170 BIRDS' NESTS 



attained, of their wonderful intelligence and power 

 of adapting themselves to a multitude of condi- 

 tions and circumstances. The nests in each family 

 are by no means confined to certain types, and 

 the variation in their structure is by no means 

 correlated with affinity. Indeed, it is by no 

 means unusual to find several very distinct types of 

 nest in a single family or even in the same genus, 

 whilst in other cases a certain type of nest will 

 run through more or less distantly related groups. 

 Amongst all these bewildering examples of Passerine 

 architecture we have here to confine ourselves to the 

 open or cup-shaped types, and even the limits of our 

 space will only admit of a brief consideration of the 

 many more pronounced forms. Some few of the 

 nests of the Passeres have already been dealt with 

 in preceding pages, where the peculiar type of nest 

 rendered this necessary, as, for instance, when the 

 nest was placed in burrows, or concealed in some 

 special manner ; whilst on the other hand, a very con- 

 siderable number come within the limits of the two 

 following chapters. 



In this review of the open cup-shaped nests of the 

 Passeres, it will still be most convenient to follow the 

 same taxonomic method as we adopted for those of 

 the other orders in the present chapter, dealing in 

 sequence with the typical examples in each family. 

 Commencing, therefore, with the most highly special- 

 ised groups, we have first to consider the open nests 



