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Bird - Lore 



the part of the birds. The edifice begins with a foundation of twigs, in the 

 upper part of which is a cavity from six to ten inches deep, with a mud base 

 and outer wall, something like a Robin's nest, and usually lined with fine roots. 

 Over this is a roof of twigs, with the entrance hole in one side just above the 

 top of the cavity. This roof varies much in different nests; sometimes it is a 

 good thick affair, and again it does not amount to much, almost wanting. 

 As the same nest may be occupied for several successive years, it is possible 

 the owners may add something to it annually. Often they are very bulky, 

 four feet or more in height and three in diameter. 



As for situation. Magpies will build in almost any sort of tree which is at 

 hand; but the great majority of the nests I have seen were in cottonwoods 



or willows, and I do 

 not think they care for 

 evergreen trees, for in 

 localities where such 

 were at hand, along 

 with the other sorts, 

 they were seldom used. 

 The height from ' the 

 ground varies. The 

 entrance to one nest 

 which I photographed 

 was not more than 

 three feet above 

 ground, but this was 

 exceptional; usually 

 they vary from ten to 

 fifty feet above ground. 

 As for the location in 

 the tree, that is also 

 variable. On Culebra 

 Creek almost every 

 conceivable variation 

 was found, and I tried 

 for a series of pictures of the most characteristic, some of which show 

 that the nest may be in the crotch where the trunk makes its 

 first division, or out on a branch ; often it is built at the side of the 

 trunk, where a short bushy branch affords a foundation for starting the 

 structure. In willows, which here are clumps of small stems growing closely 

 together, and not trees with a single large trunk, the nests are placed among 

 the thick branches, and while they sway in every breeze they will stand 

 for years. 



As might be expected from the size and manner of construction. Magpie 



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