THE BIRDS AT WORK 



branch on which it is placed. It is composed of slender dead 

 twigs of fir, larch, or pine, and has a lining of moss, lichens, 

 pine needles, or fine flakes of bark, together with wool or 

 feathers and hair. 



Brehm states that he once had an opportunity of 

 observing a female crossbill engaged in building her nest. 

 She began by bringing dry twigs, and then went amongst 

 the branches gathering scraps of lichen, of which she bore a 

 whole beakful at a time to the nest and arranged them in 

 their proper place. As soon as the framework of the nest 

 had been put together, the bird spent some time in shaping 

 it, pushing it with her breast and pressing it together, turn- 

 ing round and round meanwhile. She took all her materials 

 from a neighbouring tree, and so industrious was she that 

 she went on working all through the noontime, and only 

 took two or three minutes over collecting, carrying, and 

 arranging each load. 



From the moment the first egg is laid the hen bird 

 never leaves the nest, where her partner tends her, supplies 

 all her wants, and sings to her while she is sitting. 



NESTS COMPOSED ENTIRELY OF GRASSES AND THE LIKE 



The number of birds that make their nests of vegetable 

 substances alone, without any admixture of hair, wool, or 

 spider's web either as ties or for the purpose of lining, or 

 without the addition of earth and feathers, is comparatively 

 small. The Nuthatch (Sitta ccesia) commonly makes such 

 a nest of dry leaves, small twigs, chips of bark and wood, 

 but these are so loosely heaped together in the hole of 

 a tree that the bird can scarcely take rank as a craftsman 

 amongst those which appear in the present chapter. The 

 vast majority of well-constructed, cup-shaped nests owe 



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