88 HOW TO STUDY BIRDS 



is! Ten or twelve days of incubation, and eight or 

 ten only for the young to grow from blind and naked 

 worms to pretty birdlings fluttering from the nest. 

 By the middle of June we begin to meet warblers 

 which scold anxiously at us, and just as we think we 

 shall surely find a nest, we see the other parent fly up 

 on a branch and feed a youngster which is well able 

 to fly. The beginning of the end ! we sigh. 



The intelligent finding of birds* nests is in itself 

 an art, involving skilled knowledge both of topog- 

 raphy and of the habits of the birds, as well as keen, 

 trained eyes and an alert mind. Interesting and won- 

 derful are the methods used by birds in concealing or 

 protecting their nests. Some best secure their ends 

 by confiding in man and building openly on his prem- 

 ises like the robin, bluebird, chippy, phoebe, house 

 wren, and the swallows. Others, like the woodcock, 

 nighthawk, and whippoorwill lay their eggs boldly 

 on open ground and trust to " protective coloration," 

 the blending of their colors and markings with the sur- 

 roundings. Of another type are nests built on the 

 ground, hidden in grass, debris, or foliage. 



Some nests in trees closely resemble their sur- 

 roundings, as those of the hummer, wood pewee, and 

 redstart. Other nests are concealed among thick 

 foliage, as those of warblers which build high in ever- 

 greens, like the black-throated green and Blackbur- 

 nian, or of thicket-nesting birds, such as the chat and 

 catbird. Another class protect themselves by build- 

 ing high, like hawks and owls in tall trees, or ravens 



