THE BIRD STUDY BOOK 



ground on which they lie, and this seems to be a 

 sufficient safeguard for the eggs and offspring of the 

 species. The Nighthawk lays her two eggs on the 

 bare ground in a field or open woods; and the Whip- 

 poor-will's nest is on the fallen leaves of a thicket at 

 any spot which the bird happens to select. 



The Gulls so common along our coast and about 

 the larger lakes make substantial nests, as a rule — 

 but not always. I have found them on the islands 

 along the coast of Maine containing not a dozen 

 blades of grass, a seemingly scant protection against 

 the danger of rolling away to destruction. 



On the sandy islands of the Atlantic Coast, from 

 Long Island southward, many species of Terns make 

 nests by simply burrowing a slight depression 

 in the sand among the sea-shells. Some of the sea 

 birds of the far North, as, for example, the Murres 

 and Auks, often lay their eggs on the shelving cliffs 

 exposed to the sweep of the ocean gales. These are 

 shaped as if designed by nature to prevent them 

 rolling off the rocks. They are very large at one 

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