SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 



Edited by A. A. ALLEN. Ph.D. 



Address all communications relative to the work of this 

 department to the Editor, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 



WINTER BIRDS' NESTS 



When the November winds clear the leaves from the trees and bushes 

 many of Nature's secrets stand revealed. Along the highways the nests of 

 the Orioles and the Goldfinches that were so artfully concealed during the 

 summer now flaunt themselves in our faces. In the shrubbery about the garden 

 the nests of the Song Sparrow and the Catbird and the Yellow Warbler sud- 

 denly jump into view as though they were scornfully asking "Where were 

 your eyes last summer?" Now, if ever, we realize what adepts at the art of 

 concealing their nests the birds really are. Some of the nests we readily identify, 

 for even though the birds have flown, we remember how frequently we saw 

 them about the particular tree the previous summer. Other nests that we 

 meet with on our walks afield or that are brought to us we fail to recognize. 



There is something fascinating about a bird's nest when we stop to examine 

 it, or even if we pass it by with a cursory glance, we cannot help feeling the 

 little romance that surrounds it. We marvel at the skill with which the strings 

 or fibers are woven together or we wonder at the patience required to gather 

 the innumerable tiny grasses and hairs that make up the nest. Until we know 

 the bird that built the nest, however, we are discontented, and it is always with 

 great satisfaction that we finally make up our minds as to just what bird built it. 



There is scarcely a schoolroom in the country that does not at some time 

 or other come into possession of a bird's nest or a small collection of nests. 

 Sometimes the children seem to develop a mania for collecting nests and the 

 school is flooded with them. Ordinarily these nests lay around without much 

 care until the teacher gets disgusted with the meaningless litter and throws 

 them into the waste-basket. If, however, the nests are given a little attention; 

 if there is a place to keep the collection; and, particularly, if the teacher can 

 identify the nests, the collection can be made one of the valuable accessions to 

 the schoolroom. It is the intention of these paragraphs to encourage the making 

 of these nest collections and to show how they may be identified. 



The best time to start such collections is in November or December after 

 the leaves have fallen. The nests are then easy to find, and no harm is done 

 by collecting them for the birds have left them and, in very few cases, is the 

 same nest used a second time. Of course, the nest which has been watched 

 through the summer and about which one knows the entire history is the most 

 interesting, but much can be learned from nests that are discovered in winter 



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