CHAPTER IV 

 MAKERS OF BASKET-WORK 



Stability of birds' nests Variety of architecture The typical nest- 

 Goldfinch and chaffinch A beautiful tissue Outside decorations 

 Crossbills The birds at work Choice of material More solid 

 structures A warm-blooded race The perfect incubator A nest 

 made of lichens Homes over the water Slender foundations 

 Nature's cement A beautiful cradle Homes on the water Con- 

 cealing the eggs Floating nests A damp bed Building enthusiasts 

 "Invisible" nests Birds of prey Aeries The lordly eagle- 

 Notice of tenancy Piracy on the high trees An interesting faggot 

 The honey-buzzard's screen The type of parental devotion 

 Protection and rubbish Apes and their beds A lofty platform 

 Family parties Paul Du Chaillu's strange story A leafy canopy 

 The orang-outang's couch Our ignorance concerning gorillas. 



WHAT we may call the constructive instinct is more 

 widely spread and more highly developed amongst 

 the birds than in any other group of the animal 

 kingdom. With comparatively few exceptions they build 

 nests which give evidence of admirable architectural skill; 

 and if we bear in mind that a bird has no implements 

 except its beak and claws, we cannot but wonder at the 

 ingenuity which enables it to make a dwelling which, 

 poised as it very often is on the slightest of supports in mid- 

 air, and exposed to the wind and rain, can yet withstand 

 the wear and tear of a turbulent family of youngsters 

 who would very quickly wreck or capsize it if it were 

 not both firmly founded and strongly built. It is interest- 



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