December 



and unbroken surface of a field, with no land- 

 mark about, so that if by any chance it is dis- 

 covered, the finder would have no clue by 

 which to return to it. The most ingenious 

 and artistic device of all is in so choosing the 

 materials composing the exterior that they 

 blend indistinguishably with the surrounding 

 colors. 



In these structures a surprising inequality of 

 architectural skill is displayed. Some birds are 

 most indifferent builders, while others show 

 most careful effort and artistic taste. Nothing 

 could be more primitive than the nest of the 

 whippoorwill or of the night-hawk — only a 

 slight hollow scratched in the bare ground, or, 

 at best, with only a few sticks rudely surround- 

 ing the depression. Bank swallows hardly 

 need anything better than the soft sand which 

 is the natural basis of their nest, but tender- 

 ness or pride commonly prompts them to over- 

 lay it with a few roots, twigs, and feathers. 

 Woodpeckers consider a few of the chips they 

 have made in the excavation quite soft enough 

 to receive the eggs — or possibly they call this a 

 parquet flooring. Chickadees and nuthatches 

 make their excavations cosey with soft moss, 

 hairs, and the like. The nest of the robin (and 



