28 



TWENTIETH CENTURY CLASSICS 



of our water birds — Coots and Rails — Jmild their nests 

 on the rushes in the water. 



They use a great variety of building material, which 

 varies considerably according to location. Here are a 

 few: hay, hair, bark, moss, hog bristles, paper, twine, 

 mud, thistle down, rags, feathers, snake-skins. 



There are many different ways of building, both as to 

 style and material, so that the little architect may often 

 be known by a look at his home. Like the different races 

 of men, some build wigwams, tents, mud houses, or brown- 

 stone palaces, according to their tastes. 



Rather than "clean house" every spring, most birds 

 make a new, clean home, and take great delight in it, 

 working and singing all the while. A few clean and re- 

 pair the old nest; among these are the Barn Swallows. 

 The Cowbirds, one of the Blackbird family, to which fam- 

 ily the splendid builders, the Orioles, also belong, take no 

 pleasure in nest-building. They use the nests of other 

 birds. A number of Avater birds deposit their eggs in de- 

 pressions which they make in the sand, using little or no 

 other material. Some of the Terns that visit us in mi- 

 gration belong to this class. 



The eggs of the Whippoorwill are placed in a little hol- 

 low in the ground, or on the bare rocks, with little or no 

 nest material surrounding them. Sometimes, however, 

 the nest and sitting bird are concealed in ])ushes and 

 among the leaves. The color of the bird is so much like 

 the brown leaves and earth that it is very difficult to see 

 them on the nest — this is one of nature's ways of pro- 

 tecting the helpless birds against their many enemies. 

 When the nest is approached the parent bird will not stir 

 till almost trampled upon. 



One would think that when more than one brood is 

 reared in a season the old nest would be good enough for 



