December 
and unbroken surface of a field, with no land- 
mark about, so that if by any chance it is dis- 
covered, the finder would have no clue by 
which to return to it. The most ingenious 
and artistic device of all is in so choosing the 
materials composing the exterior that they 
blend indistinguishably with the surrounding 
colors. 
In these structures a surprising inequality of 
architectural skill is displayed. Some birds are 
most indifferent builders, while others show 
most careful effort and artistic taste. Nothing 
could be more primitive than the nest of the 
whippoorwill or of the night-hawk—only a 
slight hollow scratched in the bare ground, or, 
at best, with only a few sticks rudely surround- 
ing the depression. Bank swallows hardly 
need anything better than the soft sand which 
is the natural basis of their nest, but tender- 
ness or pride commonly prompts them to over- 
lay it witha few roots, twigs, and feathers. 
Woodpeckers consider a few of the chips they 
have made in the excavation quite soft enough 
to receive the eggs—or possibly they call this a 
parquet flooring. Chickadees and nuthatches 
make their excavations cosey with soft moss, 
hairs, and the like. The nest of the robin (and 
3'5 
