I04 WOOD NOTES AND NEST HUNTING. 



colors of the material of which it is composed har- 

 monize with that of the bark of the limb ! No one 

 without the aid of the bird would discover it, it is 

 such a wee bit of a construction, and so accurately 

 fitted among the smaller twigs. How busy the 

 little worker is ! Though taking observations quite 

 near, she does not appear in any way disconcerted, 

 but works on as if her very existence depended 

 upon completion of the nest in a given period of 

 time. Here she tugs for a bit of lichen, which will 

 match well with her home surroundings. There 

 she flies down in the swamp for a particular bit of 

 sodden last j'ear's plant-stem to suit a certain de- 

 fective place in the side; she knows where it 

 belongs. The dead branch of a willow, almost 

 denuded of bark, which the rain and sun, year 

 after year, whips into fine cottony nesting stuff, 

 offers material, and to this she often goes for rift- 

 ing pieces. Half-flying and hopping along its 

 length, she searches for a loose end, and when it 

 is found, stops, and having secured a fast hold with 

 her beak, gives a sturdy upward pull, which evi- 

 dently requires all her strength to remove the 

 bleached strip, and flies with it to her home. 



She always builds from the inside, never placing 

 material on the nest while standing outside of it. 



