160 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
she works it down to the bottom of the nest, imbedding 
it too deep for incubation. I have found two of these 
nests and have examined others. One of these that I 
watched from the foundation till the young had flown is 
in the collection of the Society of Natural Sciences. 
Cuckoos and nearly all the Columbide make very 
slovenly nests, mostly of coarse sticks with slight lining 
and of but little depth ; while the whippoorwill makes 
no nest at all, but deposits two very pretty white and 
nearly round eggs on a level patch of dry leaves amid 
thick shrubbery, When the viroes have nearly com- 
pleted their finely wrought structures, they ornament 
the outside with bits of cocoons, wasps’ and spiders’ 
nests, fastening these substances on the other materials 
in a most mysterious manner. Only very sharp eyes 
could find so much of seemingly scarce materials in the 
limited radius traversed by birds. : 
Chimney swallows gather most of their materials on 
the wing, snapping the dry twigs from partially dead 
trees. Barn swallows dip the straws and sticks, to be 
mixed with clay, in the water, sometimes going a long 
distance to a pool or brook for this purpose. Some 
birds have a saliva or gelatinous matter that answers 
for a cement. 
As with their singing and feeding, many birds are 
more industrious in nest building in the morning and 
towards evening. Some carry on their work boldly, 
with little regard for the presence of man, while others 
come and go so stealthily that unless you are very 
watchful you may never see the little architects at 
work, although the nest grows as if by magic, right 
before your very eyes. 
