138 NA TURE STUD Y RE VIEW I10;4— April, 1914 



in carrying it, and just when the eggs will be laid. So each day 

 brings its rewards. 



Or, in the fall, when the leaves have begun to loosen their hold 

 and the ribs of the trees show through, you discover in the shrub 

 before your door a nest before obscured and unnoticed, and you 

 pause to remark to yourself that it was strange you hadn't found 

 that nest; that you do recall that some robins were apparently 

 partial to that vicinity last spring, and that now you understand 

 about it. Or later, when the leaves are well off, and only a few 

 stragglers remain to rasp their monotones in the wind, you note, 

 far out on the tip of the bending limb of the big elm, the pendant 

 nest of an oriole. Then it suddenly occurs to you that last spring, 

 after the leaves were well out, you had heard the full notes of the 

 male coming out of that vicinity, and later in the season you had 

 noted the monotonous call of the young. You remember that you 

 looked for the nest but had been unable to locate it — and little 

 wonder since it is placed so high and so far out ! Then when winter 

 whitens the earth, you are strangely impressed with the manner in 

 which that vireo's nest, snow filled, clings to its branches in spite 

 of the storms which have blown over it. Or you wonder why it was 

 that you failed last spring to discover this summer warbler's nest, 

 right here by the walk, and so near that you might many times 

 in passing, have stretched out your hand and touched it. 



Locating the birds' nests is, like hunting for anything else, 

 largely a :matter of going out to search for theim. Yet we should 

 not overlook the fact that one's knowledge of the habits of birds 

 aids greatly in doing this. Instinctively, after a time, one knows 

 about where to search for the nest of a given species, and of course, 

 after many observations, at what time to begin the search. 



In finding those of ground nesting species, walking about cauti- 

 ously in the places where nesting is likely, and noting carefully 

 the points from which birds are flushed, is,other than mere acci- 

 dent, the only method. Bear in mind the fact that the bird wiU 

 mislead you if she can. She is likely to feign a broken wing or 

 leg to induce you to follow her, and thus cause you to lose the 

 point you may have had in mind, or, in other cases, to run some 

 distance from the nest before taking flight. Or she may resort 

 to both methods. Hence it is safe to form the habit of noting 

 carefully the point from which the bird is flushed and begin to 

 search for the nest. After a time the likelihood of certain places 



