THE NATURAL HISTORY OF NESTS 



NEST-MAKING is such a characteristic activity of 

 birds that we always think of " bird " and " nest " 

 together. But birds are by no means the only creatures 

 that build nests. The squirrel makes a big nest of moss, 

 leaves, and grass at a fork between two branches of a tree 

 or in a hollow of the stem. The sticklebacks glue together 

 the filaments of seaweed and make a serviceable nest, 

 where the eggs are laid and hatched. Many spiders make 

 true nests of silk, while others bind leaves together with 

 silken threads. The wasp's familiar construction is a house 

 as well as a nest. There are many other nest-makers, 

 yet our almost automatic association of " nest " and 

 " bird " is not without justification, since it is among 

 birds that nest-making reaches its greatest perfection, 

 variety, and beauty. 



USES OF NESTS 



The uses of nests are manifold. They are often adapted 

 to secure the safety of the eggs and young birds by being 

 inconspicuous or by being inaccessible. The period of 

 development and of helplessness lasts about a fortnight 

 in many finches, three weeks in the fowl, over a month in 

 petrels, towards six weeks in the swan, and over seven weeks 

 in the condor, and the risks of discovery are often great. 

 The nest means safety. Secondly, the eggs and the young 

 are cold-blooded that is to say, they take on the 



