102 THE STUDY OF ANIMAL LIFE 



Watch the male Stickleback on some fine sunlit 

 day, as he swims round his little nest warding off 

 males and other unwelcome visitors. There, on 

 sentinel guard, he will be found during the Spring 

 in some river or stream, and whilst he will by 

 various devices entice a female of his own species 

 to enter the guarded portals for the purpose of 

 depositing some eggs in the homestead, no other 

 creature is permitted to enter, and the jealous 

 little male, glowing with iridescent colours and 

 eyes flashing like green diamonds, makes no 

 secret of his haughty nature in driving away 

 intruders which approach within sight of the home- 

 stead. 



VIII. birds' nests 



In our last essay we took a hurried glance at 

 various kinds of animal homesteads, but excluded 

 our feathered population, promising to treat of 

 them in a special section. 



Birds' nests and their nesting habits are very 

 diverse, even if we only stay to consider the species 

 that are found around us. There are one hundred 

 and eighty to two hundred species in all, but 

 several of them resemble one another in the manu- 

 facture of a home, and some, unfortunately, are 

 rare and need not detain us. 



Whilst some — and more especially those which 

 nest upon the ground, or lay their eggs in holes, 



