488 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



bird, mention is also made of certain little green parrots, which 

 are apt to take possession of the great nest, and use it for their 

 own purpose. And in the last chapter an example was mentioned 

 where a carder bee established herself in the deserted nest of a 

 wren, and so saved herself the trouble of fetching materials and 

 building a dome. 



BiEDS of various kinds are notorious parasites, the Cuckoos 

 ranking as chief among them, inasmuch as they make no nest at 

 all, but simply lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, and foist 

 upon them a supposititious offspring, which occupies the entire 

 nest, and monopolizes all the care of its foster-parents. 



All Cuckoos, however, do not possess this habit ; for some of 

 the group build nests which are remarkable for their beauty, and 

 tend their young as carefully as do any birds. The celebrated 

 Honey-finders, for example, which are found in most hot por- 

 tions of the globe, are notable for their skill in architecture. 

 The nests of these birds are pensile, and not unlike those of the 

 African weaver birds, which have already been described. They 

 are made of tough bark, torn into filaments, and are flask-like in 

 shape, hung from the branches of trees, and having their entrance 

 from below. 



Then there is the well-known Cow-bird of America {Coccygus 

 Americanus), which is closely allied to the common cuckoo, and 

 yet which builds its own nest, and rears its own young. " Early 

 in May," writes Wilson, " they begin to pair, when obstinate bat- 

 tles take place among the males. About the 10th of that month 

 they commence building. The nest is usually fixed among the 

 horizontal branches of an apple-tree ; sometimes in a solitary 

 thorn, crab, or cedar, in some retired part of the woods. It is 

 constructed with little art, and scarcely any concavity, of small 

 sticks and twigs, intermixed with green weeds and blossoms of 

 the common maple. On this almost flat bed the eggs, usually 

 three or four in number, are placed ; these are of a uniform green- 

 ish-blue color, and of a size proportionate to that of the bird. 



" While the female is sitting, the male is generally not very 

 far distant, and gives the alarm by his notes when any person 

 is approaching. The female sits so close that you may almost 

 reach her with your hand, and then precipitates herself to the 

 ground, feigning lameness, fluttering, trailing her wings, and tum- 

 bling over, in the manner of the partridge, woodcock, and many 



