8 BIRDS' NESTS 



associated with that love of display, ornate and 

 otherwise, which forms such a special feature in the 

 courtship of so many birds. The direct evidence in 

 support of the possession of this taste in birds would 

 fill a volume, but is of course quite beyond the subject 

 of Nests. 



The nest of a bird then, apart from whatever natural 

 beauty the special conditions of environment or the 

 wants of the species may demand, must always be 

 regarded as an utilitarian structure. It is the re- 

 ceptacle which nest-building birds provide for the 

 purpose of containing their eggs during the period 

 of incubation, and afterwards the young until they 

 are sufficiently matured to follow a more volant 

 existence. When once these purposes are served, 

 the nest, no matter how elaborate or beautiful it 

 may be, or the immense amount of labour it may 

 have cost its owners, is forthwith deserted, either 

 for ever (and in the case of not a few elaborate 

 builders, such as the Long-tailed Titmouse and the 

 Chaffinch, this is invariably the case), or only used 

 again when the recurring necessities of reproduction 

 require it. Like the gaudy chrysalis or cocoon, and 

 notwithstanding its beauty, which has served but a 

 secondary and quite unappreciated purpose, it is 

 discarded and left to inevitable decay, its owners 

 taking no further interest in it whatever. The 

 leafless hedges in autumn disclose to us in large 

 numbers these deserted nests, whose beauty is 



