem, to release 

 the yarn with the bill, did not occur to this Robin. From long 

 observation, I am convinced that birds seldom comprehend the 

 conditions of what seem to us the simplest situations, but excep- 

 tions no doubt occur. I have seen a young Chipping Sparrow 

 swallow a horsehair, and the mother remove it, while I have 

 known of an Oriole becoming entangled in its nest and allowed 

 to die without any attempt at rescue being made by its mate. 



While watching the Robins, my attention was often diverted 

 by a pair of Chebecs, which early began to appropriate the yarn 

 and carry it to a certain tree where I knew that a nest was well 

 under way. They were so greedy with this material that I 

 determined to satisfy them, and getting a quantity of cotton 

 cloth I tore it in ribbons from one to two feet long, and with a 

 quantity of white hens' feathers strewed it on the ground. We 

 soon witnessed some curious sights, and the nest which was 

 later completed was in some respects the most remarkable 

 I have ever seen. 



Ordinarily this little flycatcher uses the finest grade of 

 vegetable fibers which have been swingled by wind and rain, 

 and bleached to that neutral gray tint which to the ordinary 

 eye passes for lichens or gray bark when implanted in the 



