O LIFE-HISTORIES ,OF BIRDS 



r 



nest which had been built upon a mass of tangled 

 grasses and roots that had accidentally lodged 

 within the angle formed by two branches of a 

 grape-vine. Again, as if to show their confidence 

 in man, a pair had selected for the site of a nest, 

 a small vine which had been trained against the 

 side of a door which commanded the entrance to 

 an occupied dwelling. Still more anomalous situ- 

 ations have fallen under our observation. A 

 nest was discovered upon the ledge of a window 

 of an occupied dwelling, which was carefully shel- 

 tered from the weather by projecting eaves of 

 considerable depth; and, lastly, another was found 

 upon the horizontal timber which supports the 

 rafters of an outhouse; a situation that afforded 

 the necessary shelter and concealment. 



The typical nest is composed of a base of straw, 

 leaves, grasses, mosses, roots, etc., upon which a 

 cup-shaped fabric of clay or mud is built ; the in- 

 terior is lined with line roots and grasses. 



In the last two nests referred to, the cup-shaped 

 fabric is an unnoticeable feature. The bottoms 

 are provided with a moderately thick layer of mud, 

 so that they might rigidly adhere to the smoothened 

 surfaces upon which the)' reposed. A similar layer 

 of clay has been frequently noticed in the nests of 

 the Wood Robin, the Turd us mustelinus of Gmelin. 

 That compactness of structure which is so emi- 

 nently Characteristic of the normal form was lack- 

 ing. This is readily accounted for. In unexposed 

 situations there seems to be no necessity for that 



