103 



THE OOLOGIST. 



cate cottony substances, and of the 

 lightest materials possible, it is covered 

 on the outside with delicate bits of 

 lichens, which are caused to adhere to 

 the little home by the use of spider's 

 web. The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher con- 

 structs an equally well finished home, 

 and though not considered equally fine 

 with the Hummer's nest because of its 

 larger size, is in reality fully as well 

 made. The Wood Pewee also makes a 

 finely covered nest of lichens. Another 

 decorator in lichens is the Yellow- 

 throated Vireo, which constructs its 

 pensile nest at the end of a branch, and 

 not on the upper side of the limb as 

 with the Hummer and Gnatcatcher. 

 These four species are the only ones 

 which habitually cover the nests with 

 lichens, but all of the Vireos of my 

 acquaintance have the tendency to 

 ornament the exterior with various 

 substances, and the Red-eye in partic- 

 ular is given to this agreeable display 

 of artistic taste. Very often the Red- 

 eyed Vireo will attach pieces of print- 

 ed newspaper to the sides of the nest, 

 giving it a decidely neat and peculiar 

 appearance. The paper is not tacked 

 on in great pieces, but is torn into frag- 

 ments and gracefully draped about the 

 nest. Very often the bits of paper con- 

 tain words and even short sentences 

 quite pertinent, and sometimes these 

 finds are kept as curiosities, 



Then there are some species of birds 

 which are given to decorating their 

 nests, that is in the eyes of outsiders, 

 but who really follow the habit for 

 other purposes. For instance, the 

 ducks follow the practice of stripping 

 the down from the breast and covering 

 the eggs in the nest. It is not known 

 why this brown down is used. Some 

 theorizers claim that it is to keep the 

 eggs warm during the absence of the 

 parent, others say that it is for the 

 purpose of concealing the eggs, while 

 many think it answers a double pur- 

 pose. The habit, common to all nest- 



ing ducks, I am informed, is probably 

 for the concealment of the eggs, for it 

 is not reasonable to suppose that this is 

 a necessity so far as keeping the eggs 

 warm is concerned in a section as far 

 south as the 43nd parallel, and yet the 

 habit is followed in the United States 

 as well as in Greenland. There are 

 many points in the natural history of 

 our birds which we have not as yet 

 fully fathomed. In taking up the 

 point of concealment, we find that 

 there are many other species of birds 

 besides the ducks that follow the 

 practice of concealing the eggs when 

 the nest is left alone. One class, the 

 divers, is partially given to this habit of 

 concealing the eggs when they are left, 

 and no other bird more thoroughly 

 conceals the eggs than does the com- 

 mon grebe of hell-diver, as it is called. 

 Yet the Great northern diver, a very 

 sly and sagacious bird, does not make 

 any attempt to conceal its eggs. The 

 grebe does not place down upon its 

 eggs but simply pulls a mass of rubbish, 

 moss and grass and dead reeds over 

 the eggs when they are left, removing 

 the covering when the nest is again re- 

 turned to. The duck's eggs are prob- 

 ably covered with the down, even when 

 the bird is on the nest; at least on the 

 instant when the old bird leaves the 

 nest the eggs are found to be fully 

 covered. Once when I came close to a 

 nest, and when the setter did not know 

 of my presence, the eggs were found 

 completely covered when the female 

 hastily left. I have not yet learned of 

 any of the perching birds which cover 

 their eggs. 



All birds have a system or arrange- 

 ment in the deposition of the set of eggs 

 in the nest, and there are very few 

 species, if any, in which some peculiari- 

 ty is not to be found if careful observa- 

 tion is made. Many birds so plainly 

 and invariably show this tendency to a 

 set arrangement that the habit is well 

 known to all observers. It is of these 



