NOTES ON NESTS, EGGS, AND YOUNG 



NOTES ON NESTS, EGGS, AND 

 YOUNG OF BIRDS 



There are two great divisions of birds, viz., those 

 whose young are helpless at birth and for a longer or 

 a shorter time afterwards, and those whose young are 

 active from birth and can look after and feed them- 

 selves. The former are known as altricial, such for 

 instance as starlings, weavers, hawks, herons, etc. 

 The great majority of birds belong to this division. 

 The other division is known as the prascocial, and chief 

 among them are domestic fowls, partridges, plovers, 

 and ducks. The altricial birds, with the exception 

 of a few parasitical species, such as cuckoos, make a 

 nest of one kind or another. Some nests are merely 

 slight depressions on the ground, like those of the 

 crowned lapwing and plovers, for instance ; while 

 others, such as those of the doves and pigeons, are 

 merely loose bundles of twigs. Others, again, build 

 the most elaborate nests. 



The shape and situation of the nest is, in the 

 majority of instances, determined by weather condi- 

 tions, enemies, and food supply. The great majority 

 of birds raise only one brood annually. A few species, 

 such as the familiar Cape wagtail (Motacilla capensis), 

 rear several broods during the course of the spring 

 and summer seasons. In the world of birds, as with 

 plant life, there is a systematic round or plan of life. 

 At the best time of year for the purpose the birds 

 build their nests, lay their eggs, and rear their young. 



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