104 BEHAVIOR OF THE BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER 



with the low estate of the shrubbery, which seeras best salted 

 to shelter their insignificance, they mount the tullest trees, and 

 go the rounds with all the bluster and display of assured suc- 

 cess. From the tree-tops come the shrill wiry notes, two or 

 three at a time, like izee-tzee tzee, as the birds skip nimbly from 

 twig to twig, with lowering half-spread wings and nervous 

 twitching of the whole body, in eager quest of insects and 

 larvae, now pausing a moment to [)ry more closely into a suspected 

 crevice of the bark, then darting into the air to capture a pass- 

 ing fly, and regaining their perch after almost a somersault. 

 Eestless and bustling as all its actions are at such times, there 

 is something more remarkable still in the excessive eagerness 

 betrayed, and the wonderful Slan with which they dash upon 

 their prey — as if they would crowd the business of a lifetime 

 into its early days, and seize its [)rizes with the first impetuons 

 assault. We must admire such spirit, even after we have 

 learned it is unsafe. 



Days pass in this incessant activity, this iinpetuous revolt 

 from the monotonyof idleness, till other impulses are stimulated 

 with the warmth of the advancing season, and the sharp accents 

 of the voice are modulated into sweet and tender song, so low 

 as to be inaudible at any considerable distance, yet so fault- 

 lessly executed and well sustained that the tiny musician may 

 claim no mean rank in the feathered choir. A little later still- 

 we may, perchance, if our eyes are sharp, and we know just 

 where to look, discover the extremely beautiful nest which the 

 Blue gray makes for itself — a structure which cannot fail to 

 excite our wonder and admiration. Excepting the Humming- 

 bird's nest, none can comi)are with this exquisite specimen of 

 bird architecture, cunningly contrived to combine elegance 

 with comfort, artfully rendered substantial without sacrifice of 

 good taste, and ingeniously screenpd from observation by the 

 same means that are employed for its ornamentation. True to 

 its aspirations, the bird nestles high in the trees, usually at 

 least twenty yards from the ground, i)lacing the fabric among 

 slender twigs, to which it is woven, oftenest at the extremity 

 of a bough which sways with the wind. To insure the safety 

 of its contents during the motion to which it is often subjected, 

 it is built remarkably deep, and contracted at the orifice, so 

 that the cavity is somewhat purse-shaped, and the general 

 shape outside is like that of a truncated cone. It seems large for 

 the size of the bird — it is sometimes three and a half inches in 



