Song Birds and Water Fowl 
has no control, being no more able to govern 
the matter than it can the growth of its beak. 
There is as much difference to me, in the inter- 
est inspired, between the nest and the egg of a 
bird, as between its brain and its skull—using 
the word ‘ brain’ to mean the seat of intel- 
lect. Don’t neglect the nests, then. In them, 
more than anywhere else, lies the key to the 
mind and thoughts of a bird—the spirit that 
inhabits that beautiful frame, and bubbles out 
of that golden mouth. Nests are beautiful, 
too. What can surpass the delicacy of the 
humming-bird’s home, glued to the surface of 
a mossy branch, or nestling in the warped 
point of a pendent leaf; the vireo’s silken 
hammock; the oriole’s gracefully swaying 
purse; the blackbird’s model basket in the 
flags; the snug little caves of the marsh 
wrens; the hermitage huts of the shy wag- 
tails and ground warblers; the stout fortresses 
of the sociable swallows! Moreover, there is 
much that is highly interesting which remains 
to be learned about nests, and which can only 
be known by paying close attention to these 
artistic masterpieces of animal art. Many points 
remain to be cleared up. Variation shows in- 
dividual opinion or taste among the builders as 
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