WOOD NOTES AND NEST HUNTING. I 1 5 



culm and stem, I at last discover their home, ex- 

 quisitely placed in a tuft of sedge, some of the 

 spears of which are bent over it so as to form a 

 regular canopy. Ornithologists say that the nest 

 is often built over at the top, with a hole for the 

 entrance. This one has no such contrivance, the 

 thick, overbending sedges answering as a dome 

 and portal. The foundation is composed of dead 

 leaves and coarse grasses, very compact, as if the 

 architects were aware of the dampness of the sit- 

 uation, and had taken the necessary precautions to 

 prevent the eggs from spoiling before hatching- 

 time. The cavity is quite deep and wide for the 

 size of the bird, and has the unusual though sparse 

 lining of horse-hair. There are two eggs in the 

 nest, and though I read from no authority that 

 the general ground-color should be of a flesh-tint, 

 it is certainly true of these, the larger end being 

 covered thickly with dark purple and brown 

 blotches. Bending the spikes over the nest again, 

 as naturally as a clumsy hand could perform such 

 a delicate task, I went away, trusting that the dis- 

 turbed pair had comprehended my purpose of 

 merely looking in upon them. But it was of no 

 use; their nice sense of the proprieties had been 

 disturbed, and a week afterward the ogre had the 



