20 
would naturally be a frail, hastily put together affair ; scanty in both 
material and labor expended Such a structure came under my notice on 
May 29, 1887, in a dark, swampy thicket of a mixed growth of trees 
and saplings, and abounding in greenbriers; at the extremity of a branch of 
a small, wide-spreading beech tree, fifteen feet above a stagnant pool of 
water, l found the nest, a mere platform of slender twigs laid together in 
the manner of a Cuckoo’s nest, but without such extra embellishments as 
pieces of green leaves, tree blossoms, etc,, usually found in the latter's 
domicile. It contained two eggs, and three young birds just hatched. 
The parent birds successfully reared their brood of three young, and 
would surely have increased the number to five, had I not arrived just in 
time to save the two unspotted eggs, which are now included in my large 
series of sets of this species. 
Little attention has been paid to the composition of nests in relation to 
the seasonal or climatic conditions. This is surprising, considering the 
many interesting facts which might be brought to light in furtherance of 
of some nicely laid hypothesis. The nest is the direct result of the bird’s 
ingenuity, bounded only by its instinct and surroundings. My notes 
bearing on this subject were collected during a decade of years, and are 
sufficiently numerous and accurate to enable me to make the following de¬ 
ductions: Nests built during March and the first week in April, do not differ 
in external material from the typical nest, but in addition to the strips of 
soft lining of tree bark and rarely grape vine or cedar bark, all nests ex¬ 
amined contained an inner lining of some animal substance, of which horse 
hair constitutes about 50 per cent., hog bristles 40 per cent , and sheep’s 
wool, feathers, and cow hair the remaining 10 percent. Nests built dur¬ 
ing the last week in April and during May, are lined with strips of tree 
and grape vine bark, 63 per cent, containing no other lining, 37 per cent, 
containing in addition to the above lining, hog bristles ; no other animal 
substance being noted in late nests. While the Crow shows a marked 
tendency, during the height of the nest-building season, toward gathering 
indiscriminately whatever comes handiest for lining, the evident knowl¬ 
edge displayed by the early breeders in choosing the warmest material 
at hand ; and the late builders in lining their nests with what is undoubt¬ 
edly the coolest, speaks highly for the intelligence of the bird. That this 
does not apply to certain individuals alone, (which may habitually nest 
early or late as the case may be), is proven by notes at hand of those that 
have built their second nest after the first had been destroyed. While 
the bulk of the nest may be the same, they do not place animal material 
in the lining of the second nest, although the first nest usually contains 
it No doubt exceptions will be found to this rule, but f have found it to 
hold g(*xl in all cases under my observation 
