Birds of a Feather 



r 



choose to nest alone, scattering far and wide 

 over their breeding range, so that each pair 

 may choose a hiding place and have little compe- 

 tition for food in its own neighborhood. They 

 are jealous of infringement of these rights of 

 reservation, but rarely quarrel with neighbors 

 of other species. 



Thus a single old orchard tree will often har- 

 bor half a dozen families, nesting on its branches 

 or in some broken cranny, or within its cham- 

 bered trunk. Even the peppery oriole will per- 

 mit that, and the fish-hawk lets blackbirds place 

 their nests, as sub-tenants, among the sticks that 

 form the wall of his huge castle. Among such 

 solitary home-makers are species most gregari- 

 ous in the fall, such as our blackbirds and bobo- 

 links. 



On the other hand, a few land birds that seem 

 to have no advantageous reason for doing so 

 carry their love of society into their domestic 

 life and crowd their nests close together, some- 

 times forming clusters which can be compared 

 only with the packed tenement-houses of human 

 cities. The most conspicuous instance of this 

 <* 191 5 



