192 A HISTORY OF BIRDS 



a branch, or at the base of a broad leaf-stalk. Thus Dr. H. O. 

 Forbes, describing the nesting of this bird in the Cocos Keeling 

 Islands, remarks: " Its solitary egg is deposited on the leaf of 

 a young cocoa-nut palm, at the time when the leaf has rotated 

 from its vertical position to one nearly at right angles to the 

 stem. The egg is laid in the narrow angular gape between two 

 leaflets on the summit of the arch of the leaf, where it rests 

 securely, without a scrap of nest, . . . yet defying the heaving 

 and twisting of the leaves in the strongest winds. The leaf, as 

 in all palms, goes on drooping further and further till it falls ; 

 and among the settlers it is a subject of keen betting, when 

 they see a Tern sitting on an ominously withered leaf, whether 

 the young bird will be hatched or not before the leaf falls. The 

 result . . . has always been in favour of the bird : if the leaf 

 falls in the afternoon, the Tern will have escaped from the egg 

 in the morning!" More commonly, it would seem, however, 

 that this bird deposits its egg on the bare limb of a tree 

 without any attempt at safeguarding whatever, yet accidents 

 seem rarely, if ever, to happen. 



Motives of security probably prompt the Dipper {Cinclus 

 aquaticus) of our northern streams to build its dome-shaped 

 nest of moss in some cranny behind a cascade, so that the 

 bird must dash through the water every time it enters or leaves 

 the nest ; but there is no evidence to show whether this site is 

 invariably chosen when cascades are to be met with. Similarly, 

 security may be the reason why the Ruddy Kingfisher {Halcyon 

 coroniandus) of North-West Borneo places its eggs in the 

 pendulous nest of a peculiarly vicious bee, for certainly the 

 eggs can only be taken after the destruction of the bees ! The 

 Rufous Woodpecker {JMia-opterus phoeoceps) has been taken 

 near Darjiling from the deserted nests of ants, nests resemb- 

 ling in shape those of the wasp (Vespa brittanica). It would 

 seem that the builders are summarily ejected by the birds, and 

 since ants form their staple food it is probable that ,the victims 

 are eaten as they surrender ! Deserted ant-hills are commonly 

 used by many species of insectivorous Kingfishers, but this is 

 not surprising when it is remembered that so many select sand- 

 banks wherein to tunnel their nurseries. 



This list of peculiar nesting sites might be greatly extended, 

 but sufficient instances have perhaps been cited to draw atten- 



