76 NATURAL HISTORY 



" Birds of the same kind make their nests of the same ma- 

 " terials," says an excellent author, " laid in the same order, 

 " and exactly of the same figure ; so that by the sight of the 

 " nest one may certainly know to what bird it belongs ; and 

 " this they do though living in distant countries, and though 

 ' they never saw nor could see any nest made : that is, though 

 " taken out of the nest and brought up by the hand ; neither 

 " were any of the same kind ever observed to make a differ- 

 " ent nest, either for matter or fashion *,"c. 



" I am never tired," says the author of the Spectacle de la 

 Nature, " with observing the perfect similitude that appears 

 " in all the nests of birds of the same species, the difference 

 " between that of one species, or of another, and the indus- 

 " try, neatness, and precaution which reign through the 

 " whole. You would smile to see the inhabitants come to 

 " traffic at this fair : one wants a bit of moss ; another has 

 " occasion for a feather; a third can't do without a straw; 

 " you will see two outbidding one another for a lock of wool, 

 " and this sometimes causes great quarrels ; however, the dif- 

 " ference is commonly adjusted, and each carries what she 

 " can to her nest-f-/' 



It would be endless to point out all the beautiful observa- 

 tions that have been made on this sprightly part of the crea- 

 tion, and the reflections that may be drawn from these ; every 

 one's mind will suggest these to him, upon an attentive survey 

 of this leaf of the book of nature. 



* Ray's Wisdom of God in the Creation. 



t Vide Spec, de la Nat. v. 1. Dial. 10. passim. 



