INTRODUCTION. 7 



of construction, that a writer upon the subject has divided 

 their clever artificers into the different groups of mining, 

 mason, carpenter, basket-making, weaver, felt-making, tailor, 

 and dome-building birds, etc. 



The nests of many of the rapacious birds are of the most 

 simple form and rude construction : a platform of sticks, 

 with a lining of softer materials, placed on the crag of some 

 stupendous precipice, or on the summit of a lofty tree, 

 constitutes the first home of their stern and daring progeny, 

 in which they are cradled and reared amidst the tempests of 

 the opening year. The nests of some of the stronger birds 

 of other Orders are also destitute of beauty, while many 

 birds find a peaceful abode in which to rear their young in 

 the recesses of decayed trees and ancient buildings; and 

 others incubate without a nest, or with the very slightest 

 preparation, on the shingle of the sea-shore, or on the 

 ground. It is among the birds which constitute the Inses- 

 sorial Order, the Perching Birds, that those exquisitely 

 beautiful and ingenious specimens of architecture are chiefly 

 found which win our admiration and excite our surprise. 

 In our own country the nests of the Chaffinch, Goldfinch, 

 Gold-crest, Wren, and Long-tailed Tit, are of this character, 

 and afford specimens which are not exceeded in beauty, 



