370 The Phoebe 



is pleasant to sit on the porch and listen to the Veeries. Sometimes a 

 dozen sing until the night shuts in upon them. 



Of all the birds, however, that visit "Bird Nest Cottage" the Phoebe 

 is the most trustful. She and her mate may be seen at almost any time, 

 either on the veranda-railing or on some bare limb of a tree near by. 



When the family arrives on the fifteenth of June, the children, after 

 one look in the camp, all rush out to find the Phoebe's nest, and for 

 several years they have never been disappointed. 



Three seasons this bird built under the veranda, placing the nest on 

 cross-timbers. Last summer the nest was made on the top of a window- 

 facing-just under the low-hanging eaves. This place would be a very 

 insecure foundation for a nest as large as that built by the Phcebe, as the 

 projection is less than an inch from the side of the wall, if the nest were 

 made of sticks and straw, but the Phoebe builds her cradle chiefly of mud, 

 so she can plaster it to the waH almost anywhere that there is just a 

 little support. Moss is usually employed in addition to the mud. 



Four white ,eggs are laid. These are rarely adorned with a few 

 brown spots. The children, however, have never been able to discover 

 whether this particular Phcebe lays pure white eggs or whether they are 

 spotted. The reason for this is that the eggs are always hatched by the 

 middle of June. 



All day long the plaintive pewit phocbe of the parent birds may be 

 heard, and every few minutes one of them brings food to the nest. 



One night we took an electric torch and climbed down the rocks under 



the veranda to see what the Phoebe family was doing. There, sprawled 



all over the top of the nest, were four well-grown youngsters the 



parents were nowhere in sight. Had the little ones 



At Night been hatched only a few days we should probably have 



found the mother at home, but now there was no need 



for her presence to keep the babies warm, for they were not only nearly 



as large as their mother, but well covered with feathers. The night 



was warm, so it was more comfortable for everybody to leave the young 



ones by themselves, while the mother roosted in a tree near by. I 



suppose it was a great relief to her to be able to get an unbroken night's 



rest once in a while after a hard day's work gathering food. 



There are other camps in the neighborhood, and probably every third 

 one has its pair of Phcebes. Some of the people do not like to have the 

 birds around, so I have heard that they tear the nests down, but at "Bird 

 Nest Cottage" Phoebes are always weltome. 



Phoebes build their nests in a great variety of places. Thus they are 

 found on the joists of barns or other out-buildings ; on the cross-pieces 

 of verandas ; under the eaves ; in culverts, or on the sides of stone walls. 

 Once I knew a Phoebe that built her nest on the side of a disused open 

 well. The spot selected was about six feet below the level of the ground 

 and was protected by a broken piece of a rotting curbing. Stone piers of 

 country bridges are favorite places and the bird is widely known as 

 "Bridge Pewee." 



