WHERE TO SEARCH. 5 



make way for the crowd to follow. The services of 

 boys and other persons on farms and plantations may 

 be called in to great advantage at this busy time, in 

 looking up for you the situation of nests ; but they 

 should not be allowed to disturb any nest until you, 

 or some other competent person, have visited the 

 spot. This regulation may be difficult to carry out, 

 but will prove most profitable in the construction of 

 a valuable collection, if persisted in. 



METHODS OF DISCOVERY. 



Where to look for nests may be worth a few words. 

 Most birds build on trees or bushes ; many on the 

 ground or on rocks ; others in cavities. Some con- 

 trive elegant, elaborate structures, endlessly varied 

 in details of form and material ; others make no nest 

 whatever. Particular nests, of course, like the birds 

 that build them, can only be found through ornitho- 

 logical knowledge; but general seeking is usually 

 rewarded with a varied assortment. "Search long 

 and diligently," writes one of our collectors. "Place 

 straw, hay, cotton, hemp, or any of the materials 

 that birds use in constructing their nests, in an 

 exposed situation in a swamp or wood; then, by 

 watching the birds when they take it and following 

 them, many nests will be found that would otherwise 



