December 



she fills the woods below with singing birds, 

 and populates the shore of lake and stream with 

 graceful water-fowl. 



More unpromising tools than a bird's bill 

 and feet could hardly be imagined for building 

 anything that is to be compact and durable, to 

 say nothing of neatness and elegance. Recently, 

 in unravelling a nest a strand was found, some 

 feet in length, that was woven in and out thirty- 

 four times. In rearing the second brood of the 

 same year the parents commonly take much 

 less pride in their work, or else are obliged to 

 be more expeditious, and the materials are 

 thrown together quite hastily. It is very un- 

 usual for a nest to be used a second season, ex- 

 cept where one species takes the abandoned nest 

 of another, like the chickadee ; but one writer 

 tells of a pair of ravens in Ohio that occupied 

 the same nest for several years, which, from its 

 protected situation, required but few alterations 

 and additions each year. As a class the song- 

 birds are much the finest builders, the nests of 

 the larger aerial species, like crows, hawks, etc., 

 being quite clumsy, while game - birds and 

 water-fowl rarely exert themselves beyond what 

 is absolutely necessary. 



The assortment of materials used in nest- 



3*9 



