wager] 



THE NESTS OF SOME COMMON BIRDS 



147 



But we must give attention to other than those birds nesting 

 on the groiind. Of those building in trees, the mourning dove 

 constructs the srniplest of nests, although the cuckoo is not far 

 ahead of it. It consists only of a few twigs laid horizontally across 

 a suitable foimdation, and interwoven very loosely. So loosely, in 

 fact, that frequently one may see from below, the two white eggs 



Fig. 



Nest of Brown Thresher. 



characteristic of the bird. It is a marvel that the nest maintains 

 its identity for sufficiently long time to permit of the rearing of 

 the young. Doubtless their weight, as well as that of the parent 

 bird, assists in making this possible, for soon after the nest is 

 deserted, it falls to pieces. Sometimes one of the two eggs is 

 smaller than the other. Whether this small one is the first egg of 

 the female or not I cannot say. Such a case is illustrated in the 

 photograph. More rarely, one may find that the birds have taken 



