368 Bird - Lore 



for the first time. In collecting a nest it is always best to cut off the branch 

 upon which it rests and preserve them together. The position of the nest upon 

 the branch and its method of attachment are often as interesting and as neces- 

 sary for identification as the materials from which the nest is made. It likewise 

 provides the best means for preserving the nest for, with a few strands of fine 

 copper wire or strong thread, it can be 'sewed' to the branch so that it will not 

 fall off when it dries out. Wire loops or screw eyes can then be fastened to the 

 branch so that it can be hung on the wall or in the cabinet. If for any reason it 

 is not feasible to cut off the branch, the nest should be placed in a cardboard 

 box, such as a collar-box, so that it will hold its shape and not drop litter. 

 When nests are properly cared for, it is remarkable how many can be kept in 

 a small space, and space is always at a premium in a schoolroom. Each nest 

 should bear a neat label giving its name, where it was found, and the name of 

 the child who discovered it. This makes the collection more useful, gives it a 

 neater and more businesslike air, and usually gives all the stimulus that is 

 needed to keep up the children's interest. Only such nests as appear in good 

 state of preservation should be kept. 



In some communities where school exhibits form an important part of the 

 educational regime, held either at the school or at the county fair, exhibits of 

 birds' nests prove very attractive. If it is an exhibit of a single school, each child 

 usually prepares an exhibit of a single nest. If it is a county exhibit, the school 

 may exhibit its entire collection. The individual exhibits usually consist of a 

 large card upon which is fastened the nest, a colored drawing or picture of 

 the bird, and a composition or essay about the bird. This can be entirely 

 the work of one child or it may represent the selection of the best nest, the 

 best essay, and the best drawing from the school, according to the provisions 

 of the competition. Great care should be given to the identification of the 

 nests. 



The most satisfactory and most accurate way of identifying a bird's nest 

 is to discover it while it is still occupied and to identify the builder. Then after 

 the young have flown, it can be taken and it will mean much more in the col- 

 lection, and a much more interesting essay can be written about it. In case it 

 is not found until winter, the teacher should help the child to identify it by 

 means of the appended key. There is a great deal of variation in birds' nests 

 of the same species, particularly when in the different states of preservation 

 found in winter. The general type of nest built by each species, however, is 

 fairly constant and, in writing the key, the attempt has been made to select the 

 characters which seem most constant. The specific materials of which a nest 

 is constructed often vary according to what is most available, and unusual nests 

 are frequently found that defy identification by anyone but a specialist. Thus, 

 House Wrens ordinarily build the outside of their nests of small twigs, but one 

 was sent to the author which was made chiefly of wire clippings and hair-pins. 

 The size and particularly the depth of a nest vary with the state of preservation 



