vi PREFACE 



to be ; for each type of home represents the best 

 possible harmony with the conditions under which 

 reproduction may take place. 



Unfortunately, Birds' Nests have been little studied 

 in relation to those important scientific questions 

 with which they are so inseparably involved. Alas, 

 too often the despoiling oologist carries off the 

 coveted eggs without even a glance at the cradle 

 which holds them, or with no thought to the philo- 

 sophy of the architectural arrangements (or to the 

 want of them) before him. Then on the other hand 

 there is the observer who views such structures as 

 objects of beauty only, ignoring all evidence of purely 

 utilitarian significance. For him, a pretty nest is 

 one to be admired for its beauty alone ; but the 

 neatest and most elaborate and beautiful bird cradle 

 ever put together, is no more woven for beauty's 

 sake, than the crudest nest-form is provided with 

 any view to the lack of it. Birds' Nests are purely 

 utilitarian structures ; their beauty or their ugliness, 

 their elaborate finish, or their crude workmanship 

 are matters of human sentiment only, and play no 

 part in the general plan of avine architecture. Upon 

 such a foundation the science of Caliology alone must 

 rest, and its philosophy must be woven round a utili- 

 tarian motive, not one in any sense of beauty for 

 its own sake. 



The opportunities for the scientific study of Birds' 

 Nests are well-nigh endless; for almost every nest 



