Concord, Mass.
1899.
June
(G)
(Setophaga ruticilla) similar kind were brought during
the forenoon and treated in the same way although
the bird had to use her bill rather vigorously in
tamping some of the more refractory ones into place.
She worked busily & steadily until noon when the
foundation of the nest was finished.
  At about 2:30 P.M. she began the frame by 
attaching one end of a strand of fibrous material to the
right hand side of the trunk a little above the branch
on which the foundation was laid and fastening the other
end to the foundation on the same side the stand
inclining downward at an angle of about 30 [degrees] or 40 [degrees]. Next
another strand was placed on the left side in the
same position as the first the ends of the two
overlapping on the trunk. Then a third piece was brought
and one end rubbed lightly against the center of the
strand on the right, the opposite end being carried a
little beyond that of the left hand strand. Next a
fourth strand was rubbed on the trunk a little above
the upper end of the left hand guy to the middle of
which the opposite end was fastened by rubbing the two
together. Each piece of film was so fashioned into the general
shape of the nest as soon as it was attached at both
ends and more were brought and carried from point to
point until a complete framework of about the size
& shape of the half of a hen's egg was erected around
& resting on the foundations. This framework was
so delicate that it looked as if the merest breath 
of wind would blow it away. During its construction
the bird worked entirely from the outside standing on
the branch and shaping each piece of fibre with her head
106