BIRDS 



nests of ground sparrows are especially well hidden among 

 the grass or weeds, and one may almost step on such before 

 the bird will fly off and be seen, and even then the nest may 

 not be easily found. 



Probably for greater safety from weasels, foxes, snakes, 

 and other foes the birds first 

 took to building in trees and 

 bushes. Most such nests are 

 perched in the crotch of a tree 

 or shrub, although some, hke 

 the humming-bird and some- 

 . times the robin, will saddle 

 the nest on top of a twig or a 

 bough. Some, like the vireos 

 and orioles, suspend their nests 

 from the branches. Among 

 tree dwellers we find some 

 hawks, owls, and eagles, the 

 crow, mourning dove, robin, 

 kingbird, bluejay, blackbird, 

 grosbeak, cedarbird, wood 

 thrush, catbird, many war- 

 blers, and some sparrows. 

 Some birds seem to prefer 

 special kinds of trees. The robin has a liking for box-elders 

 and maples, and the oriole a fondness for the drooping 

 branches of the elm. 



Most song birds use small twigs, grass, fine fibrous roots, 

 bark fibre, and hair for the material of the nest. Many 

 plaster this material together with mud or clay. This is 

 seen well in the robin's, the phoebe's, and the eaves-swallow's 



Fig. i8. Oriole's Nest. 

 (Hair and fibre interwoven into a hanginjf basket.) 



