G^4 



HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



No particular bed seems necessary for the egg, for the mother 

 bird simply deposits it on the bare ground, and then scrapes earth 

 round it so as to form a small circular wall, as may be seen by 

 reference to the illustration. If their nest be approached very 

 closely, the alarmed parents snap their bills like angry owls ; and 

 if they wish to be aggressive, they discharge from their bills a 

 quantity of oil ; but they seem to have no ideas of actual fight. 

 The Albatross lays only one egg. 



Our last sample of "Homes without Hands" is the ingenious 

 structure that is made by the Coot {Fulica atra), the Bald Coot 



The Coot. 



as it is sometimes called, on account of the horny plate on the 

 forehead, which is pink during the breeding season, and white 

 during the rest of the year. Although the general color of the 



