I ■J 2 IN BIRD LAND. 



heresy against her? Was it really a case of " higher 

 criticism " ? It may have been, especially when you 

 remember that these thrushes often weave into their 

 nests fragments of newspapers, some of which may 

 contain theological discussions. 



One peculiarity in the nest-building of most of the 

 birds of my neighborhood may as well be mentioned 

 now as later ; they seldom build in the densest and 

 most secluded parts of the woods, but usually choose 

 some bush or saphng near the border, or close to a 

 woodland path or winding road, where people some- 

 times pass. Perhaps they do this because the 

 natural enemies of birds, such as squirrels, minks, 

 and hawks, fight shy of these pathways traversed by 

 human feet. Perhaps, too, the birds do not like the 

 gloom and loneliness of the more sequestered por- 

 tions of the woods. They like to be semi-sociable, 

 at least, and are not disposed to make monks and 

 nuns of themselves. 



A far more artless nest is that of the turtle-dove. 

 This bird should attend an industrial college for a 

 term or two, to learn the art of building ; but it 

 would do no good : the meek little thing would cling 

 obstinately to her inherited ideas, and never become 

 a connoisseur in nest construction. Sometimes, 

 when you stand beneath her cottage, you can see 

 her white eggs gleaming through the interstices of 

 the loosely matted floor. As a rule, she builds on a 

 branch ; but something possessed one little mother, 

 in the spring of 1 891, to build her nursery on a large 

 stump about six feet high, standing right in the 



