118 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 



The mother bird has been known to die at the destruc- 

 tion of her nest of young. Even in confinement many 

 of them show the strongest attachment to those who 

 feed and take care of them. 



Many birds not only show great sagacity in the man- 

 ner of obtaining their food, but also in the manner of 

 preparing it. Sometimes, when it is too dry to be eaten, 

 they will moisten it in water ; if too hard to be broken 

 by the usual process of the beak, they will fly high in 

 the air and let it fall on a rock or the hard ground, if 

 necessary repeating the experiment several times. In 

 building their nests they often exhibit great cunning in 

 the curious devices to escape detection. Those that 

 make excavations in stubs and trees are careful to 

 remove all chips ivoni the premises. All the litter of 

 the young of many species is carried away by the par- 

 ents and deposited at a safe distance from the premises. 

 Their knowledge of color also enables them to seek 

 places and materials for their nests harmonizing with 

 the general plumage of the sitting bird, thus more easily 

 escaping detection by preying enemies. Swallows that 

 build well out of reach take no such precautions, neither 

 do orioles and other birds that make dome-like nests in 

 Avliich the sitting bird and young are sheltered from 

 sight. When the nest is discovered, not less interesting 

 are the cunning devices of the sitting bird to allure away 

 the discoverer. She will often half run or fl}^, limping 

 and hobbling as though wounded and disabled, appar- 

 ently an easy pre}^ to the one in pursuit. You reach 

 down to pick her up, but she is just outside your grasp ; 



