1 84 BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



last sort of nest one would expect such a bird to 

 make ; and among the Parrots, which have been 

 accused of being too clumsy to build nests at all, 

 the Quaker Parrakeet {Myopittacus monachus) of 

 South America not only builds a stick nest with 

 roof and porch, but goes in for tenement nesting, 

 several birds building in one clump, though the 

 actual rooms are separate. 



A few non-Passerines build mud nests, such as 

 that extraordinary fruit-eating ally of the Nightjars, 

 the South American Guacharo (Steatornis cari- 

 fensis), no doubt a primitive form, as its beak is 

 less specialized or degenerate than a Nightjar's, and 

 not so abnormally enlarged as a Frog-mouth's. 

 Among the waders. Flamingoes and the Sun- , 

 Bittern also build mud nests, but in all these cases 

 the nest is a mere cheese-shaped hassock, as it were, 

 displaying no special merit in architecture. 



It is interesting, however, to find that other 

 birds than Passerines have so much constructive 

 ability, clumsy or not ; and in this connection it 

 should be noted that the Broadbills, Passerines of 

 a very primitive and clumsy type, build pendent 

 nests nearly as good as those of Weavers. Nor can 

 we say that birds of special intelUgence will neces- 

 sarily build an elaborate nest, for the clever Crow 

 tribe, with the, exception of the common Magpie 

 with its domed nest of thorny branches, build nests 

 pi the most ordinary type for passerine birds. 



Parasitic nesting is extremely common among 

 birds, especially among hole-building species which 



