New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-13

his cIeverness IN sometimes choosing q. cavt-v
already made. and. instead Of rough. bare cbips
the six or eight chiCkadee youngsters are bapDy
on hair mattress OF q closely woven faItika
substance.
Perhaps We should consider the kingdsher the
most barbarous of al the birds which form
shelter for their home. With bin for pick and
shovel. she bores straight into a sheer clay
bank, and at the end of six-foot tunnel her
young are reared. their nest a mass Of ish
Dones-the residue of their dinners. Then there
are the aerial masOns and brickraa kers-the
caves swallows, who carry earth up into the air
and. bit by bit. attach it to the caves and form
1t into glObular. Iong necked flask. The barn
swallows mix the clay with straw and so form
very firm structures on the rafters above the
haymows.
But what Of the many nests Of grasses and
tWlgs that We find in the woods? How closely
they were concealed while the leaves were on
the trees. and how firm and strong they were
while in use, the strongest wind and rain OF
summer only rocking them TO and froi But now
We must waste no time or they viii disappear.
III month more almost ali VIII have dissolved
INTO fragments and fallen to earth-ther mis-
sion accomplished
some look as if disintegration had already be-
gun, but if We had discovered them earlier in the
year We would have seen that they were never
less fragile or loosely constructed than we f1d
them now. Such is cuckoos nest such
mourning doves or herons. Merely a fat
platform Of a few interlaced twigs. through
which the eggs are visible from below Why are
some birds SO careless or so uusIlIful? The
european cuckoo is parasite like our cowbird.
laying her eggs in the nests OF other birds so
perhaps neglect of household duties is in the
TSrrff to
answer all the requirements of doves and herons.
and. although We can demolish one OF these
nirnsy platforms with sweep Of our hand. yet
such nest seems somehow to resist wind and
rain Just as long as the bird needs it.
Did you ever try to make a nest yourseIf2
not, take one apart some time-eveu the simplest
and try to put il together again Use no
string or cord, but faSten it TO crotch put
some marbles in 1t and visit it after the hrst
storm After you have picked Up all the mar
oles from the ground you Will appreciate more
highly the skill which a bird shows in the con-
struction of its home. Yet whether q bird ex-
cavates its nest in earth or wood. weayes or
plasters it. the work is all done by means of two
straight pieces Of horn-the bill
There is. however. one useful substance which
aids the bird which is not often thought of-the
saliva which is formed in the mucous glands Of
function Of this fluid is TO soften the food before
it passes into the crop. but in those birds which
make their nests by weaving together pieces OF
twig it must be Of great assistance in softeninS
the wood and enabling the bird readily bend
the twigs into any required position. ghus the
catbird and rose breasted grOSbeak weave
Given hundred or more pieces Of tVigs each
an inch in length, even bird would make out
little progress in forming cup shaped nest II
II were not that the sticky saliva provided
cement. strong and ready at hand. So the
chimney swift finds difficulty in forming ana
attaching her mosaic of twigs 70 chimney
using only very short twIgs. which she breaks
of on the wing. Most strange of all is the caves
swallow of the Far East which forms her en-
tire nest of mucous. which the large glands OF
her mouth give out in abundance. The result u
a clear white. emi-transparent substance, AAe
hardened gelatine. for which Chinese goUrInanHs
are ever ready to pay high price. making rom
II the famous birds nest soup
How wonderfully varied are the ways "h'en
birds adopt to conceal their nests! Some aVoiu
suspicion by their very audacity. building hs@h