THE KINGLET AND GNATCATCHER FAMILY 17 
materials like plant down, and packed it all 
closely together by poking with the beak and 
prodding it with the feet. 
A gnatcatcher’s nest is large for the size of 
the bird. It must be deep for safety, so that 
eggs and nestlings will not be thrown out by the 
wind. Three times, Miss Merriam thinks, the 
little family she watched had to build their nest. 
Each time it took more than ten days of hard 
work. 
This pretty little fellow has a long tail, and 
he keeps it in motion all the time. He jerks it 
up or down, or twitches it to one side or the 
other; or he flirts it open and shut lke a fan, 
which shows the white edges and looks very 
gay: 
Dogs and cats, as you know, show how they 
feel by the way they move the tail. Buirds do 
the same, some much more than others. If you 
watch the way in which they move their tails, 
you can learn to tell how a bird feels almost as 
well as if he could speak to you. 
