NATURE STUDY — THE BIRD'S NEST. 207 



tion. It is advisable to place much emphasis on this part 

 of the lesson. 



Apparently there has been a gradual development of 

 the nest-building art among birds, some of which are very 

 simple designers, as in the case of the pigeon or dove, 

 while others are very elaborate, naming the crows as ex- 

 amples. It is supposed, on the part of the writer, that by 

 stating a few of the fundamental principles upon which the 

 science of bird-craft is based, citing a number of examples 

 for sake of illustration and interruptingly introducing some 

 questions, the average teacher may be induced to acquire 

 more knowledge, and collect material with the view of as- 

 certaining to what extent that development may be 

 traced. In comparison, the work may be more thoroughly 

 amplified by using various questions and by introducing 

 examples of the life-habits of our well-known birds. En- 

 deavor to procur,e two kinds of nests that will furnish a 

 contrast of structure, as that of the English sparrow or 

 robin and that of the Baltimore oriole. The sparrow puts 

 together a large amount of miscellaneous material gathered 

 from its familar haunts. The oriole builds a perfect pock- 

 et, woven out of fibers, thread, cotton and similar materi- 

 al, suspended near the end of a long, swaying branch from 

 twenty to thirty feet from the ground. Its nest is one of 

 the wonders of bird architecture, and every child should 

 be given an opportunity to examine it carefully. What 

 other birds build woven nests ? What kind of a nest does 

 the sparrow build ? What is a platform nest ? What is 

 a pensile nest? A semi-pensile nest? Give examples. 

 Do closely related birds build similar nests ? Do any birds 

 use grass while green ? What protective use in this green 

 grass can you discover ? Does the inside lining vary ? 

 Find out about the orchard oriole, a first cousin to the Bal- 

 timore oriole. Audubon says that the former does not se- 

 lect any other tree than an apple-tree or weeping-willow 



