BIRDS OF KANSAS 



29 



the second brood, but this is the exception. A new nest 

 is usually made. The Eagles and Osprey use the old nest 

 for a number of years, each year doing some repairing and 

 enlarging, when in time it grows to enormous proportions. 



The Kingfisher and Bank Swallow like to dig deep holes 

 in the bank of a stream for their home. The Kingfisher 

 takes a week or more to build his tunnel. It is from five 

 to fifteen feet deep, turning to the right or left and end- 

 ing in a larger space where the eggs are laid. This bird 

 has a habit of ejecting the bones of the fish it eats around 

 the nest. 



" Downy" prefers neither the tree-top nor the earth for 

 his habitation. He likes to use his sharp bill (see cut 

 No. 4) to chisel out a home in 

 the trunk of the tree. The hole 

 he cuts is almost a perfect cir- 

 cle. The male does most of the 

 work. Cunning little creatures, they carry the chips 

 away from the tree where the nest is to be, to keep the 

 hungry egg-sucker and bird-eater off the scent. 



It is said that some of our Woodpeckers make an exca- 

 vation each fall for a winter home, and that a new one is 

 probably chipped out for the nest each spring. 



The Woodpecker nestlings when a few days old like to 

 try their climbers, so they cling to the sides of the hole 

 in preference to staying at the bottom. 



Certainly there is nothing very attractive in the lining 

 of the nest. Nothing but the chips made in building are 

 used for covering the bottom. 



How ditferent is the home of the little Goldfinch (Wild* 

 Canary). Here is a dainty little cup made late in the 

 season and lined with the softest material to be had — the 

 down of the thistle seeds. So cosy that the tiny little 

 nestlings, themselves soft and tender, are quite comfort- 



