BIRD CRADLES. 



95 



nest often betrays the degenerating human contact. It is an ad- 

 mitted fact that many of the vireos manifest a strange fascination 

 for the newspaper, fragments of which are often a conspicuous 

 contamination in their motley fabrics, composed most commonly 

 of generous strips of white and yellow birch, hornet's nest, dried 

 leaves, grape-vine bark, asclepias hemp, bits of wood and pith, 

 and various other ingredients. 



It was this well-known propensity of the bird that won it the 

 name of " the Politician " from an ornithological friend of Wil- 

 son ; an appellation especially given to the white -eyed vireo, al- 

 though from my experience the others are equally deserving of 

 the soft impeachment. 



How often have I paused in the woods to study the strange 

 ingredients of these vireos' nests, of which I have dissected at 

 least a hundred, in many of which the newspaper had formed an 

 element. And why is it that I am always led with such eager 

 quest yes, even at the risk of life and limb on one occasion to 

 scan these ragged, weather-beaten fragments of print, as though 

 consulting the oracle ! 'Tis true they usually disclose but little 

 intrinsic reason for their conspicuous preferment, though I do re- 

 member one or two exceptional instances ; once in my boyhood, 

 when I enjoyed a great laugh at the disclosures of one such lit- 

 erary fragment, the precise nature of which has escaped me, save 

 that it was an advertisement having a comical relation to the 

 bird world. But my memory is distinct of having brought the 

 editorial selection home in my pocket, where it was subsequently 

 forgotten and reduced to pi among the jack-knives, buttons, jack- 

 stones, and other usual concomitants of the small boy's outfit. 

 The nest I well remember. It was suspended in a small thicket 

 and variously supported by the bend of a bramble and stalks of 

 hardback and meadow-rue. I did not see the birds, as the nest 

 was abandoned, and though not a typical vireo's nest, it was so 

 conspicuously decked out with editorials and advertisements that, 

 out of respect to Wilson, I was constrained to accept it as a bad 

 case of "the Politician." 



It has remained for the red-eyed vireo, however, to reward my 



