62 



Bird- Lore 



Now the water is all drawn off, and the Crows can alight anywhere they please 

 and destroy the contents of the Blackbirds' nests. On several occasions, nests 

 containing eggs have been located, and a day or two later have been found empt\- 

 and deserted. One day four such nests were observed, their linings being usually 

 torn out and scattered about the spot. Last season no Redwings nested on the 

 meadows. 



The question arises: Are these adverse conditions causing the Redwing to 

 move to a new and different place during the nesting period, or is he doing it for 

 reasons of another character? It seems that the dominant instinct to return 

 each year to the same general locality is still strong, but that an entirely new area 

 /;/ that locality is gradually being accepted as the place for the rearing of the an- 

 nual brood. 



PLACED THE PREY IN FRONT OF THE EXPEC TANT YOUNGSTER' 

 From Macpherson's 'The Home- Life of the Ciolden Eagle.' See page 62 



