226 Wonders of the Bird World 



the male of this species should not take any part in the 

 construction of the nest, or in the hatching or rearing of 

 the young ; but I presume that the reason is, that his 

 conspicuous plumage about the nest would attract the 

 attention of birds that might destroy it." 



One of the most curious nests in the world is to be seen 

 in the Bird Gallery at the National History Museum, and 

 is the work of Salvin's Swift {Panyptila sancti-hieronymi) 

 from Guatemala. It is entirely composed of seeds, but 

 whether the bird gathers these from the plants or catches 

 them in the air as they are blown by the wind, has not 

 been observed. In this way the scanty material for the 

 nests of our European Swifts (Apus apus and A. melba) are 

 obtained, but in the Guatemalan species the nest is of such 

 huge size that it would take a very long time or the co- 

 operation of many pairs of birds to collect the seeds in full 

 flight. The nest was found by Mr. Osbert Salvin in 1858, 

 hanging under a shelf of rock, to which it was attached by 

 means of the bird's own saliva, which is also employed 

 throughout the building of the nest, to cement the seeds 

 together. As with the Penduline Tits mentioned above 

 (p. 214), the nest of this Swift also had a false entrance at 

 the side, which Mr. Salvin considered might " be placed 

 there to deceive some enemy, such as a Snake or Lizard, 

 to the attacks of which the parent bird and its offspring 

 would, during the time of incubation, be more exposed." 

 It may also be mentioned that many species of birds 

 appear to build false nests to draw away attention from 

 the real habitation. This is certainly done by our Common 

 Wren (Anorthiira troglodytes), which builds what are known 

 as " cock-nests." These may generally be told from the 

 real nest by the absence of the lining of feathers, and in 

 this way they are often mistaken for unfinished nests of the 

 species. 



The assemblages of some of the Sea-birds for the purposes 



