4S LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



the atmosphere is surcharged with moisture, the mud-pellets 

 absorb a certain quantity thereof, and thus tend to keep the 

 nest damp, much to the discomfort of the sitting-bird, and 

 to the detriment of the eggs and young. This is particu- 

 larly the case in quite exposed situations ; and even in the 

 customary haunts, this tendency to absorption by clay- 

 pellets, is not prevented. On the other hand, dried veg- 

 etable and animal materials, possess this power of absorption 

 in a low degree, and part with the received moisture, quite 

 readily, under favorable conditions. 



That a species, which has always been known to build a 

 nest so characteristic and so peculiar as the Pewee, should 

 deviate so considerably and suddenly, as it seems to have 

 done, from its ordinary habit of building, is truly remarkable. 

 In the absence of facts, we coidd hardly credit the foregoing 

 statement. It has been suggested that possibly numbers one 

 and two of the deviations given above, were the nests of other 

 species, and not the work of the species under notice. This 

 cannot be, as the mother-birds, in these particular instances, 

 were engaged in sitting at the time the discoveries were 

 made. The individuals of some species do take forcible 

 possession of the nests of others, or the cavities in which 

 they are secreted ; but we have never known the intruders 

 to occupy the same, except in the case of ^foJotJirus 

 pecoris of America, and Cucithts can or us of England. 

 As these birds never build, but deposit their eggs in the 

 nests of other species, we are hardly disposed to grant the 

 propriety of considering them in this character. It is well 

 known that Troglodytes ccdon, when prompted by a mis- 

 chieyous spirit, drives away Icterus Baltimore and Savor n is 

 fusctts from rightful property, and takes up its abode 

 therein ; but never without having previously constructed 

 its rude and simple nest of coarse sticks, well-lined with 

 feathers and down on the inside. 



So strong is the attachment of birds to the nests of their 

 own construction that the parental instinct is often lost sight of. 



