6 tH EY YA Ut U BLOWN 3b UL hea 
days longer, and the egg is larger, containing an extra amount of food for 
the longer period of development. 
Another characteristic bird of the creek and adjacent mouths of ravines 
is the Carolina wren. Its cheerful “revolving” song is often heard. The 
nest is commonly a bulky, domed structure of dead leaves placed among the 
exposed roots of a tree on a steep bank, or in a niche in one of the sand- 
stone walls. 
On the bottom of the lower end of a ravine, or on the flood-plain of 
Sugar Creek one may find a nesting pair of Kentucky warblers. The nest 
is made largely of dead leaves and is sunk in the thick leaf ltter on the 
forest floor. If there are young in the nest, the sharp alarm notes of the 
parents may indicate their approximate position. Except when near the 
nest or young the adults are rather secretive and quiet, spending most of 
their time on or near the ground in moist ravines or wooded river bottoms. 
Another characteristic bird of the river bottoms is the Acadian fly- 
catcher. Its usual perch is a bare branch only a few feet from the ground. 
The nest is placed low also, a shallow cup of rootlets, fibers from woody 
stems, and from bark, hung in the forks of a small branch. In our experi- 
ence there is always a cluster of nest material hanging from the bottom of 
the nest. This makes the nest difficult to distinguish from the small bunches 
of grassy debris lodged in branches by the high water of the previous spring. 
Most of the larger ravines in the park have each their pair of Louisiana 
water-thrushes. The trim form and bobbing motions as they walk about 
always attract especial attention. The foraging of this ground warbler 
seems to be done mostly along small streams, and even in the shallow water 
on occasion. Nesting occurs close to a stream, with the nest constructed in 
much the same fashion as that of the Kentucky warbler but usually placed 
in a spot with better drainage, as on the slope of the ravine or on a mossy 
or leaf-covered ledge. The adults are especially solicitous for the safety of 
their young. 
Also along the river and in the larger ravines one should look for such 
riparian birds as song sparrow, cardinal, catbird, yellow warbler, northern 
yellow-throat, green heron, and at times great blue heron. 
In the upland woods, the ovenbird, a close relative of the water-thrush, 
builds a similar nest but roofs it with dead leaves to form a structure 
suggesting a miniature old Dutch oven, and places it usually on level 
ground. The ovenbird, with its buff crown bordered on each side by a 
black stripe, and its sedate walk, not a hop, probably is seen less often than 
the tvater-thrush, but its loud, ringing song of “teacher, teacher, teacher, 
teacher, teacher,’ in increasing volume, immediately identifies it. One 
should look for this bird in the less often visited, heavily wooded sections of 
the park, such as the region between Bear Hollow and Boulder Canyon. 
The quiet peacefulness of the Turkey Run woods in the cool of evening 
or early morning is well typified by the bell-like notes of a singing wood 
thrush. This species is one of the most widely distributed and common 
birds in the park, occurring near the hotel, in the ravines and gorges, river 
bottoms, and in the upland woods. Its nest is usually placed on a horizontal 
limb about fifteen feet from the ground and often well hidden and sheltered 
