The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-04

eealed 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 fro? But now we must waste
no time or they will disappear. In a
month more almost all viii have dis
solved into fragments and fallen to
earth-their mission accomplished.
Some look as if disintegration had
already begun, but if we had discover
ed them earlier in the year, we would
have seen that they were never less
fragile or loosely constructed than we
ind them now. Such is a cuckoo's
nest, such mourning doves or a her
on's. Merely a fiat platform of a few
lnterlaced twigs, through which the
eggs are visible from below. Why are
some birds so careless or so unsktl-
tul? The European cuckoo is a para
site like our cowbird, laying her eggs
IN the nests of other bids, so per-
maps neglect of household duties is
IN the blood. But this style of ar
chitecture seems to answer all the re-
quirements of doves and herons, and,
although we can dennolish one of these
nlmsy platforms with sweep of our
hand, yet such nest seems somehow
10 resist wind and rain lust as long
as the bird needs it.
Dld YOU ever try to make a nest
yourself? If not, take one apart some
uneven the simplest-and try to nut
II together again. Use no string or
cord, but fasten it to a crotch. mt
some marbles in it and visit it after
the first storm. After you have pick
ed up all the marbles from the ground
you will appreciate more highly the
skill which a bird shows in the con-
struction of its home. Yet whether a
pIrd excavates its nest in earth or
wood, or weaves or plasters it, the
work is all done by means Of two
straight pieces of horn--the bill.
There is, however, one useful sub
| not often thought of-the saliva which
Is formed in the mucous glands of
the mouth. OF course, the first and
natural function of this fluid is to soft
en- the food before it passes into the
crop, but in these birds which make
| their nests by weaving together pieces
of twig it must be of great assistance
in softening the wood and enabling the
bird readily to bend the twigs into any
required position. Thus the catbird
and rose breasted grosbeak weave.
Given a hundred or more pieces of
| twigs each an inch in length, even a
bird would make but little progress in
forming q cup-shaped nest If it were
not that the sticky saliva provided ce-
ment, strong and ready at band. So the
chimney swift finds no difficulty in
forming and attaching her mosaic Of
| twigs to a chimney, using only very
short twigs, which she breaks off on
the wing. Most strange of all is the
caves swallow of the Far East which
forms her entire nest of mucous, which
the large glands of her mouth give out
in abundance. The result is a clear,
white, semi transparent substance, like
hardened gelatine, for which Chinese
gourmands are ever ready to pay q
high price, making from 1t the famous
birds nest soup"
How wonderfully varied are the ways
which birds adopt to conceal their
nests! Some avoid suspicion by their
very audacity, building near a fire.
uuented path, in a spot which they
would never be suspected Of choosing
The humming bird studs the outside
of its nest with lichens, and the Virec
shapes a cobweb curtain around her
fairy cup. Few nests are more beau
iiful and at the same time more dur
able than a vireos. ] have seen the
nests of three successive years in the
same tree. all built. no doubt, by the
same pair of birds, the nest of the
past summer perfect in shape and quail
ity. that OF the preceding year thread
bare, while the home which sheltered
the brood of three summers ago is a
mere flattened skeleton. reminding one
of the ribs and sternpost of the wreck
of a boat long pounded by the waves.
Strange accidents sometimes occur
| as results of the substance forming the
nest. A horse hair is irresistible tC
| most birds, and yet hardly a season
passes when I do not find the bleach.
ed skeleton of some young bird sus'
pended by a knot of hair fast around
leg or neck-a little Hedging whose nesi
was its prison, whose birthplace was
also it's tomb.
And yet 1 have never known such
a terrible fate to fan to the lot of q
young chipping sparrow, whose entire
| nest is generally composed Of horse
| hairs, so closely interviewer that only
a few ends are visible. The goldfinch
builds one of the most comfortable
looking, thrifty nests of all our birds;
| vegetable f1bers and other substances
are united into a compact felt, and q
lining of thistle down is the finishing
touch to this exquisite domici1e.
The subject of nests has been sadly
| neglected by naturalists, most of whom