98 THE STUDY OF ANIMAL LIFE 



nesting or breeding purposes, or for resting, hiding, 

 or sleeping in, there are others that resort to a 

 particular haunt, which serves the purpose of a 

 sort of home, others, again, that make some 

 pretence of constructing a family nursery or home- 

 stead, and still others, such as our bird friends, 

 which build, as is so well known, beautiful cradles 

 in which their young may be nurtured and reared. 



The weird Bats, for example, make no effort at 

 building a homestead of any kind. An old loft, a 

 barn, an old house, holes in trees, caves, quarries, 

 and other similar habitats, serve this flying 

 Mammal equally well. 



There are many kinds of Mammals, however, 

 which do evince considerable ingenuity in build- 

 ing a homestead, more especially, we should say, 

 for the purpose of rearing the young. The Rabbit, 

 for instance, makes quite a cosy nest underground, 

 consisting, as it does, of dead grasses, feathers, 

 flick from its own body, and other soft materials. 

 Here the blind and helpless young find a snug 

 retreat, until old enough to fend for themselves, 

 and many a hapless young Rabbit falls a prey, 

 when in the nest, to some marauding Stoat, or 

 Fox. 



The Hare, unlike its near relative, the Rabbit, 

 does not build a nest at all, and where its " form " 

 does serve as a homestead, it is found above, and 

 not below ground. Consequently, we find that 



