VIREOS 346 



rial. The twigs extended two or three inches beyond the 

 nest. The bulk of it is composed of fine shreds or fibres, 

 pretty long (say three to six inches), of apparently 

 inner oak (?) bark, judging from some scraps of the 

 epidermis adhering. It looks at first sight like sedge 

 or grass. The bottom, which I accidentally broke off 

 and disturbed the arrangement of, was composed of this 

 and white and pitch pine needles and little twigs about 

 the same size and form, rough with little leaf-stalks 

 or feet (probably hemlock (?)')5 ^^^ ^^so strips and 

 curls of paper birch epidermis, and some hornet or 

 other wasp nest used like the last. I mention the most 

 abundant material first. Probably the needles and twigs 

 were used on account of theircurvedform - and elasticity, 

 to give shape to the bottom. The sides, which were not 

 so thick, were composed of bark shreds, paper birch, and 

 hornet-nest (the two latter chiefly outside, probably to 

 bind and conceal and keep out the wind), agglutinated 

 together. But most pains was taken with the thin edge 

 and for three quarters of an inch down, where, beside 

 the bark-fibres, birch paper, and hornets' nest, some 

 silky reddish-brown and also white fibre was used to 

 bind all with, almost spun into threads and passed over 

 the twigs and agglutinated to them, or over the bark 

 edge. The shreds of birch paper were smaller there, 

 and the hornets' nest looked as if it had been reduced 

 to a pulp by the bird and spread very thinly here and 

 there over all, mixed with the brown silk. This last 

 looked like cow's hair, but as I found a piece of a small 

 brown cocoon, though a little paler, I suspect it was 

 ^ Yes, they are. ^ Perhaps bent by the bird. 



