NATURE-STUDY 



tril-la-rah," repeated. She says that little German children 

 think the bobolink says, " Oncle-dey, dunkle-dey," while the 

 farmer's boy jjclieves he says, " Dig a hole, dig a hole, [jut 

 it in, put it in, cover't ujj, cover't up, stamp on't, step along," 

 and therefore calls him the " corn-planting bird." 



Nesis and Nesllings 



There is a great difference in the kinds of nests and in the 



skill shown bv different 

 species in nest construction. 

 Some birds build no nest at 

 all. There are many sea 

 fowl whicli lay their eggs on 

 the bare rock. The wliip- 

 poorwill lays hers among the 

 dead leaves on the forest 

 floor. Her cousin, the night- 

 hawk, lays hers on the flat 

 roofs of city buiklings. Many 

 ground birds, such as cjuail, 

 chicken, and "partridge," 

 make hardly any pretence at 

 nest Ijuilding, but la\' the 

 '"'"■•■"""'-' eggs in a shallow de|jression 



hollowed out by the breast among the leaves or in the 

 ground. Many ground-nesting birds lay eggs that arc 

 colored like the leaves and earth, and are tlierefore 

 more likely to escape notice. The ground nest is usually 

 more or less concealed by a clump of grass, weeds, a bush, 

 log, or base of a tree. Being made of leaves or grass, the 

 nests are hard to flislinguish from the background. The 



Fig. 17. 



Robin's Nest. 

 ..uiiliiiLT. Mater 



