1884. ] Wood Notes and Nest Hunting. 159 
after and nicely turned and pressed to fit her precious little body, 
so she gets in and squats and turns round and round with out- 
spread tail and wings, tucking in here and there, and fastening 
with saliva the stray ends, and hugging with her chin and bill the 
outside edges against her breast. The delicate structure is pro- 
gressing rapidly, and the female appears to be the chief architect 
and worker. If the male comes it is only to flaunt himself before 
her and disappear. These are evidently young birds, for on the 
occasional visits of the male I notice the color is similar to his 
wife. His tail coverts and tail, however, are darker with perhaps 
a deeper orange-red on the sides of the breast. He will have to 
Wait a year or two before he puts on the uniform of black and 
red that older male birds wear. 
In a week the nest is finished; the upper parts are slightly 
drawn in and compactly thatched. Now that the task is off her 
mind, she appears more cautious, and uses many little devices ; 
fluttering among the lower branches or flying into the farthest 
side of the tree and skulking up to the nest, with the hope that 
her skillful manceuvering has been successful in eluding my 
Vigils. As I approach the nest she utters a sharp chip, chip, pre- 
cisely like the note of the hair bird, but does not manifest any 
_ *xtraordinary signs of distress. She remains at her post of trust 
till the last second, and then eyes me keenly from one of the 
branches above, as if she had the conscious power to prevent me 
from Stealing away her home. It is a deep cavity, upholstered 
with fine grasses and a few horse-hairs, on which rest already two 
tiny eggs, the ends of which are very unequal, tapering quite 
acutely from the larger part. The ground color is white, blotched 
with reddish-brown, as if the bird had rubbed on them some of 
yi coloring of her breast, I dare not breathe on the sacred 
s lest the parent consider them polluted, and forsake the 
S Spot to heron earth.. No fear of her! Sensible to the 
‘ay € seems to have comprehended the object of my visit, for 
“rdly have I withdrawn a reasonable distance when she again 
to her nest, and with a cant of her head, as she stands on 
wi Says : “There, you big fellow ; I trust you are satisfied 
your investigations, Now leave me to finish my work in 
Peace,” 
: In this thick clump of high bluebérry. bushes, interlaced and 
_~ 8fOwn with greenbriers, madam catbird has improvidently 
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