98 Mr. Peabody on the t, 
The construction of this nest is a singular pro- 
cess of art. The male takes a string, stolen per- 
haps from a window, and with his bill and claws 
ties one end to a drooping twig of an elm or some 
orchard tree. Having secured this, he proceeds to 
fasten the other end, in the same manner, to another 
twig drooping parallel with the former, a few inches 
distant, letting it fall between the two twigs like a 
swing. The female then comes and fastens another 
string so as to cross the former, and to keep the 
twigs in their place as a circular frame-work for 
the nest. Having thus determined its depth and 
circumference, they proceed to weave a coarse cloth, 
with such materials as they can find, forming a 
pouch, impenetrable to the elements, in the bottom 
of which they place the real nest, the whole fabric 
being shaded, by the arbor of leaves above it, from 
the rain and the heat of the sun. They take such 
materials as come to hand ; skeins of silk and thread, 
Which have been missed by housewives, have been 
fornd at last, woven into the baltimore's nest. It is 
difficult to understand how they can do this without 
the aid of mechanic art; but Nuttall observed that 
— one was constantly endeavoring to thrust his 
bill between the closed fingers, in order to fore 
them open ; which helps to explain the mauner in 
Which they open interstices and insert threads in 
the process of weaving. The female lays from four 
to six eggs, of pale brown, dotted, spotted and lined 
with dark brown. A day or two before the young 
are able to leave the nest, they creep in and out, 
and sometimes cling to the outside. After leaving 
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