INTRODUCTION. 19 
Birds lay eggs, as everybody knows, but not every 
bird builds a nest for their reception, as everybody 
doesn’t know. The vast majority of them are nest- 
builders, if we include in that term those that merely 
scratch a shallow pit in the ground and leave the 
eggs among the pebbles. This may seem a good 
deal like brutal indifference, but such eggs are very 
safe, because so hard to discover; a great deal more 
secure, indeed, than are those that are placed in large 
nests, open at the top, and near the runs and general 
pathways of both men and wild life. It must be re- 
membered, too, that the birds that place their eggs 
on the bare ground are not able to build nests in 
trees, unless of so simple a pattern that they are about 
worthless. There is a well-known little heron that 
builds a nest of sticks placed criss-cross and not tied 
_ together, or at least this amount of carelessness is 
frequently seen; and it is not uncommon for the 
weak-kneed, helpless young birds to kick the struct- 
ure all to pieces and be forced to sit on the nearest 
branch until able to take care of themselves. I have 
long been familiar with a heronry near my home, and 
have found that by reason of this insecure nest-build- 
ing a considerable number of young birds come to 
grief. This spring-tide haunt of the little green herons 
is in a swampy sink-hole well grown with small 
birches, and the largest bull-frogs and snapping-tur- 
tles and flesh-eating creatures generally are always 
to be found here. Has the supply of unfortunate 
young herons anything to do with it? 
Of carefully-constructed birds’ nests there is found, 
in the United States an infinite variety, but in other 
