Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1880-11-24
SOME CURIOUS NESTS.


You all have noticed, on some spring
day. bird picking up twigs or straws
with which to build its nest, and if you
ever have seen the tiny home when
finished, you must have wondered at
its beauty and completeness. For the
nests OF even our ccmmonest birds are
often marvels of skillful workman
ship.
But it happens that. within the last
wear. st. Nicholas has received accounts
OF some unusually interesting nests;
real curios sites or accidents in nest
building. such as you would hardly find
by searching whole acres of meadow
aud orchard. Some of these oddities
are peculiar or remarkable in them
selves, and others are merely common
nests, but have been found in very
queer places. You shall have the de
scription of them just as they came to
US in the letters OF correspondents.
Here, to begin with, is an account by
ID. b., of nest in a scarecrow:
"In a grain field near Hampstead, l..
l., found an old coat and q hat set up
as scarecrow, the sleeves being
stretched out on crosswse stick.
However dreadful this may have SEEM
ed to the person who set it up, the lit
away were no. in the least scared by it;
for in one of the side pockets of the
coat, a pair of cedar-birds had built a
cozy nest. When saw the scarecrow.
the little home was filed with un-
tledged birds, cheeping and crying,
their crests raised, while the mother,
perched on small branch which stuck
out above the scarecrow's hat, was
gently twittering gooi-byes to her
noisy brood, before going to forage for
their breakfast"
Strange place that for bird 's-nest!
And vet not so strange, nor dangerous,
if the bird was small, aud MIR. Scare
crow did his duty well by frightening
the hawks and other winged enemies
away. Perhaps the little parents
"builded better than they knew" but
it may be they had found out in some
strange way that the ugly looking gem
tleman standing always in that one
place in the field was no enemy, and
would even protect them. At any rate,
this does not seem to be the first in
stance of bird S nest in scarecrow,
for in the same letter ID. Il. sends this
record Of anoi her:
"When telling about this strange
discover, to some friends. one of them
recalled similar incident which he had
once read about. and after searching
some time. among old papers. we finally
found the account in a number of Our
Young Folks. Here it Is:
cit was in the bosom of stuffed
IA 81 nvsn
away the crows from our corn. A
bunch of pea sticks and little hay
dressed up in most artistic fashion with
a suit of Johns old clothes-trousers,
vest and coat, topped out with an old
hat, which soon blew away-formed
this awful scare. And funny enough it
was to see a pair of little pewees max
ing its acquaintance; looking up its
legs of sticks, and looking down upon
it from the apple-trees; picking at the
rags streaming from its coat-tails, and
then perching most audaciously upon
its wide shoulders; prying into the Sc
crets of its heart of clover, and pulling
the long hay out. of the stump of its old
broken-off neck.
''What they meant to do was hard to
tell for several days; but finally there
was no longer any doubt--they were
building a nest in its bosom! And why
notp The old clothes had been well
washed in the rains, the hay was as
sweet as any other hay, and the pea
brush just the same as any other pea
brush; besides. the thing was well
fastened to the ground by its feet,
which were only the ends of the point
ed pea-sticks. Those the pewees could
see as well as we, or any other soees--
as Cousin Sammy suggested-aud the
crows were evidently afraid of it, as
somebody else suggested, making it
| safer for the wise little birds. So, when
| the work was done Tor rather UndOne.
| for the process of building consisted
| more in pulling out the stuffing of our
| scarccrow aud making hole into it,
than in putting sticks together as most
I! pewees do), and when the hole was
| well lined with the soft little nothings
which the pewees find, we hardly know
| where, and the little brown hen settled
herself down into her hiding-place, and
pater familias sat upon the headless
pea-brush neck. and caroleal forth his
song Of triumph to his mate and his
note of defiance to all crows that might
dare to scale his castle walls, and the
! rags of the sleeves tiuttered merrily
in the breeze, we doubted whether that
suit Of clothes was ever happier than it
was then; and John doubted, too.
'The nest was carefully observed
from a distance, for no birds like to be
scrutinized too closely; and. in due
course Of time, . family of little pewees
were taking their first lessons in lying.