302 
BIRD-LIFE. 
from the eye of the invader or present insuperable 
difficulties to the accomplishment of his wishes. 
Let us now examine the greater or less skill displayed 
in the construction itself. Everyone can see for himself 
that the clumsy domestic hen is incapable of constructing 
a beautiful nest, while, on the contrary, the active, clever 
little Long-tailed Tit gives evidence of far greater skill in 
the art of nest building. And yet one must not allow 
oneself always to determine the habits and temperament 
of a bird from the construction of its nest; for clever, 
dexterous birds are sometimes sadly deficient in this art, 
while sluggish and stupid ones occasionally build very 
pretty nests. Just as little can one judge of the appearance 
or the situation of the nest from the aspect of the bird, for 
different members of one family, or even of a genus, differ 
much in this respect. Thus, some species of the Duck 
tribe build on the ground, some in holes in the earth, 
and others on trees. With Herons some nest amongst 
reeds and rushes; and others on the top of high trees. 
In contradistinction to this, numbers of very different 
families, or even classes, resemble one another very 
much in the construction and situation of their nests. 
Thus, nests can only, in a certain degree, be classed 
according to their situation, structure, and correspondence 
with the habits of the birds themselves. 
The simplest nests are, undoubtedly, those of the 
Little Owl, Barn Owl, Goatsucker, Giant Petrel (Pro- 
cellaria ), Guillemots, and others. These birds lay 
their eggs on the bare ground or rock, without the 
slightest preparation, not even so much as scraping a 
hole or cavity in which to deposit them, or treading 
down the grass, and by repeated turning of their bodies 
moulding a hollow for their reception, as do the Terns, 
