16 HOW TO IDENTIFY NEW ZEALAND BIRDS 
by scooping out a hollow amongst the pebbles in 
which the eggs are laid. These resemble the stones 
around them so closely as to be well-nigh impossible 
to find. 
On the contrary, eggs laid in nests which them- 
selves are beautifully hidden from the gaze of the 
curious, are often brightly coloured and do not tone 
with their surroundings, as in the case of the Hedge 
Sparrow’s (Accentor modularis) blue eggs. 
The nests of small birds are often a marvel in 
symmetry and neatness and remarkable for the 
amount and variety of material collected. Moss, 
lichen, hair, straw, feathers, wool, spiders’ webs, 
etc., are only a few of the ingredients which compose 
the structure. 
Most people have heard of the Indian Tailor-birds, 
in Kipling’s ‘‘Jungle Tales,’’ which sew up a leaf 
to form a nest. The famous British Long-tailed Tit 
(Acrodula rosea) builds an oval-shaped nest, in one 
of which no fewer than 2379 feathers were counted. 
Weaver-birds, Humming-birds, etc., all have marvel- 
lous nests. Possibly no prettier nest could be found 
than that of the Reed-warbler, interlaced amongst 
the reeds in the river, which sway to and fro as the 
wind blows. 
One often hears of the Bower-birds building 
marvellous nests; this is, however, incorrect. The 
nest is built in branches near by, and the actual 
bower itself is used by several birds for display 
during the courting season, never for the purposes 
of nesting. 
Game birds, Ducks, ete., run the moment they leave 
the nest. The Dabchick or Little Grebe (Poliocephalus 
rufopectus) spend much of their time on their 
mother’s back. In cases of danger, Grebe have been 
known thus to remove their young to a place of 
safety, a habit Woodcock also have. When feeding 
their little ones, parents work very hard until they 
