55 The Great Crested Fly-Catcher 
Late in May he makes his nesting, 
Seeks a deep and darksome hollow 
In the orchard's oldest tree-trunk, 
Lines it well with matted cow's hair, 
Grasses, feathers, bits of wasps' nests. 
Slender roots, or silky fibres. 
Here and there a scrap of paper, 
Shred of bark, or seed of thistle. 
Odder things than these he uses, — 
Things for something else than com- 
fort ; 
Sometimes to the general tangle 
He will add a tail of chipmunk, 
Sometimes fish scales, iridescent, 
Mingle in the mystic chaos. 
But his chiefly favored fetish 
Is a piece of cast-off snake skin. 
In this ill-assorted rubbish 
Four or five strange eggs are hidden ; 
They are tinted like the matted 
Leaves and grasses, hair and feathers ; 
