1 64 BIRDS' NESTS AND NESTING WAYS 



although naturally in different localities and 

 surroundings, from the capercaillie and the 

 woodcock in the woods to the ptarmigan among 

 the grey lichen-covered boulders of the hill-tops. 

 Of lesser birds too, a great host ; man's familiar 

 friend the robin, the tiny willow-warbler, the 

 wheatear, wagtails, pipits, yellow-hammer, to 

 name only a few that first suggest themselves. 



As has been said above, some birds are apt 

 to take advantage of the deserted nests of 

 others. Sometimes, indeed, do not await deser- 

 tion, but take possession vi et armis ; as in the 

 common instance of the house sparrow and the 

 martin. The kestrel will at times be found in 

 possession of an old nest, so too the owls, 

 especially the long-eared owl ; a squirrel's drey 

 is sometimes selected, or the nest of crow or 

 magpie. 



Still to be considered are those that live and 

 nest on or near to water. The ducks furnish 

 their nest with a warm lining of down from 

 their own breasts, with which they cover care- 

 fully their eggs when leaving them ; a micro- 

 scopic examination of these various downs tells 

 the secret of the species to the expert, should 

 the parent bird have escaped unseen. The coot 

 makes a great pile of reed-stalks that can rise 

 and fall to some extent with the varying height 



