io8 



SPRING 



growth of such a nest is very beautiful to watch. The edge 

 is almost as smooth and rounded through the whole process 

 of building as when it is finished, so that the nest seems to 

 grow from beneath, rather than to be increased from above. 

 In nests of this type there is no preliminary framework, and 



they are entirely felted. Cob- 

 webs, and the cocoons spun by 

 spiders for their eggs, very 

 ^!*ri fine moss, rabbit's fur, and the 

 down ot ripe willow and poplar 

 catkins are the chief materials 

 used in all the finer and softer 

 ^//Sys^es-- l^Lj^i nests. Even sheep's wool is 



too coarse, except in very 

 small quantities. Externally 

 lichens and occasionally little 

 scraps of paper are added, for 

 adornment rather than for pro- 

 tective effect, or for any struc- 

 tural purpose. 



Chaffinches and goldfinches 

 and long-tailed tits build the 

 highest type of the woven or 

 felted nests which can dispense 

 with any lateral support, and 

 are furthest from wattling or basket-making. The reed- 

 warbler's nest is the most perfect and regular example 

 of dependence on a living scaffold. This bird spends 

 most of its time straddling on a reed stem above the 

 water, and it builds its nest in the same situation, string- 

 ing it to a group of reeds — generally from three to five 

 — which pass through the sides of the nest when it is 

 finished. These nests have no support at the base, all their 



GOLDCREST*S NEST 



