BIRDS IN THEIR NESTS 225 



food which they eat is indigestible and must pass out as 

 droppings, yet in the case of many species no sign of 

 these droppings is visible, either in the nest, or on the 

 leaves, branches, or the ground near the nest. What 

 becomes of these droppings ? Ornithological treatises 

 are silent upon this subject. 



Again, young birds are born naked, and in India are 

 frequently exposed to very high temperatures, so that 

 much liquid must pass from their bodies by evaporation. 

 How is this liquid made good ? Do the parents water 

 the birds, if so, how ? I have never seen any mention 

 of this in an ornithological treatise. 



Let us to-day consider these two subjects : the sanita- 

 tion of the nest and the method of assuaging the thirst 

 of young nestlings. 



As regards the first we have some knowledge, thanks 

 to the patient labours of Mr. F. H. Herrick, an Ameri- 

 can naturalist, whose book. The Home Life of Birds, I 

 commend to every lover of the feathered folk. Un- 

 fortunately, Mr. Herrick's book is to some extent 

 spoiled for Englishmen, because it deals with birds with 

 which they are unfamiliar ; nevertheless, its general re- 

 sults apply to all passerine birds. 



Mr. Herrick is a very keen bird photographer. As 

 every one knows, he who wishes to obtain good photo- 

 graphs of birds has two great difficulties to overcome. 

 The first is to get near to his subjects, and the second 

 is to find them and their nests in situations suitable for 

 photography. 



The former is usually overcome by the photographer 

 concealing himself and his camera in a tent or other 

 Q 



