304 



NESTS AND EOGS OF 



emphatic note, pe-u-ee, pe-wit, or as some hear it, pTice-bee. This species is called 

 "Bridge-bird," from its habit of nesting in old wooden bridges. The original situa- 

 tion of the nest is the face of an upright rock, which is sometimes moss-grown and 

 dripping with water. "Wilson states that the Phoebe occasionally nests in an open 

 well, five or six feet down, among the interstices of the side-walls; and Nuttall has 

 known it to nest in an empty kitchen. In wild places, far from the habitation of 

 man, hollow trees are resorted to as breeding places. Stone culverts, caves, old 

 log houses, barns and sheds are its accustomed nesting places, and nests are often 

 found in woods built in the roots of overturned trees. Mr. W. W. Coe records the 

 nesting of a pair of Pewees on a ferry boat running between Portland and Middle- 



4S6 Phcebe (From Beal) 



town, Connecticut, the boat making trips every ten minutes. The birds seemed to 

 claim Middletown as their home, and appeared to collect the material for the nest 

 on that side of the river. My friend, Mr. Mebs, took a nest containing five eggs 

 from the beams of a freight car, which had recently mdde a trip of forty-five miles. 

 The eggs were fresh, and, except one, unbroken. Two nests which I found in cul- < 

 verts, over running water, were perfectly green with moss, and had evidently been 

 occupied 'for several years. The nest, attached to a perpendicular surface, is built 

 like that of the Barn Swallow, being compactly and neatly made of mud and various 

 vegetable substances, with a lining of grass and feathers. This bird's attachment 

 of a chosen locality is sometimes remarkable; its nest is known to have been torn 

 down and rebuilt again by its owner in the same spot. The eggs may be taken, 

 when a second and even a third set will be deposited. The eggs are ordinarily four 

 or five in number; clutches of five are the most common; they are pure white, 

 sometimes sparsely spotted with obscure or well-defined reddish-brown dots at the 

 larger end. In exceptional instances the Pewee deposits six and seven eggs. Their 

 r.verage size Is .81x.52. 



