86 



THE OOLOGIST 



with two nests without the lining of 

 horse hair These exceptions were lined 

 with very fine rootlets, while the bulk 

 of the nest was built as in other cases. 

 The little bird sometimes makes quite 

 long trips for the lining, and it is an in- 

 teresting sight to watch one gather and 

 transport a long hair. At times there 

 are as many as seven hairs in the lining 

 of a nest, but again but one or two. But 

 whether there are two or a half dozen, 

 the hairs are always nicely laid in layers 

 about the sides and bottom, and are 

 smoothed and arranged in a manner 

 superior to anything that man could 

 possibly do. Of course this habit of lin- 

 ing the nest with horse hair is an inno- 

 vation in the bird's methods, for before 

 the introduction of the horse on this 

 continent the Chipping Sparrow de- 

 pended on other materials. This spec- 

 ies, as with nearly, if not all other birds 

 is affected by civilization; and if we 

 study the matter we shall find that civi- 

 lization produces change in many ways 

 on nearly all birds and mammals. 



The Vireos are very interesting in 

 nest construction and the Red-eye is the 

 most pronounced in its predilection for 

 presenting news in the form of bits torn 

 from printed matter. It is not uncom- 

 mon for the Red-eyed Vireo to attach 

 torn bits of newspaper to the sides of 

 its swaying pensile nest, and these frag- 

 ments sometimes contain pertinent 

 items of news. 



The nests of the Crows and Blue Jays 

 are bulky, compact structures, the lat- 

 ter being lined with fine roots nicely ar- 

 ranged in a smooth wall. That malign- 

 ed creature, the Shrike or butcher as he 

 is commonly called on account of its 

 habits, which same have been greatly 

 exagerated, builds a warm and compact 

 nest, lining the same with wool and 

 feathers so that its early brood will not 

 suffer from the cold. 



The Chimney Swift constructs its nest 

 entirely of twigs, of very even size as to 

 length and diameter, and glues them 



together and to the sides of the chim- 

 ney, or boards when in a barn, which 

 variation occasionally occurs, or to the 

 interior of hollow trees as they formerly 

 nested, and which is still rarely seen. 

 This glue is supplied by the bird, it be- 

 ing secreted from a gland or glands just 

 inside them outh. It is very tenacious in 

 its use as a cement and holds the struct- 

 ure in place with rare exceptions. This 

 glutinous substance is said to be similar 

 to the mucilaginous material secreted 

 by the species known as the edible 

 (bird's nest) Swallow, which is really a 

 Swift, and not a Swallow, we are in- 

 formed. This material secreted by the 

 Chimney Swift, though small in quant- 

 ity, is undoubtedly nutritious, but 

 whether it is possessed of the delectable 

 flavor that is found in that of the orien- 

 tal species has not been determined by 

 any observer in America, or at least not 

 written of. 



A little bird, the Prairie Horned Lark, 

 well known to observers, but rarely seen 

 by those who do not study our birds, 

 builds a warm nest in the early spring. 

 And well it may make an effort to keep 

 its eggs warm, as the clutch is frequent- 

 ly deposited before the storms of early 

 April have ceased, and not rarely the 

 nest is surrounded by snow. The nest 

 is composed of roots and grasses and 

 warmly lined." This lining takes the 

 form of wool when the nest is in a field 

 near to a flock of sheep. Again the 

 eggs are protected by a lining of fine 

 weed stalks and hair. But notwith- 

 standing the efforts of the birds, the 

 nest was frequently found to be damp 

 and cold. However, the eggs were 

 warm, kept so by the steady application 

 of the bird's incubating breast. 



Among the starlings we find that the 

 preference is for grass in the case of the 

 Meadow Lark and some Orioles and 

 Blackbirds. The Bronzed Grackle var- 

 ies its nesting habit; generally building 

 a structure resembling the Robin's, but 

 often selecting the hollows in stumps 



