Brewster o?i the Prothonoiari/ JVarhler. 159 



description of nearly every conceivable kind of hole or cavity that 

 can be found in tree-trunks. The typical nesting-site, however, was 

 the deserted hole of the Downy Woodpecker or Carolina Chickadee. 

 The height varied from two to fifteen feet, though the usual eleva- 

 tion was about four. If the cavity was old and broken out, or 

 otherwise enlarged, it was far more apt to be chosen than a neater 

 and newer one close at hand. The stump selected almost invaria- 

 bly stood in or projected over water, although, as above stated, it 

 •was oftentimes left high and dry after the eggs were laid. 



Of the many exceptions to the above-described typical site, I 

 will here notice only two of the most marked. A nest discovei*ed 

 May 8 was built in a sort of pocket-shaped cavity in the side of a 

 large cypress stump. The hole descended vertically in the inside 

 of the shell-like wall, the central heart of which had crumbled 

 away. Another, found by Mr. Ridgway, was built in an extremely 

 rotten snag which stood on the edge of a road ; the eggs or sitting 

 parent could easily be seen by any one riding by. This nest was 

 several hundred yards away from water. 



In the construction of the nest the female labors somewhat 

 desultorily. Fresh green moss enters lai'gely into its composi- 

 tion, and although this substance is readily obtained, a week is 

 sometimes consumed in building the simple little affair. Most of 

 the materials are gathered in the immediate vicinity from half- 

 stibmerged logs or the nearest dry ground. The male almost 

 always accompanies his partner on her trips to and from the nest, 

 making a great show of hunting up choice bits of material, but 

 apparently never succeeding in finding any to his mind. He usu- 

 ally precedes her on her i-eturn, enters the hole to investigate the 

 condition of affairs, pops out his golden head to assui'e her with a 

 soft chirp that all is well within, and then gives way to allow her 

 to enter, clinging against the bark outside to cheer her labors with 

 his song and await her reappearance. Sometimes, however, both 

 birds remain inside together, although how much assistance the 

 male renders in house furnishing I cannot say. Probably his 

 presence is only tolerated, and he is perhaps often accused of being 

 a nuisance. 



The shape and size of the nest vary with that of the cavity in 

 which it is placed. When the hole is deep, it is usually filled up to 

 within four or five inches of the entrance. Thus the nest when 

 removed presents the appearance of a compact mass of moss five 



