1 1 8 BIRDS'-NES TS. 



or sedge woven into it, giving it an open work appear- 

 ance, like a basket. 



Very few species use the same material uniformly. 

 I have seen the nest of the robin quite destitute of mud. 

 In one instance, it was composed mainly of long black 

 horse-hairs, arranged in a circular manner, with a lin- 

 ing of fine yellow grass ; the whole presenting quite a 

 novel appearance. In another case, the nest was chiefly 

 constructed of a species of rock moss. 



The nest for the second brood during the same sea- 

 son is often a mere make-shift. The haste of the female 

 to deposit her eggs as the season advances seems very 

 great, and the structure is apt to be prematurely fin- 

 ished. I was recently reminded of this fact by happen- 

 ing, about the last of July, to meet with several nests 

 of the wood or bush sparrow in a remote blackberry 

 field. The nests with eggs were far less elaborate and 

 compact than the earlier nests, from which the young 

 had flown. 



Day after day, as I go to a certain piece of woods, I 

 observe a male indigo-bird sitting on precisely the same 

 part of a high branch, and singing in his most vivacious 

 style. As I approach he ceases to sing, and, flirting 

 his tail right and left with marked emphasis, chirps 

 sharply. In a low bush near by, I come upon the ob- 

 ject of his solicitude — a thick, compact nest composed 

 largely of dry leaves and fine grass, in which a plain 

 brown bird is sitting upon four pale blue eggs. 



The wonder is, that a bird will leave the apparent 



