less than a catbird, carrying a tloiil)Ic liatulful of handy sticks into an orange tree, 

 where he does little more than pile thcni together, without even lining tlieni for 

 his eggs. The cardinal bird also likes to have his house well ventilated, but there 

 is a pretense of lining, made mostly out of pine needles. These, if woven together, 

 do not make so bad a hammock. I do not think any of these birds could use the 

 same nest two years in succession, althougii ver)- likely they might use it twice 

 in a season. But, then, just think of it! What fun it is to find such a nest of 

 birdlets in January — any day, all winter ; not to mention the roses on your 

 Marechal Neil, and calls to wake you up in the morning, as likely in midwinter as 

 midsummer. — The hidcpendcut. 



The Mexican Mot Mot (Momottis momota) 



By Gerard Alan Abbott 



Length : \:l inches. 



Range : From Mexico to Brazil. 



Food : Insects, reptiles and fruit. 



.\ny one of several species of long-tailetl, poserinc birds of the genus 

 momolus, having a strong serrated beak and is sometimes called wottiiot. 



In most of the .species tlie two long middle tail feathers are racket-shaped 

 at the tip, when mature. 



These interesting birds arc natives of southeni Mexico, Central .\merica 

 and northern South America. Building no nest they deposit the eggs in depres- 

 sions of sand, generally on the side of a hill. The interesting feature about these 

 birds is that they trim their own tail feathers. The long feathers are naturally 

 barbed to the point, but the middle portion of the barbs is sheared off by the 

 beak, it is said in order to preserve the balance of the birds in flight. This shy 

 bird lives in dense forests. The note is a peculiar call, "Houton, houton," from 

 which call is derived one of the names. 



White-Fronted Goose {Anser alUfrons gambell). 



Range: Breeds on and ne.ir the Arctic coast from northeastern Siberia east 

 to northeastern Mackenzie and south to lower Yukon \'alley ; winters from 

 southern British Columbia to southern Lower California and Jalisco. 



Though occasionally met with on the Atlantic coast and not uncommon in 

 the Mississippi Valley, the while-fronted goose is essentially a bird of the far 

 West, and is particularly abundant in the Pacific Coast States. This is one of 

 the geese which used to visit the wheat fields of California in such numbers as 

 to thrcafen the crop, and which men were hired to kill and frighten away. The 

 hordes of former days are now represented by comjjaratively small numbers, 

 and as the flesh is toothsome the problem of the near future is not how to 



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