GARDINER'S ISLAND 51 



The yoke-house has now succumbed to the weight of 

 years and nest, but a new Fish Hawk home which has been 

 erected in the nearest tree, is doubtless occupied by the 

 yoke-house birds. If this supposition be true, they evidently 

 did not resort to a roof because they lacked the ability to 

 build in trees. 



"A new nest on the ruins of the old one" 



That the normal nesting-site of Fish Hawks is arboreal, 

 is evidenced by the fact that fully ninety-five per cent, of the 

 Gardiner 's Island birds resort to trees ; but even with this 

 restriction there is wide variation in the situation selected. 

 Some birds nest in the heart of the forest, in the great oaks ; 

 others at its border, in the sour gums ; many choose the 

 wild cherry trees, while a number have astonishing success 

 in saddling their bulky platforms on the small red cedars, 

 where they dwarf the tree into a mere supporting post. 



