BIRD STUDY 27 



With those varieties where the young leave the 

 nest as soon as hatched, much less care is given 

 to nest building; in fact, some varieties, as 

 Night Hawks, build no nest at all, laying the 

 eggs on a bare rock, roof of a building, or some 

 other equally exposed position. With Ducks, 

 Grouse, Loons, etc., the structure is very crude, 

 being scarcely more than a bunch of leaves, 

 sticks, or reeds, a mere hollow to keep the eggs 

 together during the period of incubation. 



But many birds spend much time in building 

 the nest and display great skill both in the 

 work of construction and in its concealment. 

 The dainty little cup of the Humming-bird, 

 scarcely larger than a good-sized thimble, care- 

 fully saddled onto a limb and covered with 

 lichens so skillfully as to resemble a knot so 

 closely that only the keenest eyes can detect the 

 difference, is a work of art that would quite 

 baffle the deftest fingers. Vireos, too, are fine 

 workers, building a symmetrical cup so strong 

 and durable that it will sometimes withstand 

 the storms and winds for several years before 

 it is completely destroyed. These beautiful 

 structures are lined with plant cotton, soft as 

 down, making as dainty a resting place for the 

 tiny fledglings as one can imagine. 



It has always seemed to me that the Bank 

 Swallows and Kingfishers are among the wisest 

 of birds, so far as selecting a safe home site is 

 concerned. They dig tunnels in a sand bank 

 several feet in length, at the far end of which a 

 chamber is excavated in which the nest is built. 

 You will readily see what a safe place this is, 



