Bird-Lore
A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE
DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS
Official Organ of the Audubon Societies
| Vol. III | May—June, 1901 | No. 3 |
A Bewildered Phoebe
BY JOHN BURROUGHS
With photographs from nature
I HAD a good illustration last summer of how limited the mother-wit
of a Phtcbe bird is when new conditions and surroundings confront
her. A pair of these birds had annually built their nest in a little
niche in a ledge of rocks near my 'Slabsides,' or rather several years ago
they built a nest there, and as there was no room for a second nest, each
subsequent spring they had repaired and refurnished the old one and reared
their brood in it. It was in a lonely place, at the mouth of a deep
recess in the ledge, and I thought quite secure from all creeping and
climbing enemies of the birds. A thick growth of small trees formed a
screen in its front, to hide it from the eye of winged marauders, and
no snake or squirrel could reach it from the rock itself.
When the nest contained three or four eggs I allowed a young friend
of mine to take one for his collection. This intrusion seemed to invite
disaster, for in less than a week the eggs were all gone and the birds
had deserted the place. A new stone house had been built upon the
rocks above me, with a piazza all around it, covered by a continuation of
the main roof down the required distance. After much inspecting of
this piazza the birtls concludetl to build a nest upon the plate besitle one
of the rafters. Now this plate was about thirty feet long and there were
ten rafters notcheil upon it, and hence ten places exactU' alike. I'he
bird selected the fourth rafter from the enil nearest the woods, anil began
her nest upon the plate besitle it. She was in a great hurry and worked
'on the jump,' so to speak. She got her mortar in the ditch near my
cabin. ( )iu- morning I watched her for some time. She maile a trip
ever' minute carrying her load up a steep grade about one hundreil
yards. The male looked on and cheered her, but did not help. He
percheil upon a dead sunflower stalk near tin- ditch, flirted his tail, and
said, or seemed to sav, '(jo it. Plufbe. nou are doing well; xou are
