﻿176 ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 



serine bird. Could we magnify, for instance, the nest 

 of a chaffinch to the same dimensions as that of an 

 eagle, it would appear just as coarse, the delicate grass 

 and moss of the one would be as thick as the twigs and 

 sticks of the other ; the difference, in short, is not in 

 the degree of skill that is employed, but in the materials 

 which are used ; and these latter are proportioned to 

 the size and weight of the bird which is to lodge within. 

 There is as much difference, in point of delicate mate- 

 rials, between the nest of the chaffinch and the hum- 

 ming bird, as between the former and that of the crow ; 

 and it would be utterly out of character that an eagle 

 should construct its habitation of moss, lichens, and 

 such slender materials as could not possibly support 

 the weight it was intended to bear. We merely intro- 

 duce these remarks to do away with the impression — 

 certainly erroneous — that because the nests of eagles 

 and some other large birds are " rude," that is, of strong 

 materials, they are consequently ill or carelessly made. 

 It would seem, from all we can gather from authors, 

 that the nests of eagles are exposed, that is, built either 

 on the loftiest trees, or upon the ledges of rocks ; such, 

 at least, are the situations chosen by the golden and the 

 white-headed eagle : of the latter, Dr. Richardson says, 

 that it makes a <e rude nest of sticks, lined with hay, 

 on the ledge of some inaccessible rock, generally over- 

 hanging a rapid (the reach of a river), or in a lofty 

 and solitary tree." * The typical falcons, on the other 

 hand, build theirs in the natural excavations of old 

 trees : this has been observed of the kestrel ; and 

 Wilson, speaking of the Falco spar vcr his, says that its 

 nest is formed in the hollow of a tree, " pretty high 

 up, where the top, or a large limb, is broken off." The 

 Accepitrine hawks, closely allied to the last, choose the 

 same situations ; but in what manner — that is, the de- 

 gree of skill — the nest is made does not appear. In- 

 deed, it may be even questioned whether they fabricate 

 any nest ; for birds which, like the kestrel, breed in the 



* Northern Zoology, vol. ii. 



