208 
NESTS AND EGGS OF 
character of the season does much in rendering these changes necessary. 
A wet spring, if long and protracted, would, by increasing the amount of 
water in swampy situations above the average, make them undesirable 
resorts, and thus drive the birds to the necessity of seeking less humid 
and less exposed places. At such times, high grounds, by obtaining more 
than the usual amount of moisture, would become suited to the existence of 
insects, which form no mean part of their living. In dry seasons, moist 
localities would be chosen, as they are more advantageously situated for 
obtaining supplies of food than others. 
The nest is almost invariably placed upon the ground, in a thick bed 
of dry leaves, in a clump of grass, at the roots of low bushes, or under 
the shelter of a pile of brush, sometimes being covered by surrounding 
leaves, and quite as often exposed from above. When built directly upon 
the ground, it occupies a depression thereof; but when built in a tussock, 
this precaution is not taken, as the necessary security is afforded by the 
enveloping grasses or sedges. According to Dr. Brewer, nests are occasion- 
ally found four or five feet from the ground, among the matted branches 
of high weeds. A typical nest consists of loose leaves on the outside, 
which are held in position by the walls of the cavity in which they are 
placed, or by surrounding grasses. Within is placed a superstructure of 
dry grasses, twigs, strips of dry bark, and leaves of sedges. The lining 
consists of fine strips of the bark of the chestnut and wild grape vine, 
which are arranged with great care and compactness. In depth these 
structures vary from five to six inches, and have an external diameter of 
two and a half inches at the base, and three at the mouth. The cavity 
is usually three inches deep, and about two and a quarter wide. When 
we come to compare the entire fabric with the size of the builder, we are 
at a loss to account for the disproportion. 
The work of building such a bulky domicile does not fall to the lot 
of the female solely, but is the result of the combined labor of both birds, 
who prosecute their task with commendable diligence and patience for a 
period of five days, when they are rewarded with the sight of a finished 
