24 BIRDS 



Like that of human home-builders bird architecture 

 presents many phases, from the Kingfisher's " dug-out/' 

 the Yellow-billed Cuckoo's mere platform, the Oriole's 

 beautifully woven basket and the Osprey's skyscraper, to 

 the Condor's cliff dwelling. In size and material used 

 the scale is equally diversified, as may be seen in the 

 nest of the Ruby-throated Humming-bird, with its plant- 

 silk and spider-web lining, that of the Night-hawk, with 

 only a bare rock or the ground, or the nest of the Bald 

 Eagle, with its pile of driftwood six or seven feet in 

 diameter, the home of a permanently mated pair for 

 many years. 



Much confusion in the identification of birds is 

 brought about by dissimilarity in the size of the bird and 

 the character of the plumage in the male and the female 

 of a given species, as well as the juvenile plumage of 

 those birds that are slow in taking on the permanent 

 garb. Should one point out a female Red-wing Black- 

 bird to a beginner in bird study, and at the same time 

 show him the male, it would be hard for him to accept 

 the statement that they are male and female of the same 

 species. Who would believe, without being told, that 

 the long-legged bird wading in the slough near the road- 

 side is only a Little Blue Heron in its white juvenile 

 plumage, or that the dark grey bird, larger than its feed- 

 ing parents, is none other than a young bird of the beau- 

 tiful Indigo Bunting? 



Of much assistance in identification is the presence 

 of the parent birds in their fixed plumage, in company 

 with the young. Seasonal and mating plumage, or even 

 that of the moulting period, may be very confusing. 



The identification of a bird is usually possible by 

 the aid of its song, its location, its methods of flight, its 

 associates and its recognized personality, even under 

 adverse conditions. The breeding plumage of the Sky- 

 lark and the juvenile markings of the Robin and other 

 birds are typical illustrations of the difficulties often 

 encountered in bird identification with the appearance 

 of the plumage as guide. Unfortunately, the beautiful 

 plumes of many of our birds are at their height of per- 

 fection only during the love-making, nesting and brood- 



