Brewster on the Prothonotary Warbler. 
159 
description of nearly every conceivable kind of hole or cavity that 
can be found in tree-trunks. The typical nesting-site, however, was 
the deserted hole of the Downy Woodpecker or Carolina Chickadee. 
The height varied from two to fifteen feet, though the usual eleva- 
tion was about four. If the cavity was old and broken out, or 
otherwise enlarged, it was far more apt to be chosen than a neater 
and newer one close at hand. The stump selected almost invaria- 
bly stood in or projected over water, although, as above stated, it 
was oftentimes left high and dry after the eggs were laid. 
Of the many exceptions to the above-described typical site, I 
will here notice only two of the most marked. A nest discovered 
May 8 was built in a sort of pocket-shaped cavity in the side of a 
large cypress stump. The hole descended vertically in the inside 
of the shell-like wall, the central heart of which had crumbled 
away. Another, found by Mr. Ridgway, was built in an extremely 
rotten snag which stood on the edge of a road ; the eggs or sitting 
parent could easily be seen by any one riding by. This nest was 
several hundred yards away from water. 
In the construction of the nest the female labors somewhat 
desultorily. Fresh green moss enters largely into its composi- 
tion, and although this substance is readily obtained, a week is 
sometimes consumed in building the simple little affair. Most of 
the materials are gathered in the immediate vicinity from half- 
submerged logs or the nearest dry ground. The male almost 
always accompanies his partner on her trips to and from the nest, 
making a great show of hunting up choice bits of material, but 
apparently never succeeding in finding any to his mind. He usu- 
ally precedes her on her return, enters the hole to investigate the 
condition of affairs, pops out his golden head to assure her with a 
soft chirp that all is well within, and then gives way to allow her 
to enter, clinging against the bark outside to cheer her labors with 
his song and await her reappearance. Sometimes, however, both 
birds remain inside together, although how much assistance the 
male renders in house furnishing I cannot say. Probably his 
presence is only tolerated, and he is perhaps often accused of being 
a nuisance. 
The shape and size of the nest vary with that of the cavity in 
which it is placed. When the hole is deep, it is usually filled up to 
within four or five inches of the entrance. Thus the nest when 
removed presents the appearance of a compact mass of moss five 
