22 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



it, ai-e all matters which vaiy with the different species. Between 

 individuals of the same species there is also, fi-equently, a great 

 difference in the skill exhibited in nest-liuilding. 



Among the lowest types of bird-life, we find species which make 

 no nest of any kind, liut deposit their eggs on the rocks, or on the 

 sand by the seashore. Others make the merest apology for one, and 

 it consists onl_v of a few straws ; while still another species admits 

 the desirability of a nest, but dislikes the trouble of building it, and 

 thei'efore appropriates that of another species. But as we advance 

 upward in the scale, we find, especially among the nests of the 

 smaller birds, some beautiful specimens of bird architecture, one of 

 the finest being the work of our tiniest, the Humming-bird. The 

 Summer Yellow Bird builds a beautiful nest in the fork of a lilac in 

 the shrubbery ; and while observing a handsome elm tree budding- 

 out in spring, 1 never think it complete unless it has the pretty, 

 pensile nest of the Baltimore Oriole swaying at the point of one of its 

 long, pendulous branches. 



The principal objection to a collection of nests is the amount of 

 room that they require, but the finest nests are those of the smallest 

 birds, and a great number of these can be kept in a tray subdivided 

 as required, and they are never-failing objects of interest. Some 

 nests are found saddled on a limb, and are loosely built of twigs. 

 This kind sliould be removed very carefully, and afterwards sew^n 

 together with inconspicuous thread, to keep the fabric as near as 

 possible in its original shape. Others are in the forks of thick bushes, 

 and the branches to which they are attached should be cut and the 

 nests and their connections lifted out. Those of the ground-building 

 birds require very careful handling, and often the safest way is to 

 cut out a piece of the sod in which the nest is placed and bring it 

 along, to keep the domicile from falling to pieces. Occasionally, a 

 rare nest is found which it is impossible to remove. Of this the 

 collector should make a careful record in his nt)te-book, giving the 

 general surroundings, date of occurrence, situation, size of nest, 

 materials of which it is composed, number of eggs or young, action of 

 the parents during the examination, and any other item of interest 

 observed at the time, which will soon be forgotten if not recorded. 



The impossibility of making a full collection of nests has been 

 shown, but there is nothing to prevent anyone making a full collec- 

 tion of eggs. The most important point in this work is the correct 

 identification of the eggs, and unless the collector makes up his mind 



