1869, | 
BIRD’S- 
OW alert and vigilant the birds 
are, even when absorbed in build- 
ing their nests! In an open space in 
the woods I see a pair of cedar-birds 
collecting moss from the top of a dead 
tree. Following the direction in which 
they fly, I soon discover the nest placed 
in the fork of a small soft-maple, which 
stands amida thick growth of wild-cher- 
ry trees and young beeches. Carefully 
concealing myself beneath it, without 
any fear that the workmen will hit me 
with a chip or let fall a tool, I await the 
return of the busy pair. Presently I 
hear the well-known note, and the fe- 
male sweeps down and settles unsus- 
pectingly into the half-finished structure. 
Hardly have her wings rested before 
her eye has penetrated my screen, and 
with a hurried movement of alarm she 
darts away. In a moment the male, 
with a tuft of wool in his beak, (for there 
is a sheep-pasture near,) joins her, and 
the two reconnoitre the premises from 
the surrounding bushes. With their 
beaks still loaded, they move around 
with a frightened look, and refuse to 
approach the nest till I have moved off 
and lain down behind alog. Then one 
of them ventures to alight upon the nest, 
but, stillsuspecting all is not right, quick- 
ly darts away again. Then they both 
together come, and after much peeping 
and spying about, and apparently much 
anxious consultation, cautiously pro- 
ceed to work. In less than half an hour 
it would seem that wool enough has 
been brought to supply the whole fam- 
ily, real and prospective, with socks, if 
needles and fingers could be found fine 
enough:.to knit it up. In less than a 
week the female has begun to deposit 
her eggs, —four of them, in as many 
days, — white tinged with purple, with 
black spots on the larger end. After 
two weeks of incubation, the young are 
out. 
Excepting the American goldfinch, 
this bird builds later in the spring than 
Bird’ s-Nests. 
701 
NES TS: 
any other —its nest, in our- northern 
climate, seldom being undertaken till 
July. As with the goldfinch, the rea- 
son is, probably, that suitable food for 
the young cannot be had at an earlier 
period. 
Like most of our common species, as 
the robin, sparrow, bluebird, pewee, 
wren, &c., this bird sometimes seeks 
wild, remote localities in which to rear 
its young ; at others, takes up its abode 
near that of man. I knew a pair of ce- 
dar-birds, one season, to build in an ap- 
ple-tree the branches of which rubbed 
against the house. For a day or two 
before the first straw was laid, I noticed 
the pair carefully exploring every branch 
of the tree, the female taking the lead, 
the male following her with an anxious 
note and look. It was evident that the 
wife was to have her choice this time ; 
and, like one who thoroughly knew her 
mind, she was proceeding to take it. 
Finally the site was chosen upon a high 
branch, extending over one low wing 
of the house. Mutual congratulations 
and caresses followed, when both birds 
flew away in quest of building material. 
That most freely used is a sort of cot- 
ton-bearing plant, which grows in old, 
worn-out fields. The nest is large for 
the size of the bird, and very soft. Itis 
in every respect a first-class domicile. 
On another occasion, while walking 
or rather loafing in the woods (for I 
have discovered that one cannot run 
and read the book of nature), my atten- 
tion was arrested by a dull hammering, 
evidently but a few rods off. I said 
to myself, “Some one is building a 
house.” From what I had previously 
seen, I suspected the builder to be a 
red-headed woodpecker in the top of a 
dead oak stub near by. Moving cau- 
tiously in that direction, I perceived a 
round hole, about the size of that made 
by an inch-and-a-half auger, near the 
top of the decayed trunk, and the white 
chips of the workman strewing the 
