FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH BIRDS 



absorbing. Few sights are more stimulating to in- 

 terest in outdoor life than spying on a pair of 

 wild birds engaged in nest building. Nest hunt- 

 ing, therefore, soon becomes a part of the bird 

 student's occupation, and I heartily recommend 

 such a course to beginners, provided great care is 

 exercised not to injure the nests and their contents. 

 Caution in Nest Hunting. — A thoughtful person 

 will, of course, be careful in approaching a wild 

 bird's nest, otherwise much mischief may be done 

 in a very short time. I have known "dainty eggs" 

 and "darling baby-birds" to be literally visited to 

 death by well-meaning people, with the best of in- 

 tentions. The parents become discouraged by con- 

 stantly recurring alarms and desert the nest, or a cat 

 will follow the path made through the weeds and 

 leave nothing in the nest worth observing. Even 

 the bending of limbs, or the pushing aside of leaves, 

 will produce a change in the surroundings, which, 

 however slight, may be sufficient to draw the atten- 

 tion of some feathered enemy. 

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