Nests in Trees 



here ; but, with the sagacity of a good architect, he has 

 improved this circumstance to his advantage, and the 

 strongest and best materials are always found in those 

 parts by which the whole is supported." 



We must leave the work of the weaver-birds and hang- 

 nests with this scanty review and pass to nests in which 

 mud plays its part in binding the nesting materials 

 together. A common yet withal a good example of 

 such a nest is constructed by the song-thrush. The 

 greater part of the thrush's nest is composed of small 

 stalks and grass, and in this it is in no way peculiar, but 

 the interior of the nest is worthy of close study. The 

 beautifully moulded cup of cow dung, despite its un- 

 pleasant associations, cannot fail to excite our admiration. 

 As thin as the proverbial wafer, and of exceeding tough- 

 ness, it is moulded and plastered with marvellous skill. 

 By the heat of her own body the mother bird dries the 

 lining, then, as though to protect her chicks from con- 

 tamination, she adds a further thin lining of fine wood 

 chips mixed with saliva, an actual lining of bird-made 

 linoleum. 



One might imagine that such a structure would be 

 hard for the eggs and cold for the chicks ; as a fact, it 

 forms a first-rate incubator. The hen bird, when sitting, 

 opens her wings slightly, covering the whole of the 

 cup-shaped nest, which retains her body heat to a remark- 

 able degree, thus making for the efficient hatching of the 

 eggs. The blackbird builds a very similar nest, but covers 

 its mud lining with a thin layer of grass. 



The pied grallina, instead of lining its nest with mud, 

 mixes this material with sticks, grasses and feathers, to 

 form a very rigid plaster. Still more curious is the nest 

 of the oven-bird. Like the pied grallina, it uses mud 

 mingled with grass and various vegetable fibres, which is 

 hardened by the sun's rays to the consistency of brick. 

 The rounded, dome-shaped nest has a slit-like opening 

 at the side, and although its thick walls are immensely 

 i 129 



