196 



THE OOLOGIST. 



a here(lit!U-y luibit in its style; while the 

 egg is au automatic prudiietiou, vary- 

 ing, if at all, ouly as the wliole organiz- j 

 atiou of the bird undergoes cliange. 

 Dou't neglect the nests then! In them 

 more than anywhere else lies the key to 

 the miud and thoughts of a bird, the 

 spirit which inhal)its that beautiful 

 frame and bubl)les out of that golden 

 mouth. And is it not this inner life, 

 this human siguiticance in bird nature, 

 this soul of ornithology, that we are 

 aiming to discover." 



After descril)ing, in his charming 

 way some of the beautiful masterpieces 



of bird architecture, he concludes his 

 plea with tlie following remarks: 



"We want to know l)y what sort of 

 skill the many nests are woven together 

 that we find it so hanl even to distan- 

 gle; we want to know how long they 

 are in being built; whether there is any 

 particular choice in respect to location, 

 whether it be a rule, as is supposed, 

 that the female bird is the architect, to 

 the exclusion of her mate's efforts fur- 

 ther than his sui)plying a part of the 

 materials. Many such points rnnuiin 

 to be cleaned up. Then there is the 

 question of variation, and its extent in 



NEST AND EC4GS OF KED-HE.Vl) DrCK. 



the architect of the same species in dif- 

 ferent quarters of a ranging area. 

 How far is this carried, and how many 

 varieties can bi^ i-eeoi'ded from a single 

 district, where the same list of mater- 

 ials is open to all the birds equally'/" 



In the nests of birds there is evident- 

 ly a great difference manifested in 

 those placed in various situations and 

 constructed under api)arently <livcrse 

 conditions, in fact a great variation in 

 noticeable in a single district where the 

 same materials and the same induce- 



ments "are open to all the birds equal- 

 ly," but when you come to compare 

 witli those found in remote localities, 

 (wliirh is comparatively an easy mat- 

 ter with the aid of a series of pictures) 

 you will find the ditfereuce so great in 

 some cases tliat you wo\ild hardly rec- 

 ognize the nest as being of the same 

 species. 



Undoubtedly joung birds are less 

 judicous than older ones which are bet- 

 ter qualified, and moi-e experienced, 

 and ena))led to foresee some of the per- 



