FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 



Two of my most beautiful Cuckoo nests were on the Hale farm, 

 one of them being pointed out to me by Mr. Will Hale the same 

 clay he led me to the Kingfisher's location. This nest was in the 

 crotch of a scrub elm, close twelve feet from the ground, in a 

 thicket on the bank of the small lake opposite the Kingfishers. 

 I can not prove what bird originally built that nest, but I do know 

 the Cuckoos never did. The structure began in the sharp parting 

 of the branches, being one and a half feet in height. Some of the 

 sticks used in its construction toward the top were the thickness 

 of a lead pencil and three feet long. My guess would be Shite- 

 pokes. Mr. Hale told me the nest had been there several years. 

 The Cuckoos spread a handful of their fine twig nest material in 

 the bottom, pulled a few dry pussy-tails from the willows and 

 they were ready for nesting. I photographed the nest when 

 it had three big pale greenish-blue lusterless eggs in it, so it made 

 a most interesting picture. 



Possibly from making use of abandoned nests, as in this case, 

 the Cuckoo has some of its bad reputation. On Mr. Black's 

 lease, in the past five years, I have seen perhaps a dozen different 

 Cuckoo nests, photographing many of them. In a little red 

 haw-bush, not three feet from the ground, Mr. Black found the 

 lowest of these nests and the most characteristic. It was a mere 

 handful of twigs, loosely laid flat on seemingly the slightest 

 foundation, and dropped into the numerous interstices were 

 maple blossoms for lining. 



In all about half a dozen of the most beautiful nests were re- 

 corded because they contained an unusual number of eggs or for 

 a reason which seemed to me good. I worked for days around 

 half a dozen more containing young birds up to the day of de- 

 parture. In all that time I never saw a hint of droppings on or 

 around the nests, and on all of the dozen negatives, which include 

 liberal portions of surroundings, not a soiled leaf can be seen. 



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