Rare and Curious Nests. 267 



the possession of the skill necessary to the production of 

 so perfect a domicile. Externally the nest is formed of 

 grasses and rushes, neatly and intricately interwoven, with 

 here and there a head of the dry pappus of some species of 

 hawkweed. Sedges and fine grasses make for it a cosy and 

 comfortable lining. This nest shows quite conspicuously in 

 the drawing, but in its natural position, in the centre of a 

 large field, the authors had spared no pains to have its con- 

 cealment as perfect as possible. 



Typical nests of these Blackbirds are somewhat irregular 

 in outline, and rather coarsely and rudely built of stubble 

 and broad grasses, variously intermingled, and lined with 

 soft meadow grass. Usually they are placed in clusters of 

 weeds or in the tops of small bushes alongside of streams of 

 water. High positions are seldom chosen for nesting pur- 

 poses, as they offer poor facilities for food-collecting, the 

 aquatic larvae, may-flies, dragon-flies and mosquitos, which 

 constitute a prominent part of the diet of these birds, being 

 only found in marshy situations. Small bushes along the 

 margins of streams, from the double advantage which they 

 possess, are almost exclusively adopted in certain localities. 

 Being convenient to appropriate food-stuffs, they are, at the 

 same time, out of the reach of snakes, especially water- 

 snakes, which have a decided fondness for young birds. 



Of the sub-family of Orioles, to which the Red-wing belongs, 

 no member, unless it be the namesake of Maryland's distin- 

 guished proprietor, builds a more magnificent nest than the 

 one that inhabits the orchard. In the books it is known by 

 the no means euphonious title of Icterus spurius. Its nest 

 is shaped like a pouch, and generally pensile. Soft, flexible 

 meadow grasses, neatly and compactly woven together, 

 make up the outer fabric, while within is a lining of vegetal 

 or animal wool, or one of fine grasses intermingled with 

 horse-hair. But the handsomest ever seen was one that was 

 found in the vicinity of Nazareth, Pa., by Richard Christ, in 

 the summer of 1883. It is of the usual size, five inches in 



