1884. |] Wood Notes and Nest Hunting. 155 
WOOD NOTES AND NEST HUNTING. 
BY HORACE LUNT. 
as along an old dam, now unappropriated and neg- 
lected, where, on either side of it, trees have since its build- 
ing grown to maturity, now watching for awhile the adventurous 
bream which approaches the shallow water for Gerris and water- 
beetles, and whose motions appear to be dull and heavy by the 
surfeit of this continual feast, my eye is arrested by another in- 
Sect-catcher of the air, the wood pewee. With what unerring 
precision it darts upon some aspiring beetle, and returns to its 
observatory on the opposite shore! 
This bird is not shy when engaged in its legitimate pursuits, 
and will allow a very near approach. His head is continually 
moving from side to side; he occasionally stops, however, to 
preen his breast feathers ; which seem to be always ruffled, or 
with uplifted claw to give his crown a series of quick, spiteful 
digs, and with droll performance peer under his outstretched 
wings for a troublesome parasite. Now he darts off, flying fifty 
yards away in a straight line, to gobble an insect which he sees at 
that distance, not returning to his post, but to a sycamore grow- 
ing on the dam. This is the season of incubation, and I suspect, 
Considering the good provider and kind husband that he is, that 
this tid-bit just captured is for his consort. 
No one, without the aid of the bird, could expect to find such 
a nest. How nicely it is saddled on the end of a horizontal 
bough, thirty feet from the ground, so shallow that one can see, 
even at this angle of vision, the head and back of the female as 
she sits upon it. The couple did not wander far for their build- 
ing material, for the nest is chiefly composed of mosses and thin 
Plates of old bark that cleave from the young growing liber, so 
Soe teristic of the buttonwood, glued together with saliva, 
Which nature has so bountifully supplied to many of the birds. 
hehe Sits, evidently not caring whether her nest or her pres- 
iss as been discovered. Her head moves about freely, and 
: ene cannot resist the temptation of flying off to seize a 
me insect, but returns immediately to her task. Here comes 
ae Spm Se more, and standing close beside her, gives a kiss 
yi etle in the bargain. How gallantly he breaks it to her, 
She, as is her prerogative, receives it with cool indifference, 
