208 



ANIMAL LIFE 



discovering more than one or two kinds of humming- 

 birds' eggs. 



If this is true of birds, much more does it hold 

 for insects. The most experienced entomologist, 

 after years of search in a district, will look with some 

 regret on the flies that alight on him, or hover near 

 him, for he knows that he is totally ignorant of the life 



FlG. 40. — Nest of Swallow. 

 {From a specimen in the Manchester Museum.) 



history of nine out of every ten kinds of the humming 

 life of summer. We must admit, then, that insects 

 and birds place their nests in positions which are 

 usually hard for us to discover. The real extent of 

 their care, however, is only disclosed by intimate 

 study. A few cases only can be briefly considered. 

 The nests of birds are of the most varied construe- 



