ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 
5 
is beating wildly with fear and apprehension, but still she sits 
bravely on her trust. She would say, if she ‘COuld, with the Roman 
mother, “ These are my jewels,” and would entreat us to spare them. 
Now I will advance my hand cautiously. See ! T almost touch her 
tail with my finger-tips ; but the next instant she is gone. How 
quietly at the last moment she slid over the edge of the nest, barely 
eluding my grasp ! A faint cry or two, and there comes the male ; 
but he, gaudy little braggart 1 is far better at singing brave deeds 
than performing them, and will not trust himself very near, though 
he keeps up a constant chirping. His mate, however, is bold enough 
for both, and in her anxiety almost comes within reach ,of our 
hands. Now look into the nest! Beauties, are they not 1 Four 
of them ; rosy white, spotted prettily with umber, lilac, and a few 
scattered dashes of black. Observe how cunningly the whole affair 
is concealed, — built close to the stem of the little hr, resting on 
the flat horizontally disposed rows of “ needles,” and arched over 
by the flake-like layer of twigs above. One long rootlet alone 
hangs down in full view, and had it not caught my eye I might 
have passed without discovering the nest. It seems, indeed, a pity 
to disturb it, but we shall regret it next winter if we leave it be- 
hind. Naturalists are probably not hard-hearted by inclination, 
but of necessity. I dare say the female will commence another 
nest before we pass here on our way back, and the male will be 
singing as joyously as ever in an hour or two. Birds’ grief, like 
their average lives, is short, though apparently intense for the time. 
It is only the end, however, that can ever justify the destruction of 
a nest, and unthinking persons might, in many cases, be benefited 
by contemplating a little more closely the suffering which they in- 
flict. 
As the published descriptions of the nesting of this species are 
meagre and more or less conflicting, I shall go somewhat fully into 
the matter. 
Location of Nest. — The nest is usually placed in a small fir or 
spruce, and rarely at a greater elevation than five or six feet. The 
average height would probably not exceed four feet, and I have 
found some barely twelve inches above the ground. It is usually 
laid somewhat loosely among the horizontal twigs, from which it 
can in most cases be lifted intact. Favorite localities are the edges 
of wood-paths, or roads bordered by woods, and clearings grown 
up to small evergreens., Exceptional situations are the interior of 
